ANALYZE THIS (M).
Director:Harold Ramis
Stars:
Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa
Kudrow, Chazz Palminteri, Joseph
Viterelli, Kyle Sahiby, Leo Rossi,
Richard Castellano, Bill Macy,
Jimmie Ray Weeks, Ira Wheeler,
Tony Bennett
Running Time:103 minutes.
The Godfather meets What About Bob?
Robert De Niro lightens up slightly as he takes the
mickey out of the sort of character he has specialised
in playing during his thirty year film career. The
mannerisms are the same, as is the intensity, but in
this comedy from Harold Ramis (Groundhog Day,
etc) they are given a comic spin. De Niro plays Paul
Vitti, a tough New York mobster who is having
anxiety attacks. Desperate to find a cure before a
planned meeting between all the gangster families,
Vitti secretly seeks psychiatric help.
The unlucky doctor is Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal), a
family therapist anxious to break out of the shadow of
his more famous father, an up-market psychiatrist,
best selling author and multi-media personality.
Although Ben recognises the challenge in working
with Vitti, he is about to take a week off work and
marry his fiancee (Friends' star Lisa Kudrow), a tv
journalist. However, a powerful mobster like Vitti
doesn't easily take "no" for an answer, and Ben's
simple life is turned upside down. He becomes
heavily involved in Vitti's cut throat and violent world.
This unusual premise works a treat under Ramis'
slick direction. There are plenty of superb one-liners
and throw away visual gags, and even the homage to
The Godfather works beautifully. In one scene, Ben
tries to explain complex Freudian concepts to the hot
headed mobster. In another, Vitti turns the tables on
Ben by probing his fears, thus proving that even
gangsters have rare insights into human nature.
De Niro doesn't make many comedies (the
disappointing We're No Angels is a rare exception),
but he seems to be enjoying himself in a rare comic
role that enables him to put a different spin on the
type of character that he has made his own. In a
welcome return to form, Crystal holds his own
against the volatile and intimidating De Niro.
Kudrow, who added spark to the wonderful The
Opposite Of Sex, is given little to do as Ben's
fastidious fiancee. Chazz Palminteri (The Usual
Suspects, etc) is also wasted in a small and
increasingly familiar role as a tough gangster who'd
rather exchange bullets than words. If anyone comes
close to stealing the acting honours it is Joe Viterelli
(Bullets Over Broadway, etc), who gives a wonderful
performance as Vitti's rotund body guard, the aptly
named Jelly.
Analyze This is a far cry from the mean streets that
De Niro ordinarily inhabits, but it is an interesting and
entertaining diversion through less travelled territory
for, arguably, America's greatest living screen actor.