Analyze This
1999
Stars: Billy Crystal, Robert DeNiro, Lisa Kudrow, Chazz Palminteri, Joe Viterelli, Kyle Sabihy.
Director: Harold Ramis.
Plot: One day while driving home, psyhciatrist Ben Sobol(Billy Crystal) accidently rams into the back of the car that's in front of him when he's being distracted by his son Michael(Kyle Sabihy). Though he doesn't see what happens, the car's trunk pops open and we see a man tied up and gagged. The driver of the car is frantically trying to shut the door while Ben is offering his lawyer's name for insurance. He gives the driver his card, but the driver says they won't do anything as long as he says that he didn't see what was in the trunk. When Ben arrives home, he's getting prepared for his marriage to Laura(Lisa Kudrow), a news reporter. When the mobster gets back to the office, he finds out that one of the top guys in the mob, Paul Vitti(Robert DeNiro) has a "friend" that has emotional problems. We know that it's Paul, but he doesn't confess to it. The driver gives him Dr.Sobol's card and Paul accompanied by his partner/bodyguard Jelly(Joe Viterelli) pay a visit to Dr.Sobol. Paul is having all these problems because there's an important meeting of all the head honcho's and he's nervous of confronting Primo Sindone(Chazz Palminteri). Dr.Sobol spends most of the movie trying to help out Paul Vitti so that he or himself doesn't get killed while trying to get married which always gets interupted.
My Thoughts: This is one of the fews comedies that's come out recently that hasn't been totally silly but it works. It works because there's a plot and the mobster's don't act like idiots, they act like how a mobster would act, just there are funny moments in the movie. Lisa Kudrow doesn't add much to the movie, she just goes around begging Crystal to marry him, which does finally happen. Also, DeNiro does a great job playing a mobster accept that when he cries, it looks very fake. There are many funny lines in this. One of my favorite, is when Vitti is talking about why he has a girlfriend and a wife, Dr.Sobol asks what does the girlfriend do that his wife can't, and he responds, "those are the lips that she kisses my kids with". Jelly, Vitti's sidekick also has many funny lines in the movie. The whole time, there are FBI agents who are trying to track down Vitti, but they don't fit into the plot that well. I found this to be a really good comedy, and I think adults as well as kids will enjoy it.
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