User reviews

Analyze this is a fine movie, with a great cast of likable characters and an interesting storyline. Billy Crystal plays Ben Sobel a psycho-therapist who practises in the shadow of his brilliant father, and is due to marry the woman of his dreams (Lisa Kudrow). Robert De Niro plays Paul Vitti, a mafia crime boss who is struggling with his emotions and his libido. This satirical slant on the classic mobster movies is excellently played out by Crystal and De Niro, who form a formidable comedy duo, with plenty of laughs.

Rated 15 'Analyze This' doesn't shy away from profanity and violence, ensuring that it fits into the mobster theme seamlessly, delivering us a highly enjoyable movie without offending fans of the mobster genre.

8/10

I was looking forward to seeing ANALYZE THIS for many reasons. One, Billy Crystal is one great and funny comedian. Two, Robert De Niro is the king of crime-action movies. I mean, ever saw THE UNTOUCHABLES? Three, the storyline did seem like a very good idea that had never been done before. And four, I love Lisa Kudrow. I was not disappointed with this movie. There could have been more, but it is surely worth seeing. There were only a few instances that I started to really laugh, but there were plenty of good and funny jokes, as well as some good touches of mobster-like crime.

Ben Sobol (Billy Crystal) is a family psychiatrist who has a son and is engaged to the beautiful Laura MacNamara (Lisa Kudrow). He gets into a car accident with a dim-witted man Jelly (Joe Viterelli), who happens to be the right-hand man to Paul Vitti, (Robert De Niro) the most powerful mobster in New York. This leads to Vitti seeking the help of Sobol. Vitti gets into very emotional moods and anxiety attacks. He refuses to admit it because he doesn't want to show weakness before a big meeting with the heads of the mob group. Sobol must help Vitti realize his problems with his father, as well as try to survive among the gangsters.

The plot is very original and cool, but the unlikely mixture of crime and comedy might leave a stale taste in your mouth. The curse words in this movie can get a little out of hand for a comedy, but that's because of the crime added to it. They did not bother me at all, in fact I thought it was funny and pulled of very well, especially in scenes between Crystal and De Niro.

Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro work great together. Both do very good jobs at their performances, even though De Niro's crying scenes seemed a little fake. The one at the end was getting better, but they still looked forced. The gorgeous Lisa Kudrow, although probably a bit under-played, did a good job too. I also think Joe Viterelli did a good job as the stupid, funny mobster. He certainly looks the part of a mobster, and I think the comic touch in his role was pulled off well.

There were a few plot holes, however, such as the one with Billy Crystal's character having problems with his father. This is, arguably, used to further the plot between De Niro and his father, but it is never resolved for Crystal. There are also a few jokes that didn't work, but the jokes that do work completely make up for them. This movie is different from your average SNL-alumni comedy movie, but it's full of funny jokes and characters and is certainly worth a rent.

The charm of this movie is in the concept and perfect casting. Robert De Niro satirizes his past performances as a Mafia boss. And Billy Crystal as the unwitting psychiatrist who gets involved in the mess. It's truly funny and entertaining. The movie mostly benefits from very good direction by Harold Ramis and excellent performance by the actors and not just De Niro and Crystal.

The verdict: 4 of 5 stars.

ANALYZE THIS / (1999) ***

It has been a long time since I have seen a comic duo form a better shtick than Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal in the mob comedy "Analyze This," a smart, amusing satire from director Harold Ramis ("Multiplicity," "Groundhog Day"). For a movie like this to succeed past a commercial level, chemistry between the main characters must be amiable and spirited. Crystal and DeNiro indeed mold amiable incentive between themselves, therefore quite a few hilarious moments emerge from their perception of the well-written script by Kenneth Lonergan, Peter Tolan, and Ramis himself.

"Analyze This" details the lives of two very different individuals. The first person is played by Billy Crystal, a calm, cool, and collected psychiatrist named Ben Sobol, who is divorced with a young teenage son and is engaged to soon wed a resigning TV reporter named Laura MacNamara (Lisa Kudrow). Ben is currently dealing with a emotional patient (Molly Shannon) distressed because her spouse left and filed a restraining order on her. This woman's problems will seem like nothing when Ben obtains his new client.

