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Starring:
Robert DeNiro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow, Joe Viterelli,
Chazz Palmenteri Directed by: Harold Ramis Written by: Peter
Tolan and Kenneth Lonergan Produced by: Paula Weinstein and
Jane Rosenthal
Crime
boss Paul Vitti has a problem. Lately, he's been experiencing
symptoms which he feels are the signs of a heart attack. After
one of his "attacks", he is rushed to the hospital. He is
carefully examined, then one of the doctors gives him the
good news - telling him it wasn't a heart attack at all, but
a mere panic attack. The problem just got worse.
Buy
Analyze This [1999] at Amazon!
A
major player in the mob having a panic attack? How would it
look to the rest of the organization? Something has to be
done about this. But since there is no "quick fix" medication
for Vitti, there is only one other solution - a shrink. They
decide to enlist the help of Dr. Ben Sobol, a psychiatrist
they ran into on the streets (in a hilarious chance encounter).
Sobol wants nothing to do with this, but these aren't exactly
the type of people you refuse. When Dr. Sobol is clued in
to that fact, he reluctantly agrees to counsel Vitti for two
weeks, attempting to help him get back in touch with the mobster
inside.
That's
the setup for "Analyze This", the very funny new film from
director Harold ("Groundhog Day") Ramis. The movie stars Robert
DeNiro as Vitti and Billy Crystal as Sobol. What they do is
create a couple of interesting characters from which the humor
stems, rather than forcing the jokes or stretching for laughs.
They understand that the situation these characters are in
is funny, so they don't feel the need to add extra "quirks"
to their performances, which lesser actors might have tried
to do. In an odd way, you could say they play their roles
straight. It takes a good deal of confidence to have that
much faith in their material, but it's that very confidence
that makes both performances quite good.
That
brings us to the material itself. The script, by Peter Tolan
and Kenneth Lonergan, is clever in the way it handles the
relationship between these two very different men. They could
have thrown in all sorts of silly sight gags and one-liners,
but instead give room for each character to breathe; Vitti
and Sobol are both allowed to think, reason, and maneuver
to try to get what they need. That's what makes their characters
interesting to watch. When Vitti realizes he can't use brute
force to make Sobol counsel him, he suddenly breaks down into
tears, attempting to play off the good doctor's sympathy.
Later, when Sobol senses his life may be in danger, he uses
his therapeutic skills to bail himself out. The other performances
add extra humor to the film, including Lisa Kudrow as Sobol's
soon-to-be-wife, providing his new "connection" to the mafia
doesn't get in the way; Joe Viterelli as Jelly, Vitti's number
one man, who grows to like Sobol, yet can't understand his
boss' need for a shrink; and Chazz Palminteri as Vitti's rival,
who senses something isn't quite right with the man and wants
to use that opportunity to move up in the criminal ranks.
By
bringing together two characters from different backgrounds
with different schools of thought, the film creates some very
funny sequences. (Vitti's reaction to Sobol's explanation
of Freud's Oedipus Complex is priceless.) But the movie also
gets us to care about these men, and that's where the real
achievement is. Each man has their own beliefs, values, and
way of handling certain situations. When filmmakers understand
their characters as well as they do here, they are able to
get the most out of their premise. "Analyze This" successfully
brings it all out into the open.
Copyright
2001 Michael Brendan McLarney Critically
Ill
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