"Go get a dictionary and find out what this 'closure' thing is..."      

ANALYZE THIS (R) 

Reviewed March 6, 1999 - Check out the Analyze This Website.

In Analyze This, Paul Vitti (Robert DeNiro) is a powerful New York mob boss who, for the first time in his life, has "issues."  He's anxious, he's confused, he's crying at sentimental TV commercials.  Basically, he's having a nervous breakdown.  Eager to get back to his old hard-nosed self, Vitti asks his right hand man Jelly (Joseph Viterelli) to find him a head doctor.  Yup, a psychiatrist...a shrink.

Enter Ben Sobol (Billy Crystal), a quiet suburban psychiatrist who treats his quiet suburban patients in his home.  When Vitti and Jelly barge into Sobol's office for an unscheduled session one day, Sobol finds that he just can't (literally, he can't) say no...and before he even knows what hit him, Sobol has a brand new patient! 

The idea of a ruthless mobster seeing a reluctant psychiatrist to find his "inner self" makes for a great comedic setup, and Analyze This definitely delivers.  Directed by Harold Ramis, Analyze This effectively captures the Godfather/Goodfellas mobster image, and turns it upside down.  Credit goes to both DeNiro and Crystal for being such a hilarious combination on-screen.  DeNiro's highly threatening yet emotionally fragile Vitti made me laugh more often (and more loudly) than I had expected to, as did Crystal's reluctant yet prodding psychoanalysis as Dr. Sobol.  Watching Sobol explain an Oedipal complex to Vitti, and then watching Vitti's horrified look, is just one of the many truly funny moments in this film.  Another is a scene in a hotel room, where the tough-as-nails Vitti watches a Merrill Lynch financial planning commercial (you know, where the father and son are walking on a beach), and begins BAWLING his eyes out. 

Yes folks, I laughed...I laughed a lot, and for that I would definitely recommend Analyze This as an entertaining distraction on some moviegoing evening.  While this film definitely has its flaws, including a badly handled subplot involving Sobol's wedding plans with his fiancee (Lisa Kudrow), it is generally upbeat and lively enough to remain interesting from beginning to end.  Good work, folks... :-)

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

juventus@wishmail.net says: "I think this is just perfect." (9/6/99)

melissa@everythingchanges.com gives this movie  stars: "It was funny, just needed to cut back on the language a bit..." (5/23/99)