Robert DeNiro plays the second person this movie examines, the most powerful mobster in the city of New York, Paul Vitti. He and his accomplices, including a chubby and clumsy bodyguard named Jelly (Joe Viterelli), are in the process of significant business when Vitti experiences an anxiety attack. On the road to a nervous breakdown, this emotionally vulnerable man comes to Ben after Jelly briefly encounters the therapist during a minor car accident. Ben is very nervous with his new patient, who forces compliments and demands upon him.

The first confrontation sequence between Ben and Paul is quite engaging. There is an instant odd couple chemistry among the two characters. The witty sessions Sobol and Vitti consummate are also very imaginative and smart. The scenes also have the intelligence to take Vitti's emotional problems seriously.

The setup accurately introduces both the gangsters and the psychiatrist's family. We understand the mob boss's feelings of stress and depression; this picture is not all shallow slapstick comedy, there is a dimensional human touch. The film takes its conflicts seriously, but executes them in a cute humorous style. The audience can also relate to Billy Crystal's character, who is an average Joe with a typical American family in a complicated situation in which he is not entirely sure how to handle.

Both external and internal conflicts are interestingly accomplished, well structured, presented, and written. The film does a good job of convincingly bringing the world of mobsters to life with well-cast actors and their rich, stylish accents.

Paul Vitti's sexual life needed more exploration; although his adulterous intentions do induce a few laughs, the story could have gone somewhere with his infidelity. Vitti's family is also irresolute. The film almost never portrays them on screen and seldom does Paul himself discuss his children and wife. The Lisa Kudrow character is furthermore underwritten, never thoroughly examined and very shallow. The lack of chemistry amid Kudrow and Crystal leads to the unconvincing relationship Ben occupies.

Robert DeNiro is the perfect option for the comic role of Paul Vitti, who is a more difficult character than it may appear. DeNiro triggers a sharp comic edge and gives the right amount of exaggerated sentimentality to Vitti. Lisa Kudrow is fun to watch, producing a dim-minded character whimsically similar to the one in her hit TV sitcom "Friends." Chazz Palminteri and Joe Viterelli contribute different but energetic supporting roles.

"Analyze This" is unmistakably the right kind of movie for Billy Crystal. I am unaware of another Hollywood comedian who could have conquered his role with more proficiency and mirth; he is one of the main components that makes "Analyze This" work well. Harold Ramis's comedy obviously borrows ideas from past comparable films like "Grosse Point Blank" and "Mafia," but as this production proves, just because it was done before doesn't mean it cannot be successfully accomplished again with the right casting.

This wasn't "hilarious" as everyone told me it was, but it was still very enjoyable and pretty solid entertainment. Although a comedy, it has violence and a lot of profanity.

Robert De Niro, as usual, is excellent and once again surprises viewers with his comedic talent. He plays a mobster (familiar territory) but one who needs psychiatric help. He's hilarious when he's crying! His "shrink" is played by Billy Crystal, in an untypical low-key character role. My favorite in this film was Joe Viterelli, the fat guy-mobster who has a few very funny lines. Viterelli is one of these guys you see in a ton of gangster movies and is always interesting.

The female lead in here, Lisa Kudrow ("Laura") was not appealing to me, character-wise. Overall, a funny movie and much better than the sequel.

Overall, I found "Analyze This" a very amusing comedy, well worth seeing. There are a number of laugh-out-loud lines, a screamingly funny parody of "The Godfather", and a well-chosen cast that's very funny. Movie is also very well photographed, and is never boring for an instant.

Some minor objections, though:

(1) Robert DeNiro was funny and believable - except for his crying scenes. These scenes came across as somewhat forced.

