ANALYZE THIS by DeWyNGaLe Rating: B-
For years, Robert DeNiro has played mob bosses in some of my favorite films of all time. Now, in Analyze This, he is playing the same role, in a very different way. DeNiro plays Paul Vitti, a mob boss with a problem. His emotions bring him down. He suffers anxiety attacks, one after another. Whenever he kills someone, let alone hurt their feelings, he breaks down. He cannot stand to watch people be upset or suffer. Worrying about his health, he sees a doctor to learn nothing is wrong with his heart. DeNiro decides he is going to see a psychiatrist to help him with his problems. The psychiatrist he sees is Ben, played by Billy Crystal. Ben is very scared to have Paul Vitti as a patient, considering Paul is one of the most feared and famous mob bosses in world. Ben is getting ready to be wed to Laura, played by the hilarious Lisa Kudrow.
Seeing Ben, Paul gains a lot from very little. It doesn't take much to please Paul at all. Some very funny sequences occur when Ben and Paul are talking about Paul's problem. Ben is trying very hard to get to the core of the problem with Ben. He thinks that it has a lot to do with the death of his dad, who was also a famed mob boss. As Paul and Ben see each other more and more, Paul needs Ben more and more. Paul will hunt down Ben anytime of the day, anywhere, including Ben's wedding, to find him and get help with the emotions he is feeling at that moment.
Robert DeNiro's talent has gone to waste in this film. DeNiro is one of today's best actors, and his performances are always top notch. It was in Analyze This as well, but unfortunately, he wasn't given a whole lot to work with. Robert DeNiro needs to choose his films more wisely, and not take part in films that are going to waste him. Billy Crystal is really in a slump. In his past few films, he has been horrible. In Analyze This, he isn't bad, but he certainly isn't back to where he used to be. His talent was also wasted in the film.
Lisa Kudrow's talent was also totally wasted in the movie. She was hardly in the film at all, and when she was she didn't get any funny lines. Kudrow has a lot of potential as a hysterical person, and she will have a wonderful career, but they should have brought her into the movie a lot more. At her wedding, when she explodes at Paul for a death at the wedding, she gives the type of performance from her I like to see. She seemed like her character Michele, in her best film to date, Romy And Michele's High School Reunion. This is the only sequence with Kudrow that works, and unfortunately, it wasn't very long.
It was a disappointment that all three of the lead actor's talent went to waste. The concept for the film was good, the cast was there, and a lot of potential was there. All of the requirements for a laugh riot were there, but the characters were not written well enough or interestingly enough to succeed.
Don't get me wrong, Analyze This wasn't bad, it's just that it wasn't worked to it's potential, and when that happens with a film, I do not think highly of it. If the stars were different, and they weren't as superb as the actors who did star in it, I would have probably thought more of the film because I knew that they worked to their potential. The movie was a good one, not bad, it was just disappointing. Before viewing the film, I thought it would be hilarious. It turns out that the cast doesn't mean a thing in films these days.
The Bottom Line- Such a great cast. Such a huge disappointment.
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