ANALYZE THIS (1999) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1999 Ted Prigge
Director: Harold Ramis Writers: Peter Tolan, Harold Ramis, and Ken Lonergan Starring: Robert DeNiro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow, Joe Viterelli, Richard C. Castallano, Chazz Palminteri, Kyle Sabihy, Bill Macy, Leo Rossi, Max Casella, Molly Shannon, Tony Bennett
The early buzz on "Analyze This" has already deemed it the Best Film of 1999, and strangely enough, not more than two months into this year, this is what we have to single out as the best film so far. The first couple months of the year are filled to excess with films left over from last year that were originally supposed to get a nice, pre-January release amongst the rest of the winners, and luckily enough we get to see films that were released only partially before January to take advantage of a potential Oscar nomination that are still being released (I believe Boorman's much-touted "The General" is due in a couple weeks). Then there are the other kinds of films -- the ones that were actually supposed to be released in '99 and weren't actual holdovers because of a lack of studio support, and these films luckily enough show that they actually are good films, although this kind of film is extremely rare. And so we have "Analyze This," one of the first 1999 release on purpose, and one which, while isn't going to be topping either my best or worst lists at the end of this year, it is currently topping my best-of-99 (for the record, this list consists of this and "Payback"), although I doubt that it'll occupy that place for longer than a couple weeks at best.
Oft hilarious, and boasting a silly premise that would cause Ivan Reitman to blush, "Analyze This" is a suprisingly smart and original comedy without ever actually being drop-dead great. Like several films of its kind, it's not funny in a totally consistent way and several elements don't exactly work. Unlike those kinds of films, it covers its bases by being consistently clever and managing to stretch out an otherwise lame premise into an hour and forty-five minutes of celluloid without ever feeling tiresome or losing steam. The premise, if you haven't heard it yet, is the kind that sounds exactly like a studio pitch: a mob boss goes to a jewish therapist. It drops two actors known for filling those stereotypes with life and, best of all, with box office returns (though not all the time): Robert DeNiro, playing the uptight mafiaso, and Billy Crystal, playing the nervous analyst. You can almost hear the oo's and ah's from studio heads when you hear this. Next, they bring in a director known for lightweight comedies, Harold Ramis (they could have easily gotten Frank Oz or, yeah, Ivan Reitman), shoot it, do an ad campaign, and watch the money roll in.
Of course, "Analyze This" hasn't been released yet, and for all I know, it could be another in a recent line of bombs for Crystal or another mediocre quasi-hit for DeNiro, but nevertheless, this is a film designed almost from a Hollywood mold. For the most part it plays like that, but that it's actually successful as a clever and witty piece of americana comedy is what makes it better than, say, "Kindergarten Cop" or "Twins," just to name two films that once scored with audiences with ridiculous premises and are now looked down upon with regret (well, at least by me). I may regret saying this, but I doubt I'll ever hate myself for enjoying the hell out of this flick. "Analyze This" scores by making us actually seeing a reason why these two very different stereotypes would come together: a mob boss undoutedly has a whole lot of stress built up over the years, and "Analyze This" almost seems to be jumping on the bandwagon of "Grosse Pointe Blank," and saying that if anything, the latter half of the '90s is a time not for everyone to be a wild neurotic, in search of an analyst to make him (or her) feel better about themselves, including gangsters.
DeNiro's character, one Paul Vitti, has a whole lot of stress, and at first seems too stubborn to take care of it logically (he has a doctor rubbed over a bit when he tells him he had a panic attack and not a heartattack), but when one of his henchmen (Joe Viterelli, the mob boss from "Bullets Over Broadway") has a small car accident with a therapist (Crystal) and is given his card to perhaps pay for any damages, Vitti decides to go ahead with it. The therapist, Ben, is himself a little bored with his job, tired of hearing overly neurotic patients (one of them being a wonderfully whiny Molly Shannon), but is still reluctant to have a mob boss as one of his patients, indeed his primary patient, not the least because Vitti's sudden strike of anxiety coincides with his upcoming wedding to a Miami-based meteorologist (Lisa Kudrow). And when Vitti forces Ben to help him, interupting several key moments in his life (his wedding. twice.), he discovers that the FBI is on to him and wondering who he is and what his connections are to Vitti. Ben never becomes exactly joyful that he's helping Vitti (except when he finally learns some cold hard truths about his past that are oh so freudian), but Vitti doesn't care because all he wants is a quick psychological fix before his big bosses meeting in a couple weeks, where he has to be able to pull himself together emotionally and show what a big, powerful, tough man he is, not the weeping sap that he turns into every now and then.
Among many things, "Analyze This" promises the hilarious, priceless sight of DeNiro weeping uncontrollably several times (once during a maudlin commercial) along with the toughness that DeNiro can bring to any role, both which are used to comic effect. And though it's mighty humorous to see DeNiro showing good spirits and parodying his macho, testosterone toughness in movies like "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas," and though he's great, Crystal nearly upstages him in one of his five best performances. Nervous but rigid, controlled yet flustered, Crystal is absolutely priceless, and by being so reserved, he's much easier to intake than in other more over-the-top and slightly unbearable performances, where he's constantly trying to win you over with an overly-anxious energy paired with rip-offs of vaudevillian jokes ("Forget Paris," I'm looking your way...). Together, they may not be the next Abbot and Costello or even Matthau and Lemmon, but they're opposite personalities and the way they respect eachother's respective personality traits makes "Analyze This" into a rather smooth and digestible comedy.
The screenplay's not half bad either: there are plenty of lovely one-liners, that's sure, and the official first funny joke concerning the Internet that I've heard, but there's also a surprising amount of nice story development there too, and none of the subplots really seem to be overbearing or not milked well enough (save for bits and pieces with Kudrow, who's underutilized for as talented as I think she is...and yes, I realize she's a "Friends" cast member co-starring in a movie, but let's face it, she's the one with the good deal of movie smarts). Subplots involving the FBI and a vindictive fellow mob boss (Chazz Palminterri) are used nicely, and most terrific of all, the film never ever resorts to sappy sentamentalism. Everything's handled with the correct tone of light-handedness (even the violence is non-shocking), and Ramis and company make sure we can't take a second of this seriously (when you see films like these, you really feel grateful when it doesn't succumb to sappiness).
If there's anything I object to about it, it's that there are times when it goes too over-the-top, most of all including bits of interuption he has in his life, and most of all, an admittingly humorous scene towards the end, but one that still felt too far-fetched, even for an otherwise light comedy (cough that one up to lazy jokemaking, I guess). But otherwise, "Analyze This" is a surprisingly original comedy: one that takes a totally off-the-wall premise, and not only makes it very funny and very clever, but also keeps working on it, exposing a shocking amount of intelligence and consistent wit, and never makes you feel like a moron for laughing at it. I know this will sound like a dramatic overstatement, but I really haven't left a flat-out comedy feeling this good since "There's Something About Mary" (though for the record, "Mary" was funnier and even more intelligent - in fact, you could say "Mary" was the really good version of "Analyze This," only more naughty jokes). So I guess, at least for now, "Analyze This" is the best film of 1999. Though that's probably gonna change, unless the apocalypse really is coming up.
MY RATING (out of 4): ***
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