Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot Here is a film that settles for a few good laughs. Instead of using its comedic touches to lighten up some truly darker themes, "Analyze This" plays it safe and silly. Dealing with two of our culture’s most problematic realities…organized crime and the pervasive need for "therapy," the film sidesteps these manifestations of our sick society in the name of some admittedly good comedic work that ultimately left this viewer feeling: "ha ha,… so what!"
There are a few incisive, truly revealing scenes that keep this movie in the ballpark…scenes that combine comedy with commentary. Billy Crystal is a riot when he fantasizes about lashing into one of his hysterical, self-flagellating clients, screaming at the wretched wench to go "get a life" and "shut the fug up!" His impersonation of the archetypal mugster is so 'on the money' that any thug who sees it has got to pause and take stock. Crystal is also right on the mark when he mimics the comeback remarks that therapists have become typically associated with. "What do you think, " for instance, echoing the patient’s same query.
DeNiro is also good for a few laughs as he unravels before our eyes, unable to continue being the sadistic brute his stereotype demands…suffering sexual consequences, anxiety attacks and a general crisis of confidence.
But all in all, there is just too much inanity. Mobsters interrupting wedding vows for emergency sessions with the shrink start to wear thin very quickly. Bodies in trunks, flying out windows, shoot outs…it’s too facile and hackneyed to be funny for very long.
What we really have here is a film that should have been about two different kinds of crime. One organized, another unorganized. One brutal and unforgiving, another ubiquitous, exorbitant and of questionable value,… both reaping inordinate profits from a society that has given itself over to political goons and "professional" gurus. Despite a few good chuckles……. not so funny when you think about it! _____________________________________________________________
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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]")
Nov 17th, 2004
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