Analyze This
Robert DeNiro has the gangster pose down so well it seems to come as naturally as breathing. The squinty eyes, the pursed mouth, the willingness to pop a cap in anyone who looks at him sideways - this is, after all, the guy who played the young Godfather Himself. We've seen DeNiro the Gangster kick a man bloody, plot shady dealings and kill in cold blood. But we haven't seen him blubber like a baby or grapple with anxiety attacks - until now.
DeNiro is Paul Vitti, a major New York crime boss. The New York Mafia is hurting these days, and Vitti is counseled to convene with the other families to figure out how to make the mob more powerful in the chaotic 90's ("What do I need, a fuckin' Web site?", Vitti asks). He agrees to meet with them, but there's a problem - he can't show any weakness to the other families or he'll be crushed, but he's been crying at syrupy Merrill Lynch Insurance commercials and buckling under the stress of being a 24/7 tough guy.
Billy Crystal is Ben Sobol, a psychologist bored with listening to the puling of suburban housewives who can't please their men sexually. He accidentally plows into a long black car with a nasty surprise in the trunk, and the greaseballs driving the would-be hearse naturally refuse to call the cops, but take Sobol's business card under his urging. When Vitti pulls his confidant Jelly aside and tells him of his problems, Jelly remembers the business card and suddenly, Ben Sobol finds the most infamous mobster in the city on his couch.
It's an amusing premise, and it mainly works because the two men work well off each other. DeNiro gets to lampoon his old roles, and Crystal gets to be nervous and frustrated with psychotherapy techniques that are woefully inadequate for a man whose response to everything is to pull out a gun or threaten violence. Vitti's response to Sobol's explanation of the Oedipal complex is priceless, as is the moment when instead of wacking the guy who murdered his bodyguard, Sobol has Vitti call him up and try to explain his feelings of anger and conflict.
Director Harold Ramis is smart enough to let the humor grow out of the interactions between the two men, rather than forcing tired mob jokes down our throats. Don't get me wrong - this isn't a deep character study or anything, but the characters are more than just stereotypes (except for Lisa Kudrow's throwaway performance as Sobol's shrieking wife), and there's enough life in the characters to maintain your interest over the course of the film. Vitti's dim-witted but loyal sidekick Jelly in particular gives the film enough heart to ride over the occasional rough spots. While it's not a brilliant satire, Analyze This has enough wit and acting talent to make it a reasonably entertaining visit on the therapist's couch.
- Jared O'Connor
MOVIES
All Content © 1997, 1998, 1999 Jared O'Connor and Michael Baker