I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack. Be afraid. Be very afraid....
I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack. Be afraid. Be very afraid....
Member since:22.02.2001
Reviews:166
Members who trust:29
What a revelation this film turned out to be. I'd never thought of Robert De Nero as a king of comedy, but this film shows that the man's talents are boundless.
The plot is a simple and intriguing one.
Robert De Nero plays a mafia mobster called Paul Vitti. Finding himself running into emotional problems which leaves him unable to 'whack' his victims, his cohorts seek help for him via the services of a Psychiatrist called Ben Sobel, played by Billy Crystal.
Ben Sobel is an average, run of the mill shrink. His life is starting to sort itself out after a divorce, with plans for a new marriage and settling back down to a peaceful and happy existence. (His future wife is played by Lisa Kudrow, who is Pheobe in 'Friends' and you'll recognise this because I found her to be eerily similar in character to Pheobe. Good job that I like her as that). After meeting the mob by chance, he is introduced to Paul Vitti who takes a shine to him. As with any involvement with the mafia, trouble soon follows and Ben finds himself caught up with world of violence and dishonesty.
The film is hilarious. Full to bursting point with snappy one-liners and laid thick with irony, I sat happily spellbound as the story unfolded. The humour is both obvious and surprising, with magical performances from both De Nero and Crystal, whose comedic talents synchronised perfectly for the job.
In one scene, Paul Vitti has just survived an assassination attempt and Ben is in the room whilst he's making a phone call to the guy he's feels is responsible. Ben tries to guide Vitti through the conversation, getting him to use words like "closure" and to explain that the situation has upset him. Eventually he, Vitti, reverts to his mobster mentality, hurling invectives and threats down the phone before hurling it across the room. They eye each other as Vitti asks Ben how he coped with dealing with his anger on the phone, and Ben tries to pussyfoot his way round the shambles by suggesting that when he's feeling angry he hits a cushion instead. At which point Vitti takes out his gun and blasts one to smithereens. He then agrees that he feels better for it, and thus one more misinterpretation of Ben's attempts to help Vitti is laid on the road of their relationship.
Any fans of the Godfather films will catch onto some of the scenes replayed in this movie, adding an extra comedy diversion to the already extremely funny plot.
Timing is the key to good comedy, and this film never misses a beat. It doesn't have weak spots or poor links, and flows flawlessly along, suspending disbeliefs for the duration. Even for the brief snatch of serious acting that occurs towards the end, it doesn't seem out of place and the skills of De Nero keeps it plausible and necessary to the film. Even though it is called the lowest form of wit, I find sarcasm very amusing and I thought it was used well throughout.
The film has cleverly and observantly also picked up on the traits displayed by the differing lifestyles. Ben is laconic and shrewdly Jewish. Vitti the passionate, angry and terse Italian. At almost opposite ends of the scales in everything, they actually find they do have a common ground, and that it is also at the core of their beings.
Excellent. Thoroughly enjoyable, watchable and genuinely, genuinely funny, this is a film you should go out of your way to catch.
Currently doing the rounds on Sky Movies. Tape this.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
excilent opinion written by the auther and i am really impressed by that
the_wise_camel 03.09.2001 17:07
Hi, I thought the film was O.K.
Robert De Niro wasn't bad, but I couldn't stand Billy Crystal. His performance made me cringe.
I like Friends, don't get me wrong , I think it is a good show, but to see Phoebe, cos to be fair, it was Phoebe, didn't do it or her any favours.
Cheers.
Cast Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal together in a film and it should be a sucker's bet ... more
as to who's going to be funnier and who's going to give the more nuanced performance. Somehow, though, De Niro walks away with most of the laughs, mugging gleefull...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal team up with Lisa Kudrow, Chazz Palminteri and ... more
director/co-writer Harold Ramis to make you a comedy offer you can't refuse in this laugh-out-loud mob hit. De Niro, deftly spoofing the wiseguy roles that have been a stap...
Cast Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal together in a film and it should be a sucker's bet ... more
as to who's going to be funnier and who's going to give the more nuanced performance. Somehow, though, De Niro walks away with most of the laughs, mugging gleefull...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal team up with Lisa Kudrow Chazz Palminteri and ... more
director/co-writer Harold Ramis to make you a comedy offer you can't refuse in this laugh-out-loud mob hit. De Niro deftly spoofing the wiseguy roles that have been a stap...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Analyze This [DVD] [1999]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78548187.jpg "Analyze This [DVD] [1999]")
Jul 6th, 2001
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