In
Brooklyn in 1978, Dave Buznik is about to experience his first kiss, but is humiliated by local bully Arnie Shankman who suddenly
pulls down his pants and underwear. Twenty-five years later, Dave works as a secretary for a mean-spirited boss named Frank. Dave's bullying trauma causes him to avoid displaying affection such as kissing his girlfriend Linda in public. His problems are exacerbated by his arrogant co-worker, Andrew, who is close friends with Linda and desires to rekindle their romantic relationship. During a flight, Dave shows frustration after being ignored by a
flight attendant which she views as screaming anger, prompting the
sky marshal to
taser him. He is arrested for "assaulting" the aforementioned flight attendant and is sentenced to
anger management under Dr. Buddy Rydell, a renowned therapist who sat next to him on the plane. However, during a group therapy session, Dave becomes agitated after being unable to understand one of Buddy's questions and has to interact with other clients who are far more volatile with their anger than Dave. Dave's sentence is extended to 30 days after he accidentally breaks a waitress's nose while defending himself from a blind man's cane during a bar fight with his "anger buddy", Chuck. Back in court, he is on the verge of being sent to prison, before Buddy steps in and speaks with the judge. The court imposes "radical round-the-clock therapy", meaning Buddy lives with Dave and accompanies him at work. This entails unorthodox techniques which cause him to be
passive aggressive. At work Buddy is shocked to learn of the well-endowed Andrew's friendship with Linda. However, seeing a photo of Linda, Buddy becomes instantly smitten with her, angering Dave. Dave, meanwhile, talks to his attorney to try to get his sentence overturned, and learns from him that Buddy has a series of lawsuits pending. However, Dave's attempts at building up evidence against him, gets repeatedly foiled by Buddy. While on the way to work with Buddy, Dave is ordered to park his car on a bridge and sing a rendition of "
I Feel Pretty", with Buddy, to calm himself. Dave is then forced to interact with a
cross-dressing prostitute who goes by the name Galaxia. When he refuses to have sex with Galaxia, Buddy informs Dave that he has learned what righteous anger is. Dave receives a phone call that Buddy's mother is having surgery, so they drive up to
Boston, only for it to be extremely minor, as Dave had exaggerated it. At a bar, Buddy tries to get Dave to be more spontaneous by using an obnoxious pick up line on a woman named Kendra. When it works, Buddy leaves. Dave goes back to Kendra's house so he can use the phone to get in touch with Buddy. Kendra attempts to seduce Dave, who declines because of Linda and is thrown out. Buddy says that Kendra is an actress and that it was all a prank, but he did tell Linda that Dave was with another woman. To enhance Dave's assertiveness, Buddy arranges for him to get revenge on Arnie Shankman, who has become a
Buddhist monk, under the alias name, "Pana Kamanana". Arnie apologizes, but then laughs when reminded of the kiss incident. Buddy and an initially hesitant Dave provoke Arnie by lying about Dave
molesting Arnie's
mentally ill sister. A fight ensues, and after defeating Arnie the duo flee and Dave is delighted to have had his revenge. Linda tells Dave she has agreed to follow Buddy's advice that they have a
trial separation; Buddy explains to Dave that this is to give him time to improve his attitude. Dave attacks him when he learns he is dating Linda. Dave returns to court where Buddy issues a
restraining order against him for attempting to choke him while wearing a neck brace (which later turned out to be fake). Dave snaps at work when he learns Frank promoted Andrew to the position he had expected. He punches Andrew in the face and trashes Frank's office with a golf club. Learning from Andrew that Buddy has taken Linda to a
New York Yankees game, Dave assumes Buddy intends to steal his marriage proposal idea and races to the stadium. A security agent named Gary is revealed to be Galaxia, who lets Dave onto the field. Security ends up capturing him, but New York Mayor
Rudy Giuliani orders them to allow Dave to speak. Linda is moved when Dave announces publicly that he is willing to change. At her request, he kisses her in front of the crowd and she accepts his proposal. Linda then reveals that the game was the final phase of his therapy and explains that the aggravation he endured was all part of a setup planned by herself and Buddy after she read his anger management book. She adds that most of the people involved were in on Buddy's plans to help Dave boost his confidence. At a barbecue celebrating his graduation, Dave and his friends are confronted at gunpoint by a man whose car Buddy previously destroyed, only for it to be just a prank organized by Dave. As they all start singing the same song from earlier, the man is accosted by Chuck, who then joins in on the song. ==Cast==