(2) Forgotten subplots. There are a couple of subplots - one with Crystal's relationship with his father, encounters with some FBI agents - that are started up, and then dropped and forgotten about. I strongly suspect this version we saw was cut from on originally longer print.

In 1957, there was a big mob boss meeting to split up the country. It was broken up by the Feds. There was never another meeting until now. There is a big bosses' meeting for the survival of the mob coming up. Boss Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro) is in a mob war but his anxiety attacks prevent him from inflicting violence. Psychiatrist Ben Sobol (Billy Crystal) is tired of his patients' petty problems. His son is spying on his patients. His parents can't even come to his wedding to Miami TV reporter Laura (Lisa Kudrow). Ben rear ends into Vitti's man Jelly (Joe Viterelli) with a tied up victim in the truck. Ben gives him a business card and later Don Paul Vitti comes in to see Ben for his problems before the big meeting in 2 weeks.

De Niro is cashing in on his mobster persona to give it a different spin. That locks up that part of the movie. However the comedic aspect is surprisingly sparse considering the Harold Ramis name. Jelly provides a few good laughs. The DeNiro Crystal pairing doesn't come up with enough laughs unless DeNiro fake crying is funny to you. It's funny when DeNiro tries to tell the other boss his feeling. Considering this was made before The Sopranos, a psychiatrist and a mob boss is a pretty good idea. Harold Ramis doesn't milk enough big laughs. He just left too much on the table.

Robert De Niro has one of the best faces in Hollywood. And by that, I mean that a simple facial contortion can send the audience into a fit of laughter, or send a chill down their spine. In "Taxi Driver," his devilish, wide-toothed smile portrayed a sense of fascination and pleasure -- his character was being bombarded with images that made him feel happy, and almost hysterical, in a strange sort of way. When he stared into that mirror and asked whom we were talkin' to, he smiled because he was sick and liked the idea of having the control, and enjoyed picturing the end result.

In "Analyze This," when he stares at Billy Crystal with his iconic "Who you talkin' to?" glare, it is not out of pleasure, but out of sheer amazement. In short, he is asking everyone in the room (and the audience) if he's the only one who's seeing what's going on, and the complete absurdity of it all. Watching De Niro's face in "Analyze This," and listening to the accompanying comical speeches, is the pure pleasure of the film. He steals the show.

Paul Vitti (De Niro) is having problems. Lately he has been unable to work up enough will power to kill hostages, gain an erection, and has been found crying for forty minutes after watching bittersweet commercials on television. Normally this might be considered normal (for the most part, at least), but the problem is that Vitti is a Mob Boss in New York City, meaning that if he can't muster up enough strength to carry out his duties, word of his weaknesses will travel, and he'll soon find himself sleeping with the fishes.

Ben Sobel (Crystal) is a frustrated, failing psychologist trying to raise a son on his own, and keep a relationship with his girlfriend (Lisa Kudrow) from falling apart. When he smashes into the back of Vitti's car, the Mafia kingpin's right-hand-man, Jelly (the late Joe Viterelli), asks him to help out his employer.

Sobel is of course quite reluctant to begin practice on New York's most infamous Mafia figure, but reluctantly does so after being threatened. ("You know who I am?" "Yes." "No you don't." "No I don't." "Have you read about me in the papers?" "Yes." "No you haven't." "I don't even get the paper.")

Meanwhile, a reunion of all the powerful Mafia figures in New York looms ominously nearer, and Sobel finds himself being targeted by the FBI, as well as professional hit men who find themselves being thrown out of hotel windows by Vitti. "Let me guess, he just jumped?" Sobel asks. Vitti is eager to use this as an explanation for the incident.

"Analyze This" is directed by Harold Ramis, the man who crafted "Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray, and who also played Murray's best friend in Ivan Reitman's "Stripes" (1981), about two idiots who join the Army in search of women and quick cash. Here, in what is literally one of his roughest and filthiest films, Ramis is able to poke fun at all the most iconic stereotypes of Italian-American Mafia figures. There's even a great dream sequence that mimics "The Godfather," in which Sobel wanders towards a fruit stand to buy some oranges, and finds himself assassinated by two hit men, with De Niro doing his best impersonation of cry-baby Fredo. Later, when recounting his story to Vitti in a church, the Mafia kingpin asks him, "I was Fredo? I don't think so."

