Analyze This
I've been looking forward to
seeing Robert De Niro laugh at himself for years. After all, every
new mobster role he's in seems to be bordering on self-parody anyway, almost
as if he wants to see just how much of GoodFellas he can insert into every
new job he gets. Finally, Analyze This gives him that chance and
then some.
The plot is straightforward
enough: De Niro's stressed out mobster Paul Vitti begins suffering from
increasingly severe panic attacks as the date of an historic mob meeting
looms ever closer. Humiliated as he finds himself suffering from
impotence and bawling at Puppy Chow commercials, Vitti decides to seek
professional help in the form of irritable therapist Ben Sobol (Billy Crystal),
who routinely fantasizes about throttling his vapid suburban patients.
Predictably, Sobol turns Vitti down ("What am I supposed to do," he complains,
"make you a happy, well-adjusted gangster?!") then finds himself given
an offer he can't refuse.
De Niro is utterly hilarious,
throwing himself into the role with the same gusto that caused him to gain
fifty pounds for the role of Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull. His reaction
to the concept of Oedipal complexes alone is worth the price of admission.
Crystal doesn't get as many juicy lines, mostly playing straight man to
De Niro's extravagances, but the script more than makes up for that at
the end, when Sobol is forced to impersonate a made man at the mobsters'
convention. Thank God; I knew Crystal could do better than
My Giant.
Analyze This
THE GOOD: Crystal's performance is the best we've
seen in years. De Niro shines in an uncharacteristically hilarious
turn, and the writing and direction are sharp.
THE BAD: Lisa Kudrow's character is shrill and
one-note...she's capable of a lot more than you'd suspect after seeing
this.
BOTTOM LINE: Definitely worthwhile. The more
gangster movies you've seen, the better it gets.
MY RATING: 76
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