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(More customer reviews)Once again we have a movie centered on the Italian Mafia. There have been so many movies, both serious and comic, on this subject that we tend to know in advance every possible outcome. The twist here is rather clever. Mob boss Paul Vitti [Robert De Niro] is having an emotional crisis that is interfering with his work. He confides in his right-had man, Jelly [Joe Viterilli]. Coincidentally, Jelly's car was rear-ended the day before by a prominent psychiatrist, Ben Sobel [Billy Crystal]. They go to Sobel's office, where Vitti demands to be cured of his problem. Sobel agrees to treat him. It's not as though he has much of a choice.
Sobel now has a number of problems to deal with. His profession deals with people's emotions. Vitti is from a world where real emotion is thwarted by a macho code of behavior. Only Jelly knows he is seeing a shrink. For the rest of the mob to know would bring dishonor. Sobel is also about to get married, or he thinks he is. What he quickly finds out is that working for Vitti means he is on call twenty-four hours a day. This ensures that the wedding day will be a disastrous one. Soon the FBI is investigating Sobel for gang related activities. His life is seriously disrupted, yet he secretly finds it exhilirating.
There are several good sight gags in Analyze This. When Sobel runs his car into the rear of Jelly's Lincoln, the trunk pops open to reveal to all the world a man tied up inside. Jelly's efforts to distract Sobel are hysterical. There are also several clever dream sequences, which play havoc with Freudian psychology.
This is the first picture in a long time where the talented Billy Crystal is always in command, even in his scenes with the great De Niro. His character gives him an opportunity to stretch his comedic abilities. De Niro has lately been stretching his own enormous range. This is his second comedy in two years, the first being the much better written political satire Wag the Dog.
The only time he falters is in the first scene in which he cries. It's a rather startling display, but once you get used to it, it's suitable to the part he is playing. In any case, it is quite clear that he is mastering the comedy genre, which many actors claim is the hardest one to play well.
Do not go into Analyze This expecting that, since it has an extraordinary cast, it is going to be somehow superior. Go in expecting only to be entertained. I imagine you will enjoy yourself if you don't try to analyze it.
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A Mafioso decides he needs psychotherapist and the doctor he chooses isn't pleased to be chosen to make the don a well-adjusted gangster.Genre: Feature Film-ComedyRating: RRelease Date: 8-FEB-2005Media Type: DVD
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