I Wasn't Really Gonna Whack You
 Oct 13th, 2003
Advantages:
De Niro Steals the Show, Crystal is fairly good, works well between them both .
Disadvantages:
Lisa Kudrow has been typecast into her Phoebe from Friends role again .
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
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Special Effects
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  Andy.mack
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Member since:29.08.2002
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Review rated by 57 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
A few years ago I noticed a film coming onto Sky Movies starring none other than Robert De Niro. It looked like his normal gangster role, which he does so well, but then I noticed one other thing, it also had Lisa Kudrow and Billy Crystal in it. Now that didn’t quite seem to fit but I thought its got De Niro in it and although I’m not a big fan of Crystal I decided to sit down and watch it. When mob boss Paul Vitti (Robert de Niro) starts to suffer from Panic Attacks it cause him great stress. He needs to see a shrink. Luckily whilst on the freeway his driver Jelly (Joe Viterelli) is rear ended by Dr Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal). However Jelly happens to have a body in the trunk and doesn’t want to take matters any further but Sobel insists and gives him a Business Card with his address on it. So when Vitti tells Jelly to find him a Head Doctor, the chance collision on the free way happens to have been ideal for Vitti.
Of course live isn’t easy for Sobel either, his parents aren’t going to be at his up coming wedding as his father has
a book signing. His son listens in on private sessions with his patients, whom he feels don’t over him a challenge any more. However his forthcoming marriage to TV presenter Laura McNamara (Lisa Kudrow) is going to change everything for Ben. That is of course until Vitti turns up at his office without an appointment to see the Doc in order to get his head straight. There’s only two weeks till the big meeting of the Bosses and Vitti needs to be back to his old self by then. However none of the other gangsters in town can find out about this and Vitti only tells his closest friends. However Sobel is being pestered by the FBI to let them spy on Vitti through him, so they can find out about this meeting.
In order to make sure Sobel cures him Vitti clears Sobel’s schedule so that he is his only client for the next 2 weeks. This causes problems for Ben as he’s worried about his other patients and the fact Vitti seems to believe he’s on 24 hour call doesn’t help matters. However when his wife to be finds out who Ben is treating, this causes further problems for him. This is one of those films, that the basic plot summary really doesn’t get across the feeling of just how funny it actually is. In places it’s subtle humour that works well in others it’s the blatantly obvious type but no matter, which type of humour it is the end result is a thoroughly enjoyable film, that really didn’t appeal to me when first released back in 1999.
The film comes from Director/Actor Harold Ramis, who was one of the stars of the Ghostbuster films and as a director brought us the classic Groundhog Day. It was important with this film to get the script right not only to suit the characters he had in mind but also the actors playing them. As a result the mafia dialogue is pretty close to what you would expect in a gangster film. The locations work well and for what special effects there are, they are done in such a way not to be over the top, making the film more enjoyable. However it’s the casting choice where I feel Ramis got it right, De Niro although famed for the more serious roles is superb as Vitti. His timing is spot on and he is very believable as a comedy actor. In fact De Niro really steals the show, but that shouldn’t take anything away from Crystal. As I’ve already said I’m not his biggest fan however he really is rather good in this, not his normal smug self. Nowhere near as impressive as De Niro but they do work well together.
The main let down for me however is Lisa Kudrow, she seem to have been type cast into that Pheobe from Friends type of character. She seems to always have that over the top kind of style and this film is no different, which is a great let down as I imagine if the character had been written a little differently she would have been really good. This really is a film worth seeing and along with the follow up Analyze That, De Niro and Crystal seem to have built up quite a partnership during this film, which I think really shows through during their time on screen together. This really is a must see if like me you are a De Niro fan, or if your not it’s a whole new side to the man who continues to make good films.
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![Analyze This [DVD] [1999]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78548187.jpg)
by (2%):
13.05.2004 13:34
I love this film!
15.10.2003 14:04
The better of the two (in my opinion). Great Op. Fran19 xx.
14.10.2003 23:56
I have been meaning to see this for ages, didn't know it was a Ramis... he is great :o)