Analyze This

This wasn't "hilarious" as everyone told me it was, but it was still very enjoyable and pretty solid entertainment. Although a comedy, it has violence and a lot of profanity.

Robert De Niro, as usual, is excellent and once again surprises viewers with his comedic talent. He plays a mobster (familiar territory) but one who needs psychiatric help. He's hilarious when he's crying! His "shrink" is played by Billy Crystal, in an untypical low-key character role. My favorite in this film was Joe Viterelli, the fat guy-mobster who has a few very funny lines. Viterelli is one of these guys you see in a ton of gangster movies and is always interesting.

The female lead in here, Lisa Kudrow ("Laura") was not appealing to me, character-wise. Overall, a funny movie and much better than the sequel.

I was looking forward to seeing ANALYZE THIS for many reasons. One, Billy Crystal is one great and funny comedian. Two, Robert De Niro is the king of crime-action movies. I mean, ever saw THE UNTOUCHABLES? Three, the storyline did seem like a very good idea that had never been done before. And four, I love Lisa Kudrow. I was not disappointed with this movie. There could have been more, but it is surely worth seeing. There were only a few instances that I started to really laugh, but there were plenty of good and funny jokes, as well as some good touches of mobster-like crime.

Ben Sobol (Billy Crystal) is a family psychiatrist who has a son and is engaged to the beautiful Laura MacNamara (Lisa Kudrow). He gets into a car accident with a dim-witted man Jelly (Joe Viterelli), who happens to be the right-hand man to Paul Vitti, (Robert De Niro) the most powerful mobster in New York. This leads to Vitti seeking the help of Sobol. Vitti gets into very emotional moods and anxiety attacks. He refuses to admit it because he doesn't want to show weakness before a big meeting with the heads of the mob group. Sobol must help Vitti realize his problems with his father, as well as try to survive among the gangsters.

The plot is very original and cool, but the unlikely mixture of crime and comedy might leave a stale taste in your mouth. The curse words in this movie can get a little out of hand for a comedy, but that's because of the crime added to it. They did not bother me at all, in fact I thought it was funny and pulled of very well, especially in scenes between Crystal and De Niro.

Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro work great together. Both do very good jobs at their performances, even though De Niro's crying scenes seemed a little fake. The one at the end was getting better, but they still looked forced. The gorgeous Lisa Kudrow, although probably a bit under-played, did a good job too. I also think Joe Viterelli did a good job as the stupid, funny mobster. He certainly looks the part of a mobster, and I think the comic touch in his role was pulled off well.

There were a few plot holes, however, such as the one with Billy Crystal's character having problems with his father. This is, arguably, used to further the plot between De Niro and his father, but it is never resolved for Crystal. There are also a few jokes that didn't work, but the jokes that do work completely make up for them. This movie is different from your average SNL-alumni comedy movie, but it's full of funny jokes and characters and is certainly worth a rent.

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Analyze This is not one of the best comedies ever,but it's certainly one of the best,inventive and most original in a long while.The script and comic timing are an ingenius success,and it's also intelligently compact,giving it little room to become ponderous and repetitive.Veteran gangster stars Chazz Palmenteri and Robert DeNiro gleefully lampoon their nasty gangster roles,to both chilling and uproarously funny effect.In the scenes where his charecter cries,DeNiro manages to stir up the emotions,but because he and his henchmen have such repulsive attitudes towards everyone,it's hard to like them,a detrimental thing in a comedy.The Italian-American's chemistry with co star Billy Crystal probably was'nt the most inspired or clever ever ,and Lisa Kudrow,not an overly talented performer anyway,is unintentionally wasted here in a mostly pointless role,and,like DeNiro,her relationship with Crystal is'nt the easiest to digest.Despite these minor hiccups however,AT is a hugely superior comic success ,with moments of absolute laugh out loud hilarity,and moments to touch the heart.Very impressive.****

The charm of this movie is in the concept and perfect casting. Robert De Niro satirizes his past performances as a Mafia boss. And Billy Crystal as the unwitting psychiatrist who gets involved in the mess. It's truly funny and entertaining. The movie mostly benefits from very good direction by Harold Ramis and excellent performance by the actors and not just De Niro and Crystal.

The verdict: 4 of 5 stars.

I really liked this movie. It was pretty damned funny. De Niro and Crystal made a good team. Sure, both De Niro and Crystal have built their careers on these characters (De Niro as the tough guy gangster and Crystal as the nuerotic worried guy), but just so long as they play them to perfection, like we know they can, then it's fine with me. This is also a fairly original idea, not never been done before, but still pretty clever.

Besides De Niro and Crystal, I though Lisa Kudrow was very funny. Once again, she plays a sort of ditzy blonde, but she does it well, even though I hear she is very intelligent. Chazz Plaminteri was also pretty funny. I liked the line "I wanna go see a movie, but it's all just violent shoot em' up s***; I get enough of that at work". The kid who played Billy Crystal's son did a good job.

I liked this movie because there was a mix of subtle humor and just being silly. I like how every single mafia stereo type is made fun of, like the thing with the nick-names, where Billy Crystal's character starts spouting off nonsense names like Sammy Da Schnoz, and Elmer Da Fudd. I good comedy for those who don't mind cussing (the previews should automatically drive you away if your opposed to cussing). 9/10