esmorr
This would be a good movie if not for all the swearing. The "F" word is used far too liberally for me to have enjoyed this picture. Yes, yes, I can hear you all screaming "authenticity" where street language is part of a movie, but honestly, we can get by without it and still end up with a much more enjoyable picture-going time. Just look at all the movies that were made in the 50's and 60's. There was not a "B" or an "F" word among them and we still loved the movie-going experience and enjoyed the movies all the more! The acceptance of bad language in movies has come about because so many people these days have not been taught right from wrong, and so they fail to understand that such language does not belong in our entertainment. This contribution to the decline of our society is allowed to fester and pervade every aspect of our daily existence but it should not be so. You might think it's alright to include gutter-talk in movies, but I would have enjoyed this picture so much more without all the "F's". I also have the sequel to this picture, ("Analyse that"), but I will not be watching it because I already know that it will just be more of the same. I find it disappointing that a couple of potentially good movies with otherwise great actors have been ruined for me. I have rated this one a 7 only because of the comical story-line and the fact that Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal are good together in this, but now I will be throwing both of these pictures into the rubbish where they belong! I will not let my family see these movies and feel degraded by them as I was!
g-bodyl
Analyze This happens to be a much better comedy than expected and not only it's witty, it's well-acted, well-directed, and just a fun movie to watch. Coming in a decade that features many high-profile gangster films, it's nice to see one that's not taken too serious. This film has many references to the Godfather trilogy which is pretty ironic. That can only make this film funnier.Harold Ramis's film is about a mob boss named Paul Vitti who seeks counseling for his emotional problems before he heads out to a mobster convention. The only problem is that his psychiatrist, Ben Sobel wants nothing to do with him.One thing that surprisingly works well in this movie is the unlikely pair-up of Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal. Based on their pedigrees, one wouldn't expect this to work out but it sure does. DeNiro relishes this role to make fun of his typecast mafia roles while Crystal does the kind of comedy he is good at. It's evident here that they had a good time and the chemistry is top-notch.Overall, Analyze This is a funny "spoof" of mafia films and it turned out better than I expected. Every time DeNiro does his "You're good" quote to Crystal, I just can't stop laughing especially due to Crystal's well-timed facial expressions. While not a perfect film, it's very enjoyable. Kudos to Harold Ramis in making this film work. I rate this film 9/10.
gavin6942
A comedy about a psychiatrist (Billy Crystal) whose number one-patient is an insecure mob boss (Robert DeNiro).I have to give these guys credit. DeNiro allegedly wanted the film to be authentic, getting actors from Little Italy. The restaurant scenes were also shot in restaurants that had been gangland murder scenes. Very cool. I was already drawn in from the opening with the Apalachin sequence. While maybe not completely accurate, it is clear the writers made a serious attempt and I appreciate that.Heck, I do not even normally like Billy Crystal, but he really comes through here. The casting of Lisa Kudrow is a bit odd, but it is a comedy so I suppose that is fine. DeNiro shines, as always. He has somewhat typecast himself, but it works... so, hey, that is fine by me.
