30 Second Bottom Line: After his father's funeral, Dr. Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal) learns he will once again be having psychiatry sessions with mob boss Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro). However, this time they are going to get a lot closer. This is because Vitti is going to be living with Sobel after being released from jail.
Story Line: After his father's funeral, Dr. Ben Sobel learns that mob boss Paul Vitti thinks someone is trying to kill him. He is supposedly going crazy and singing West Side Story during his stay at Sing-Sing Prison. After meeting with the FBI and doing extensive tests with Vitti to see if he is really crazy, the FBI decides to let Vitti leave prison early on only one condition. Vitti has to stay with Dr. Sobel!
After Dr. Sobel picks up Vitti from prison he realizes that Vitti was faking going crazy the whole time. Even worse for Dr. Sobel is that the FBI insists Vitti is his responsibility and if anything were to go wrong, Sobel will be blamed for it. Of course, once back at Sobel's home, wife Laura (Lisa Kudrow), hates the idea of having a mob boss staying at her home. Things only get worse.
Soon Vitti decides he wants to go straight and tries a couple of jobs, finally landing a position as consultant on a mob television show. While all this is happening, Dr. Sobel is worried that Vitti is planning something big with his friend Jelly (Joe Viterelli) and the rest of his old gang. Dr. Sobel has no idea how big.
Tell Me More About It: I was really looking forward to seeing this movie. Analyze This was one of the funniest comedies of 1999 and a true gem. The idea was brilliant. An intense New York mob boss with panic attacks reluctantly sees a psychiatrist with problems of his own. The casting was brilliant. Serious actor Robert DeNiro played the notorious mob boss and comedian Billy Crystal played the psychiatrist. The outcome was a success and the movie made over a hundred million at the box office. It was a great movie. Before that first film, I couldn't wait for the movie to start. Before I saw this film, I had that same feeling.
After seeing Analyze That, I can't say I enjoyed it as much as the first. That's not to say this movie didn't have its moments. As a matter of fact, the first half of the movie is absolutely hilarious. It's after the first half that it spirals downward into silliness and unnecessary violence. The second half, despite having a few funny moments, mostly consists of Vitti setting up a big heist that takes place at the end. Worse than that, the audience really has no clue what's going on until the very end of the film.
That being said, there is also much to enjoy. The chemistry between DeNiro and Crystal is still magical and it's such a treat seeing De Niro as the funniest man onscreen. Basically, the film is good until the plot conflict clutters up the screenplay. That's where it drags into mediocrity. Some of the funniest scenes in the movie revolve around Vitti at his various jobs as a car salesman, restaurant host, and for most of the movie, a television show consultant.
The two main supporting characters, Jelly and Laura, have lesser roles in this film than the original. This is not a good thing. Lisa Kudrow basically has only a cameo, and Jelly's role, a big part of the glue that held together the first one, is reduced as well.
The violence in the second half of the film is really quite unnecessary. This film is a comedy and with the addition of very violent, intense events, it begins to become more of a drama. Although maybe that would work, it doesn't because the main conflict of the plot is weak and the whole ending of the film is a complete disaster. I don't want to give too much away, but Dr. Sobel becomes involved in much more criminal activity than is remotely believable.
People who loved the first film, like me, will rush to see this one. For the first half and even a little bit into the second half, this movie is entertaining. In the end, I will remember this film best not as a whole, but for the hilarious first half. I was disappointed, but not too disappointed. This sequel could have been fantastic with a better plot and a more plausible ending. Why that wasn't done in the first place is really something to Analyze. It's still great after three years to see De Niro say "you, your good you" to Billy Crystal.
DVD