Jack Nicholson

Adam Sandler plays a nice guy and Jack Nicholson an offbeat therapist who teaches him how to become a two-fisted nice guy in Anger Management, a movie with a plot so flimsy and laughs so scattered it should send all concerned toward Career Guidance. They gave Sandler a cute job as an executive assistant in a pet products company, an endearing assortment of ticks, like skittishness over penis size and the inability to smooch in public, and a smart, adorable, poetry-writing girlfriend (Marisa Tomei)

Everyone connected with "Man Trouble" is 100 percent culturally validated: Jack Nicholson, of course, is the leading film actor of his generation; Ellen Barkin, after a series of vivid, passionate performances, is the first genuine actress since Meryl Streep to poise on the edge of movie stardom; Bob Rafelson, the director, is a legendary enfant terrible of Hollywood, having helmed the classic "Five Easy Pieces," as well as "Mountains of the Moon" and...

ARTA process of becomingLike his other work, Joel Fisher's new sculptures are about becoming -- in the physical and the abstract sense. Made of plaster on an armature and attached to the wall, the sculptures look like creatures (an elephant, a porpoise) or extensions of the architecture that are springing into being right out of the wall itself. There's reference to alchemy -- transforming one substance into another -- and to the nature of creativity. These and Fisher's bronzes and drawings in this show afford a look in depth of this internationally recognized artist.

J.J. "Jake" Pickle, 91, who helped pass major Social Security reform in the 1980s and was a senior Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee during three decades in Congress, died Saturday at his home in Austin, Texas. He was elected in 1963 to the House seat Lyndon B. Johnson once held. As chairman of the Social Security Subcommittee, he helped pass Social Security reform in 1983 that eased the system's financial woes by raising the age for full benefits from 65 to 67. Mr. Pickle was a Naval officer during World War II, serving in the Pacific.

"Titanic," James Cameron's $200 million epic about the 1912 sea disaster, was well on its way to tying "Ben-Hur" for winning the most Oscars in history three-quarters of the way through the 70th annual Academy Awards ceremony last night.As the event was winding down, the blockbuster, which last summer was rumored to be a flop in the making, had won Oscars for costumes, sound, sound-effects editing, visual effects, original dramatic score, film editing, original song and art direction.But the evening's first upset was in a category "Titanic" had been presumed sure to win. Gloria Stuart, the 87-year-old actress who portrayed a survivor of the shipwreck, had been widely favored to win the Oscar for best supporting actress.

HOLLYWOOD -- The rights to novelist Larry McMurtry's new novel "Evening Star," the sequel to his best-selling "Terms of Endearment," will probably end up at Paramount Pictures, the studio that made the Oscar-winning 1983 film. "Terms of Endearment" starred Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson and Debra Winger and won Oscars for MacLaine, Nicholson and writer-director James L. Brooks.A studio source confirmed that although the deal has not been completed, it would be shortly. Mr. McMurtry's agent also confirmed the imminent sale to Paramount.

As delicious as those leftovers are, you could enjoy them even more. Rather than just scarfing them down whenever the spirit moves you, why not try making a game of it? In the fashion of drinking games tied to television shows, you could link your eating to your sports TV viewing. Have a slice of turkey, a forkful of mashed potatoes or a piece of pecan pie each time: * Brent Musburger over-enthuses about the game he is calling. * Chris Berman makes a pop-culture reference at least 30 years old. * Jim Palmer mentions how he never gave up a grand slam.

"Titanic," James Cameron's $200 million epic about the 1912 sea disaster, tied "Ben-Hur" with the most Oscars in history, winning 11 at last night's 70th annual Academy Awards ceremony.The blockbuster, which just last summer was rumored to be a flop in the making, won the Oscar for best picture as well as awards for: costumes, sound, sound effects editing, visual effects, original dramatic score, film editing, original song, cinematography, art direction and direction."Titanic's" 14 nominations had tied the record set by the 1950 film "All About Eve."

As the holiday movie season approaches, the magazines are dangling actress Oscar bait from their covers. Nicole Kidman, looking positively embalmed, tips her cleavage to the readers of November's Premiere, promoting both her star turn in Jane Campion's forthcoming "Portrait of a Lady" and the sheer and absolute perfection of her marriage to Tom Cruise. "It doesn't feel like seven years to me at all," she gushes.The underdog nominee may be Kristin Scott Thomas, that British actress from "Four Weddings and a Funeral," "A Handful of Dust" and "Angels and Insects," who's about to appear with Ralph Fiennes in the season's biggest and highest-minded romance, "The English Patient."