Review: ANALYZE THIS
[Warner Brothers]
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow
Chazz Palminteri,
Review by: Joy Wyse, the SILVER Screen Critic
Insecure psychiatrist, Ben Sobol [ Crystal] rear-ends the car belonging to mob boss Paul Vitti [De Niro] whose henchmen are hilarious trying to close the car's trunk carrying a bound and gagged soon-to-be corpse. Later, when Vitti casually asks if either of them knows of a good psychiatrist to help a `friend' they produce the business card that Sobol had given them. Suddenly, Sobol has a new patient and his life changes forever. Just imagine how all of the mobsters feel when they realize that Vitti is probably telling all of their secrets to an outsider.
The friction between Vitti and rival Sindone [Palminteri] is only part of the plot. Not only is Sobol living in his father's shadow, he is engaged to marry Laura [Kudrow], a relationship that keeps being interrupted by Vitti's needs.
There are some very funny moments in this film but there is a lot of foul language as well. Sure, gangsters may talk that way but Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney never had to resort to such dialogue on film and they were the epitome of underworld figures. I would have enjoyed it a lot more without the four letter words, especially seeing that it is aimed at teenagers who need to add better choices to their vocabularies. Oh, speaking of children - Sobol has an obnoxious son who conveniently and thankfully disappears in the second half of the movie. We really never get to know him. They should have left him out entirely. He was only there for the few jokes that he generated, but he wasn't worth it. This isn't a bad movie. It just isn't a real good one. Except for the language and some nudity, it's an OK way to pass a couple of hours. I'd give it a B-. I would watch it again, on free TV.
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