Customer Reviews

Analyze This

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

This movie has great performances all around. It is very funny. I liked seeing Robert DeNiro cry. How could anyone dislike this comic look into the mafia.

What a cast!!!!! This movie is so good that I couldn't stay on my sofa. If you love comedy, then "Analyze This" is the movie to see. There is so much wonderful humor that will keep you watching this movie over and over. I hope you take my word for it, because if you don't see this movie, you will regret it!!

Funny bits and performances, but ultimately unsatisfying. The problem, I believe, is with the film's flat climax -- it just wasn't all that funny, or thrilling, or dramatic. Too bad. Crystal and De Niro give their usual excellent performances. Lisa Kudrow, however, steps right out of some sitcom with an annoying, winey wife-to-be performance in a throwaway subplot. The FBI subplot was one big cliche. The colors on the DVD seem over-saturated (I had to turn the color way down on my TV), and the night/dark-room shots had too much contrast. Still, it's worth a rental just to watch Crystal and De Niro!

Not less than what be would expect in a movie that includes two of the greatest actors that cinema brought to us. Crystal, as always, is the king of comedy and in every single gesture makes us want to make an appointment as soon as posible with this incredible doctor Sobol he composed. De Niro is the other jewel and once again he showned us that he can do any (any, really) character, no matter who or what, with an amazing talent. This two guys look great in the screen and the movie is worth because of this amazing couple. The only thing that looks odd in this film is Kudrow's acting. I believe ANY other actress could have done a better job than good old Phoebe. Perhaps it is because she had to deal working with this two marvelous actors, but the boy that plays Crystal's son had no trouble with that and did a wonderful work. Hmmm... I believe our time is up... So just let me tell you that I sure recommend this movie (specially to shrinks and people of their kind) and challenge everybody to say "NO" to it. You won't be able to. Believe me... ;)

I thought this movie never had a boring part. There was either a lot of action or comedy. This movie is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. I recommend you watch it.

In Analyze This, Billy Crystal once again proves his comedic wit, but it's another actor formally known for his dramatic roles that makes the bigger splash: Robert DeNiro!

Before this, the mere idea of DeNiro playing comedy could have been laughable. His strikingly dramatic screen presence as mob bosses, criminals and other dangerous men had been pounded into America culture. But it only took Analyze This to start a whole new career for DeNiro, and since then it's something both studios and the actor have taken advantage of. And that's simply because DeNiro is perfect for comedy. Sure he's still a mob boss in this film, but he's a mob boss with emotional problems. The mere sight of DeNiro sobbing like a five-year-old girl is hysterical. He manages to upstage the fantastic Crystal in every scene they're in together. And it's this role reversal that is truly makes this film work. Crystal is actually playing the straight man for once, letting the normally rigid DeNiro be the goofball.

While Analyze This may not be Crystal's greatest comedy, it does stand out in the crowd, if not only for establishing DeNiro's comedic qualities. Some of its weaknesses though include similarities between it and another patient/psychiatrist film, What About Bob (Which is, in my opinion, the funnier of the two), most notably the plot point of the patient following his doctor on vacation. Also we don't find out that DeNiro's character has a family until too late in the film. When we see him in bed with a girlfriend, it's not until halfway through we hear that he has a wife, and we're not told he has a son (an important plot element later in the film) until more than halfway into it. These faults are minor though, and don't detract much from the overall film.

Analyze This is simply an enjoyable comedy that first explored a fantastic actor's comedic side, and provides yet another Crystal success.

It's like de-ja-vu all over again. After watching "Analyze This," I had a strong sense that I'd been there before. No, not from HBO's "Sopranos" -- but from yet another film with the exact same (Mob-boss- sees-shrink) premise.

Several months ago, to my unexpected delight, I caught a film on Showtime called, "The Don's Analyst" starring Kevin Pollak & Robert Loggia.

Pollak (as the pyschaitrist) was never funnier on film (much more likable than the smug, mugging Billy Crystal) and Loggia was vastly more believable as the depressed Don then DeNiro.

His comic performance here was as memorable as his dance number with Tom Hanks in, "Big." He nailed the nuances like Nicholson nailed them in "Prizzi's Honor."

The film had that special magic ensemble quality with all the polish and panache of, "Moonstruck" (one of my all time favorites).

The sexy Sherilyn Fenn lit up the screen and the always funny Joe Bologna was in rare form.

Overall, I found, "The Don's Analyst" to be a funnier, smarter film with much more "heart." It resonated with me longer than these others who have mined the same comic vein.

Was this a little known independent that's now running on cable -- or a original cable movie that I never heard of?

Either way it speaks volumes about how sometimes big things come in small (hard-to-find) packages.

Here's one for the all underdogs. A small film that without all the hoopla, did it first -- and much better than the big boys.

First of all, I'm a huge fan of The Godfather and The Sopranos. I'm also a huge DeNiro fan as well. Despite some of the negative critics, I found this movie well worth seeing due to DeNiro's display of comedy. The commentary by DeNiro and Crystal (DVD) provided unique insight from the actors perspective. The hilarious gag reel truly humanized a great actor of DeNiro's calibur...

This film is hilarious. It borrows from all the gangster themes and really works as a comedy with an original story with elements of a spoof too. Crystal and DeNiro are superb, as are the supporting cast of gangsters. However, who cast Lisa Kudrow in this? She has shown yet again that the only role she can play is Phoebe. Her part is small but she still manages to be just as annoying as always. Really out of her depth in this company.