We, as critics, have taken it upon ourselves to turn the magnifying glass on an aspect of society, and then report on it. Whether we get paid for it (which I do not, yet, but I hope to some day), or not, we feel, for whatever reason it may be, that we are infinitely qualified to analyze a piece of work that someone else has done. From this perspective, maybe we can relate to psychiatrists, in that, people come to us, for help, and expert analysis, on that which they do not understand (okay, maybe a bit of a stretch, but go with me here). I have always found movies about the analysis, and explanation of someone’s mind, to be intriguing, when well done, or insipid, when not. Mel Brooks High Anxiety was a hilarious take on the profession, while Final Analysis, was monotonous and pointless. Somewhere in between those two movies comes Analyze This.

There is no real structured plot thread, but more of a really well executed idea from a story meeting. I can hear it now.

"Hey, what if we take a mobster, a cold blooded killer, who suddenly develops a complex about killing, and can't"

"Yeah, and we can take a known tough guy, and pair him with a straight man as his psychologist, hilarity will ensue"

I have a feeling that's what a fly on the wall heard at this idea meeting. There are humorous scenes that will immediately pop into your head, as will happen when presented with potentially funny scenario, and for the most part they are executed here, and done pretty well. This is never a movie where you fall out of your seat laughing (i.e. Something About Mary), but it is definitely a movie where you will laugh, out loud several times, and smile at other little spoofing jokes.

Surprisingly, this movie works as a spoof of mobster movies, making fun of so many cliché’s from films like The Godfather and Goodfellas.

Some may be surprised at DeNiro's adept, and wonderful comic touch, and timing, but I hearken back for those people to check Midnight Run, another smoothly enjoyable and comic turn.

A couple of suggestions though

1. Please, do not ever have Robert DeNiro cry onscreen again; it was fake, forced and not even remotely believable. I wanted to laugh, and even thought he was kidding, until I saw otherwise, and was appalled. DeNiro is a wonderful actor, but crying is not his forte
2. Please do not waste the talents of Chazz Palmenteri on such a throwaway role as a rival mobster. Chazz’s talents run much deeper than this performance, where he basically just yells, scowls, and acts tough a lot