You will find yourself appreciating much more of "Analyze This" if you are familiar with its content. It may not be labeled as such, but in its essence it is a spoof of the last century's best gangster films, borrowing its plot from "The Don's Analyst" and benefiting from a wonderfully surprising (and humorous) performance by De Niro, who stretched his funny bones with Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" and Neil Jordan's "We're No Angels," but masters the feat of effective facial features here. It does indeed help to know a bit about Mafia movies before you see "Analyze This," but even if you don't, you're still guaranteed to have a fun time.

4/5 stars.

• John Ulmer

This movie is a hoot.I laughed so hard.Bobby is at his best.The films makes you laugh your heart out.Billy Crystal is great as smuck shrink drawn in the MOB.Jelly is unbelivable as the bozo of the gang.He makes you laugh just standing there looking like a GOON.He steals the film secretly.Hollywood needs to make people laugh a little better than those teen trash comedies.

I enjoyed this much more than I expected to. DeNiro hasn't had a part this good in years, and he plays it to the hilt. It will remind you why you liked him in the first place. Billy Crystal is just as good, but it DeNiro's movie all the way. Your life will not be changed by watching this, but you will enjoy it.

The imdb average for this movie as I write this is 7.5. Ironic because I struggled from halfway through the movie until I decided to write a review 3 days later trying to decide if this was a 7 or an 8.

I think the reason (unfair or not) that I went with a 7 was because I had seen a number of superior movies recently. If I had seen a lot of dogs, I probably would have erred on the side of an 8.

This is a movie that is perfectly ok to watch. I didn't look at my watch. I didn't feel bored. I didn't dislike anything in particular. However, I also didn't ever one time think I was watching a very good movie - just a pretty respectable one.

In order to justify an 8, it has to have some quality that is superior, that I want to remember. Analyze this had no such quality. It was a nice time watching De Niro and Crystal involved in intrigue and mayhem, but nice is a 7.

I should say that there were quite a few cute lines, but no REALLY FUNNY lines and the usual violence and language that you would expect.

Analyze This Ramis's fired jokes are much more of a threat to the protagonist than the gun itself. Drawing out the most simplest concept of fear, the movie soars as much as it dives deep into this eerie relationship. Representing opposite side of the emotions, the chemistry between the lead cast is surprisingly good. Walking entirely on the arena of irony, this blatantly honest tale has all its conversation spoken with hesitation, whether it be then Crystal because of fear or De Niro for his narrow minded enclosed persona. Another major factor that elevates the effervescence of the plot is its ferocious pace and layered screenplay that is peeled on with light humor and caring nature. And it is that caring nature of those characters that absorbs you into their hilarious sessions. The makers also uses the reputation of the cast wisely in order to squeeze out as much as laugh as they can, like the enactment of the infamous scene of The Godfather. There aren't much gags to carry on, as it is kept to the point, but the sort-of-assistants of De Niro when are ordered to recruit Crystal is a gag that stays similar and still works throughout the course. De Niro can also be a comic player with brilliant comic timing. Not every actor can pull of such roles especially when their teeth are sink in, on drama like such. But De Niro is still able to challenge his opponent Crystal, though he is no match in front of him. Frankly, Crystal has got an upper hand on this tale, his character evolves much more than any other with three dimensional perspective and cut throat sarcasm, he steals the show; especially the last speech. Analyze This surfs more on a merryland and the makers make sure you have got no right to object that.