ElMaruecan82
If there's one thing that cinema taught us: it's the inner comedic value of the gangster world. While they used to portray charismatic and one-dimensionally villainous characters in the Warner Bros pre-Code years, or tormented souls in 40's or 50's film noirs and the French new wave, one movie changed everything: "The Godfather". Francis Ford Coppola's crime epic made a world out of the underworld, a universe with codes and dress codes, names and nicknames, principles such as loyalty, Family, Omerta and as many tight-lips as there were squealers. It put morality in a world of immorality and paved the way to a never-ending fascination between movie lovers and gangsterism.Indeed, no matter how we feel when the ending credits start, the initial feeling is often fascination. And one director in particular made it all the more entertaining because it was grippingly faithful to reality: Martin Scorsese, Marty who was to Gangster films what Ford was to Westerns. His "Goodfellas" provided the most dramatic example of how cruel and amoral the gangster world could be, but how can't anyone laugh at the presentation of a colorful character like Frankie Carbone or "Jimmy Two-Times"? De Niro made his gangster film through "A Bronx Tale" but you couldn't tell when the dramatic homage stopped and the unintentional parody started. It all started with "The Godfather", and Robert De Niro is probably the most emblematic of all the actors who played gangsters. So, it is not surprising for a gangster comedy like "Analyze This" to make the most references to "The Godfather" and to have De Niro as the main protagonist, playing Paul Vitti, a mob leader with deep emotional problem, a Don who is slipping, as would say Virgil 'The Turk' Sollozo (May he rest In Peace). Harold Ramis had the richer source of inspiration and the best actor to carry it, and I guess the reason it worked so well is because, as I said, there's a lot of natural comedy in gangster movies without the need of exaggeration (Brian de Palma's "Scarface" is another brilliant example as a drama full of unintentional comedy) and De Niro doesn't need to force himself to become funny. He made the same mimics in "Casino" and it was not supposed to be a comedy, hell even Brando's performance as Vito Corleone deliberately flirted with caricature."Analyze This" is funny because it doesn't try to be so, as if it was conveying the irony of Joe Pesci's Tommy De Vito who made Henry Hill burst out laughing in "Goodfellas" and then started asking what was so funny, one of the film's most famous scenes. Harold Ramis picked the right tonality, and it was crucial because a parody would have severely damaged the appreciation of the film, there was a spoof-movie of "The Godfather" made one year earlier (Lloyd Bridges' last film), and it was a critical fail. You don't need to make funny parodies of gangster films, just pay tribute to them with a comedic tone. Well, I guess, I made this point very clear, but that's the first thing that elevates the level of "Analyze This". Now, let's get to the second thing that serves the comedy: the presence of a 'straight man', it's the role of Billy Crystal's character, Dr. Sobol, as the psychiatrist who's asked to take care of Vitti, the kind of offer he couldn't, for his greatest displeasure, refuse. Now, just imagine yourself facing Vito or Michael Corleone, or a gangster of the same caliber. You know whatever you say must content him, if a "yes" gives a "no", then say "no", and vice versa. The first interactions between Vitti and Sobol are pure comedic gold, because they always carry this threatening presence. Vitti is vulnerable enough not to get too upset and even cry sometimes, De Niro delivers one of his finest comical performances, proving again his versatility, yet he's also capable to show the face of danger to make himself clear. And Sobol is the outsider; the common man who wants no troubles and yet gets himself stuck in situations none of us would want to be trapped. When he's encountered by Jelly, Vitti's henchman in an aquatic park and refuses to meet Vitti, you find him in a shark aquarium, sometimes, the film allows itself a sort of over-the-top humor, but it's always funny.But if the film works thanks to the Crystal and De Niro pairing, the Auguste and the white- faced clown, the scene-staler is definitely the late mug-faced Joe Vitterelli as Jelly, the man who only understands one language, intimidation, killing, bribing and protecting, the Mafia ABC. When a pedant doctor tells Vitterelli he had an attack, Jelly casually gets up and close the room's curtains, he is the wink to our gangster cinematic knowledge. He's so professional in the way he carries Vitti's tasks that the way he pops us in Sobol's most private lives is absolutely irresistible. If only for De Niro, Crystal and Vitterelli, the film is worth a watch, not to diminish the merit of Lisa Kudrow, weird but efficient as Sobol's fiancé, Chazz Palminteri as Primo Sindone, Vitti's archenemy, and many faces you'd remember from Scorsese's mafia classics.Last point, the film even recreates a scene from "The Godfather", when Vito is shot in the orange stand, and when Sobol reveals to Vitti that he was playing the role of Fredo in the nightmare, Vitti's reaction said it all "I was Fredo, I don't think so?" the film remarkably interferes with the Gangster's pop-culture, denouncing its comical undertones. And it pinnacles in a scene near the end, when Sobol acts like he's the consiglieri of Vitti and try to recall all his gangster memories not to raise suspicions. That's the fundamental basis of "Analyze This" comical genius: if you don't like gangster films, you'll have fun laughing at them, if you like gangster films, you'll love "Analyze This".
