Analyze
This
Reviewed
by Leonard Heldreth, December, 1999
In The Freshman Marlon
Brando had a chance to parody with great enthusiasm his Godfather
role, and Analyze This gives Robert DeNiro, who played the young Don
Corleone, the same opportunity. As Brando played off against Matthew
Broderick, DeNiro plays against Billy Crystal, and just as the casting
in the earlier film raised it above the sit-com level, so DeNiro and
Crystal create a classier film than the story and dialogue justify.
Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day) directs what
is essentially a one-joke plot: how can a therapist help a gangster
overcome childhood trauma and regain his cutting-edge ferocity? Paul
Vitti (DeNiro), the head of the New York mafia family, has started
crying during commercials, suffering from anxiety attacks, and finding
himself unable to satisfy his mistress. One of his henchmen, Jelly
(Joe Viterelli), literally runs into Dr. Ben Sobol (Billy Crystal),
a local analyst who is about to marry a Miami newscaster, and when
Vitti tells Jelly of his need, Jelly produces Sobol's card.
Much of the rest of the film replays with variations on
one essential scene: as Sobol meets with a patient, prepares for his
wedding, meets his fiancee's parents, or goes on his honeymoon, Jelly
appears and drags him off to help Vitti cope with his psychological
difficulties. Vitti, in gratitude, keeps showering Sobol with praise
and outrageous gifts—a fountain taller than his house, an orchestra
with a Las Vegas singer in his yard. In the background stands Primo
Sindone (Chazz Palminteri) who wants to take over the New York family,
but doesn't quite know how to deal with a foe who wants "closure
wid ya"—he sends one of his gunmen to the dictionary to
look up "closure." In the meantime, the FBI have heard about
a big Mafia meeting that is planned, and they try to extract information
from Sobol.
The film's plot is essentially a loose framework upon
which to hang a succession of one-liners poking fun at therapy and
at gangsters. Sobol tries to explain the Oedipus complex, and Vitti's
response is, "You ever seen my mother?" When Sobol suggests
that Vitti relieve his anger by punching a pillow, Vitti pulls out
an automatic and blasts the pillow several times. Sobol: "Feel
better?" Vitti: "Yeah. Yeah, I do!"
DeNiro reveals that behind his formidable acting talents
are some very impressive comedic talents. Dressed in sharkskin suits
(Sobol: "I can see my reflection in this suit") and sporting
a belligerent edge that cuts anyone who gets in the way, DeNiro takes
over the movie and most of the comedy scenes. When Sobol has a dream
in which he is shot, a dream that recreates the Godfather scene in
which Brando is shot, he sees Vitti as being too slow to save him.
When he tells Vitti, the gangster says, "I was Fredo? I don't
think so."
Analyze This may be a bit thin on plot, and all of the
humor may not work, but it's so full of jokes and of DeNiro's performance
that you can't help enjoying it.