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Analyze This is not one of the best comedies ever,but it's certainly one of the best,inventive and most original in a long while.The script and comic timing are an ingenius success,and it's also intelligently compact,giving it little room to become ponderous and repetitive.Veteran gangster stars Chazz Palmenteri and Robert DeNiro gleefully lampoon their nasty gangster roles,to both chilling and uproarously funny effect.In the scenes where his charecter cries,DeNiro manages to stir up the emotions,but because he and his henchmen have such repulsive attitudes towards everyone,it's hard to like them,a detrimental thing in a comedy.The Italian-American's chemistry with co star Billy Crystal probably was'nt the most inspired or clever ever ,and Lisa Kudrow,not an overly talented performer anyway,is unintentionally wasted here in a mostly pointless role,and,like DeNiro,her relationship with Crystal is'nt the easiest to digest.Despite these minor hiccups however,AT is a hugely superior comic success ,with moments of absolute laugh out loud hilarity,and moments to touch the heart.Very impressive.****

Entertaining movie about mobster De Vito who is in so much stress that he needs to see a psychiatrist. I liked watching him struggle with his sensitive side and the effect their sessions have on the life of the psychiatrist.

Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro star in "Analyze This," a 1999 film about a psychiatrist and his mob boss patient. This very funny premise is well handled by the actors, director Harold Ramis and a fairly sophisticated script by Ramis, Peter Tolan and Kenneth Lonergan. With so many comedies today that are aimed toward the lowest common denominator, "Analyze This" is a refreshing change.

The story concerns a mob boss, Paul Vitti, who finds himself wimping out, unable to kill or beat anybody up, and who goes on crying jags for no reason. One of his people has a business card from a Dr. Ben Sobel, as the two were involved in a car accident. Vitti then proceeds to disrupt Sobel's life totally by barging in while sessions are going on, having his henchmen bring Sobel to him in the middle of the night, and ultimately ruining his wedding to his girlfriend Laura (Lisa Kudrow). The Feds approach Ben about wearing a wire; they play a doctored tape with Vitti stating that he's going to kill him, so Ben agrees. However, Ben is beginning to understand that Vitti really wants to be helped even though he's resistant.

There are some great scenes and funny dialogue, including Godfather references in "Analyze This." The character of Vitti using psychiatric terms to other mobsters is a riot - he tells his rival (Chazz Palmenteri) that he needs "closure" and tells someone else that he has aggression issues. I have to agree with one poster here who says audiences saw a cut of a longer film. There were subplots dropped. I don't totally agree about DeNiro's crying scenes. Some were more believable than others. His comedy is great; what makes good comedy is the ability to be an entire person, not just a funny one. Obviously DeNiro knows this, but the director may have wanted something broader from him. I remember seeing Maggie Smith in Lettice and Lovage and laughing myself sick for the entire show. Toward the end, she leaves a phone message which is a small monologue, and you could hear a pin drop in the audience. It broke your heart. "Analyze This" comes very close to achieving that kind of experience but just misses.

Billy Crystal's timing is perfection as a scared, annoyed and frustrated psychiatrist who nevertheless knows something about "boundaries" and asserting himself. At one point, he stands up for himself and gets thrown into a shark tank. He rethinks being assertive.

"Analyze This" won lots of awards and nominations and was successful enough to spawn a sequel starring Crystal, DeNiro and the gang again in 2002, "Analyze That." Really worth seeing.

As I was watching this movie that's the first thing that came to me. Here we have mob boss Paul Vitti (Robert Deniro) who has to see psychiatrist Dr. Sobel (Billy Crystal) to be treated for panic attacks, and he then becomes so dependent that he follows Sobel everywhere, even interrupting (twice) Sobel's marriage to Laura (Lisa Kudrow). So what we have is essentially a "Sopranos" - "What About Bob?" hybrid, with a dose of "The Godfather" thrown in for good measure. (I'm not saying that this movie copied "The Sopranos." I realize they were in production at the same time. Just that the story is essentially the same.)

Not that this is a bad movie. Crystal and Deniro are good (although Crystal as Dr. Sobel doesn't strike me as a particularly good psychiatrist.) In general, the movie is mildly amusing and reaches the heights of hilarious when Sobel is "drafted" to represent Vitti at a meeting of mob bosses.

