Analyze That

What's the Plot?

Mob boss Paul Vitti (Roberts de Niro) is still in Sing Sing prison and is now nearing the end of his sentence. However, it seems that some people are not to happy with the idea of Vitti back on the streets and various attempts are made on his life, all unsuccessfully. This pressure appears to have pushed him over the edge as Vitti now can't stop signing songs from "West Side Story". The FBI agents monitoring him are baffled so they call in the one man who ever seemed to make a break through with him - his former psychotherapist Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal). However, Sobel already has enough problems of his own. With his father recently dead, Sobel has been plunged into an identity crisis, both personally and professionally. The FBI don't care about that and put Vitti into Sobel's custody giving him a deadline to find out whether he's faking his illness or not and to rehabilitate him into society. Of course that means constant supervision which won't impress Laura (Lisa Kydrow), Sobel's wife, when she finds out that Vitti's coming to stay! Can Sobel and Vitti help each other with their inner-demons?

Laura (Lisa Kydrow)

The Review

"Analyze This" was a good film. Not great, but it had an original concept on it's side: De Niro doing a hard man who keeps breaking down and crying. Different, funny, but like a condom it was a one-time only thing. The worrying thing for "Analyze That" is in it's 95 minute running time, there's really only 2 scenes that are memorable, but, most importantly for a comedy, funny! De Niro trying to sing his heart out is not one of them and cannot equal the thrill of seeing Mr.Tough Nut weeping like a girl at a telephone company commercial.

Ben Sobel (Billy Cystal)

It's a shame that a 4 year gap and an original cast gathering feels like a rushed, cash-in job that wasn't really worth the effort. Crystal this time round actually get's to upstage his heavyweight co-star through-out the film and it's he that win's the prize for biggest laugh. While trying to get De Niro's character a "proper job" as a consultant to a "soprano's" style TV programme, Crystal does a superb drunk as he demonstrates that alcohol and medication don't mix to well-especially at a dinner party in a sushi restaurant!

Paul Vitti (Robert de Niro)

The storyline that runs throughout the movie sees De Niro returning to crime despite his shrinks best efforts but even though it's quite well staged, the actual heist caper has bugger all to do with the rest of the script and to say that Sobel's involvement in the heist is tenuous is an understatement. Oh, and the second scene that puts the film out of the "1 Oscar " category? There's a bunch of out-takes during the end credits which only go to strengthen the fact that Billy Crystal is a proper comedian and knows just how to make people - the cast, crew and audience alike - laugh. Overall, disappointing!