Analyze This (1999)
Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow; d. Harold Ramis; B

Paul Vitti (Robert DeNiro) is a powerful leader of one of the families of the Mafia. It seems that he's in complete control until he begins having "heart attacks," which turn out to be anxiety attacks. On the other hand is Dr. Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal), a psychratrist who lives in the shadow of his successful father (Bill Macy). His son (Kyle Sabihy) puts his nose and ears where they aren't wanted and has a big mouth to boot, and he's about to get married to newscaster Laura MacNamara (Lisa Kudrow) in Miami. The two cross paths after Ben has an accident with one of Vitti's henchmen, where he gives this man his buisness card. The buisness card finds itself in Vitti's hands when decides to visit a psychiratrist for his "friend." During their first meetings, Ben is turned off by the fact that Vitti wants Ben to make him the only client he sees. To make matters worse, Vitti intudes at the worse times, once during a pary held by Ben's future parents-in-law, and one disasterous event interrupting Ben and Laura's wedding. But it becomes obvious that Ben has to dedicate a lot of time to Vitti, who's insecure and cries often, even during TV commercials! What ensues is a humorous string of events that end up on the sunny side, even if it means a few months of sacrafice on Vitti's part.

Analyze This is a well-written satire on the Mafia characters that have populated the movies for such a long time, and its lead star, DeNiro, is perfect spoofing his previous gangster roles. He's natural in this role, and his crying scenes, even though they seem forced, are his funniest scenes in the movie. Billy Crystal is great, even though I personally do not care much for him. Lisa Kudrow, though, is not a bright spot. It seems that she has trouble playing a character that is different from her character in Friends, and she has absolutely no chemistry between Crystal, or with anyone else in the movie. One of the best performances comes from one of the secondary characters, Jelly, played by Joe Viterelli. His is the most comic performance in the movie.

Overall, the film is well-written with a few dull spots, but very humorous, especially to those who've watched The Godfather.

© Vert A Go Go Reviews 2001