When Charlie Sheen's time on "Two and a Half Men" ended in a swarm of controversy, many people thought his career was over. Ashton Kutcher took his place on the hit comedy while Sheen became more famous for his Twitter rants than his acting. Now, he's back in a new comedy, "Anger Management." But how does Sheen's old character, Charlie Harper, compare to his new character, Charlie Goodson?
The humor
The basis of Charlie Harper's humor was mostly innuendos, poking fun at his brother, Alan (Jon Cryer), and the scrapes he got into while hiding from the women he'd dated. These things were usually hilarious, and often the shock value of his witty comments made everything seem even funnier. Charlie Goodson's humor comes from a totally different place. Mostly, the funny comes from the situations around him and the people he treats in his anger management class. While in "Two and a Half Men," Sheen was the center of everything; in "Anger Management," he is part of a bigger cast.The personality
There is no other way to describe Charlie Harper than a womanizer. Sure, he had his moments, and deep down, he was a good guy. But when most people think of him, they instantly think of the women, the drinking, and the gambling. Charlie Goodson couldn't be more different. While he is having a "friends with benefits" fling with his fellow therapist, Kate (Selma Blair), he is mostly a pretty responsible guy. He has an ex-wife and a teenage daughter, he is serious about his work, and he has a lot of depth.The women
Charlie Goodson is not entirely as respectful of women as he first appears. It was made clear that he cheated on his wife when he was a huge baseball star. His daughter, Sam (Daniela Bobadilla) teased him for only dating airheads, and his fling with Kate is not entirely ethical. Charlie Harper was the king of dating airheads. He had so many women in his Malibu apartment during his time on "Two and a Half Men," it's almost impossible to count them! He tried really hard to make some relationships stick, namely with Mia (Emmanuelle Vaugier), Lisa (Denise Richards), Chelsea (Jennifer Taylor), and finally, with Rose (Melanie Lynskey). Ultimately though, his promiscuous streak always won.The supporting characters
The main cast of "Two and a Half Men" was very consistent and very small. Charlie's brother, Alan, his nephew, Jake (Angus T. Jones), his mother, Evelyn (Holland Taylor), and his housekeeper, Berta (Conchata Ferrell) were the prominent characters. In "Anger Management," there are a lot more characters to get used to. It's probably too early to tell which ones will be the best loved by viewers, but Lacey (Noureen DeWulf) has been the first to make her mark as the rich girl sent to therapy because of her issues with men.
Although "Anger Management" is very new, it doesn't quite have that "winning" quality that "Two and a Half Men" had in its early days. Part of this stems from fans being so used to seeing Sheen as Charlie Harper. His new character is interesting and quirky, but while his first show often produced many huge laughs, his new venture is amusing at best. That's not to say it's bad by any means. It just needs to find its own unique humor that will make everyone fall under its spell.
