Analyze This (1999) Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow, Joe Viterelli, Richard C. Castellano, Chazz Palminteri, Bill Macy. Screenplay by Peter Tolan and Harold Ramis and Ken Lonergan. Directed by Harold Ramis. 105 minutes. Rated R, 3.5 stars
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to pbbp24a@prodigy.com
Let's get the basics out of the way. "Analyze This" is a very funny film. The raucous tale of a New York mob boss seeking therapy from a reluctant psychiatrist contains a number of mistakes (I'll carp about those in a minute), but still delivers big laughs on a consistent basis. Robert De Niro is wonderful, taking his classic gangster persona and giving it just enough of a twist to make the humor work. As for Billy Crystal, this film marks the first time in several years where I didn't have an overwhelming desire to climb into the screen and strangle him. For me, that's saying a lot.
You see, Billy Crystal owes me, for stealing precious hours from my life with crap like "Forget Paris," "City Slickers 2," "Fathers' Day" and last year's wretched "My Giant," not to mention the numerous times he tortured me while hosting the Academy Awards, parroting a seemingly endless stream of tired Borscht-belt gags while smirking as if he'd just invented the fucking wheel (pardon the crudeness - - I'm simply trying to get you in right mood for the obscenity-laced movie). Thankfully, Crystal tones it down here. By the time, late in the story, where he finally does break into shtick, it's relatively easy to tolerate.
"Analyze This" brings together two wildly separate subcultures when mobster Paul Vitti (De Niro) enters the life of psychiatrist Ben Sobol (Crystal). Suffering from frequent panic attacks and crying jags, a real hindrance to an underworld kingpin, Vitti demands the full attention of Sobol, and if that means interrupting the therapist's wedding or sending a thug into the shrink's bedroom, so be it.
The production was directed and co-written by Harold Ramis (best known as the freakiest member of the "Ghostbusters"), a man with a real gift for crowd-pleasing comedies, including "Meatballs," "Caddyshack" and the bittersweet "Stuart Saves His Family." At his best, as in "Groundhog Day, " Ramis can inject a nice message into a high-concept premise without diluting the comedy. At his worst ("Multiplicity"), he takes one joke and beats it to death.
"Analyze This" is one of his better efforts. Eschewing any messages or morals, Ramis simply goes for the laughs this time around and, for the most part, gets them. De Niro, parodying his many mob roles, plays a great steamroller of a man, trying to maintain his gangland machismo even while his emotions run rampant. De Niro takes risks with his performance. He doesn't just bawl, he blubbers, and his early crying jags come perilously close to overacting. But later, even while making the same ludicrous wailing noises, the great actor uses subtle changes in expression to effectively convey the genuine pain his character is feeling. A great deal of the humor comes from his awkward efforts to cooperate with the therapeutic process. In one scene, he acknowledges that he had considered rubbing out a key character, then helpfully adds "but I was feeling very conflicted about it."
Had Ramis dug a little deeper, the comedy would have been more resonant. Even with suitable henchman (including a great turn from Joe Viterelli as Vitti's thick, lumbering sidekick), Ramis' portrayal of the mobsters is too superficial. Chazz Palminteri, playing Vitti's arch rival, is little more than a cardboard cut-out.
The characters on Crystal's side don't fare much better. Lisa Kudrow, who gets better with each film, is given scant screen time (she makes every line count though, including one where she deliciously sneers "Oh great, my wedding is ruined because you have problems!"). Subplots involving her menacing father, as well as Crystal's dad, a neglectful pop psychology writer, are introduced but never revisited. And the genuinely sweet relationship between Crystal and his son deserves far more attention than it is given.
The film's biggest liability, though, is its timing. Just weeks ago, HBO introduced "The Sopranos," a brilliant new series about modern-day mobsters prominently featuring scenes between a crime-lord and his therapist. The show covers the same turf as "Analyze This," including the gallows humor, but with far greater depth, richness and elan. So my recommendation is as follows: enjoy "Analyze This" for what it is, then turn on "The Sopranos" and savor a great show exploring similar themes with far more success and, thank God, without Billy Crystal.
© 1999 Ed Johnson-Ott
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