Overall this isn't spectacular, but I would say it's above average.

6/10

Before you rush out to see Analyze This, consider that previous works by writer/director Harold Ramis include Animal House, Caddyshack, and Stripes. All three of these films rely on humor that is occasionally crude and language that is often a bit raw for some tastes. In this regard, Analyze This is much the same as the aforementioned films. As Pauline Kael once said, 'for people that like this kind of thing, this is the kind of thing they will like." If this is not the kind of thing you will like, reread all of my reviews until you find a recommended film that you haven't seen and see if its available on video.

For those who are still reading, does this mean that Analyze This is without redeeming social importance? Not at all. Like the other films by Ramis, there are moments of witty dialogue, nuggets of social commentary, and the occasional full-blown belly laugh. Unlike the other films, this film has Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal, major assets in any film. The film also has Lisa Kudrow-if you can't say something nice about something, don't say anything at all.

The film Grosse Pointe Blank is about a hired assassin who decides to attend his high-school reunion. Several scenes involve interactions between the assassin and his reluctant therapist. How does a therapist terminate a client whose specialty is termination? This gag that was a subplot in Gross Pointe Blank has been elevated to the status of central theme here. Frankly, this limited theme provides some good gags along the way, but is a bit thin to go the distance.

Robert DeNiro (not surprisingly) plays a mafia hit man who is going through a kind of mid-life crisis-he's becoming sensitive and compassionate and its messing up his work. Billy Cystal plays Ben Sobol, the psychiatrist who is hired against his will. Billy Crystal does an excellent job as the psychiatrist, but the real fun here is watching DeNiro create a caricature of some of his greatest roles (e.g., in Godfather II, Goodfellas, and Casino).

If you are looking for a way to kill time and your other option is shoveling the driveway, this might be worth a look. There are a few gems along the way, and it's definitely not the worst move I've ever seen. The only other thing to recommend this film, is that if you do decide to "analyze this" it shouldn't take very long.

In remembrance of the late writer-director Harold Ramis, whose GROUNDHOG DAY (1993, 9/10) is one of my all-time favorite comedies, ANALYZE THIS is another hoot although actually it is the brainchild of De Niro and Crystal, a farcical pastiche of De Niro's classic mafia mien (from THE GODFATHER: PART II 1974 to GOODFELLAS 1990, 9/10 and CASINO 1995, 7/10), he plays Paul Vitti, the notorious mobster boss, survives an assassination from his rival Primo (Palminteri) lately but horrified to find out his masculinity has been chipped away by certain panic attacks, he becomes a gun-shy and over-sentimental cry-baby, what's more vexing, his bed performance is effected as well. Therefore in order to solve the crisis, he visits a shrink, Dr. Ben Sobel (Chrystal), for treatment.

The comic clash germinates from Paul's frequent and bossy interruptions of Ben's merry daily life, and even (not on purpose though) jeopardizes his wedding ceremony with Laura (Kudrow) by throwing a clumsy hit-man out for the window. Further on, things get messier when FBI bluntly involved and the film starts to lose its momentum, a test of their friendship is put at front, it meanders into a buddy buddy feel-good dud, the therapy gets the due breakthrough and thing finishes with a prosaic fracas, fortunately the two actors are the saving grace, De Niro's comic bent has been teased out nicely, which sadly would be over-exploited since then and now is on the verge of repetitive fatigue. Crystal contrives a more natural performance and he is a genuine poker-face humorist, it is not a demanding role for him, but his jest of a shrink's equivocations is the face-saving act in an otherwise disappointing coda ("I'm very good at being vague!").

Kudrow barely steps out of her Phoebe impersonation and hasn't been given too much screen time either; character actor Joe Viterelli, on the contrary, imbues his loyalty with self-aware sense of wisdom, steals many laughters from two protagonists as Jelly, Vitti's heavy.

There would be a sequel ANALYZE THAT (2002) reunites the same team thanks to its commercial success, but since Kenneth Lonergan (YOU CAN COUNT ON ME 2000, 8/10; MARGARET 2011, 8/10) is credited as co-writer for the screenplay, one might put certain high- hope to the storytelling, I guess this project is more a salary-earning assignment than a dedicated undertaking for him, anyway, it is a middle-of-the-road Hollywood annual treatment to responsibly squeeze some lighthearted laughter and send the pay-check to their top-billed stars.

I don't even know where to start. I don't want to tell you much about this film because I don't want to spoil it for you by giving you account of the funny scenes. Moreover, that would be quite impossible anyway as the film is simply funny all the way through. Sure I have my favourite scenes, one in particular, which make me laugh just thinking about them. Seriously, this is a comedy with a great story and many laughs. As a matter of fact, I really laughed all the way through, from start to finish.

I want to recommend you to lighten up and simply relax when you decide to watch it. Let go of any expectations or judgements. Simply watch and let the movie entertain you. It might seem as an obvious thing to do but it is easy to slip into that judgemental and critical feeling however subtle it might be, which will spoil any movie for you not just this one.

I highly recommend this movie if you want to lift you spirit up for whatever reason as this movie will do it for you. It is my favourite and I do hope that it will be your favourite too.

Robert De Niro is mostly known for his dramatic roles and plays them very well, but he is also a very exceptional comedic actor. I first saw him play comedy in Midnight Run and was blown away. Who knew he could be funny playing an absolutely miserable person. Analyze This is not the better movie of the two but De Niro once again proves that he can hold his own against an actual comedian, Billy Crystal. It was a stroke of genius to give Crystal the straight part.

The plot is not very original. Gangsters have always been the target of parody and in some cases gangster pictures are parody. James Cagney always played his gangster roles with some comedic touches. In Analyze this De Niro has to overcome anxiety attacks or panic attacks which he absolutely denies having. In comes Billy Crystal to help him. Actually, De Niro more or less forces him, without so much as laying a hand on him. The plot isn't really that important in a movie like this. It helps if you have seen De Niro in a straight gangster role first and then you can really see what's so funny about this movie.

Like many comedies it has an abundance of stereotypes, most of which are dimwitted gangsters. It can get rather tiresome but when De Niro is on you forget about it. Therefore I will say that this average movie gets an extra point because of De Niro's performance.

A complete comedy farce. Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal are both great fun and so is Joe Viterelli as De Niro's hilarious security guard Jelly. It is amusing. Nothing is wrong with the film accept its language. No one should complain about its content. Its content is meant to be funny. When mobster Paul Vitti(De Niro) is suffering anxiety attacks for some odd reason, he sees a shrink named Ben Sobel(Crystal) to solve his tragedys and ways to move through the mob. The idea is small and it stretches out too far but its still great fun. To me this is De Niro's best comic performance of all. The most hilarious part in the film has to be where Crystal is in the church getting hugged by a stranger. An 8.3/10.

Billy crystal can't resist the demands of his "jerry Lewis"-sized godzilla ego, and therfore decides to step totally out of character in the final and pivotal scene. (Previously, he and DeNiro had been dead on.) Then suddenly the uncontrollably grandios B.C. emerges. He gives up on his character and acting altogether, and lanches into a schlocky Borscht-belt low comedy stand-up routine that would have made Henny Youngman blush. In so doing, Crystal completely blows the carefully developed realistic tone of the movie. What's worse, this lousy scene which appears in the final cut, was actually shot after the movie had been satisfactorily completed. It seems that PRODUCER/ STAR, B.C. didn't feel he had gotten enough opportunity to do "his thing!" For me and my friends the movie never recovers from the fatuous B.C.'s selfish, and what's worst, woefully inept excercise in shameless self-promotion. "Billy Crystal?... Hey, in't he that guy who used to be funny?" Still, ( believe it or not,) there's much to enjoy.

A lots of cliches about gangsters and psychology. This one's not really flying high. DeNiro is weak, and so is Crystal. No very funny moments saves this from the mediocrity of American B Movies comedies.