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Review Uploaded
12/18/02

1 hr. 35 mins.
Starring: Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow, Joe Viterelli
Directed by: Harold Ramis

Rating: ** stars (out of 4 stars)

In the 1999 gangster spoof Analyze This, the collaboration of legendary cinema chameleon Robert De Niro and comedic kingpin Billy Crystal was a winning ticket to behold. Sure, there have been other attempts to ridicule the ubiquitous mob dramas that seem to pop up on the big screen faster than bullet-ridden bodies rotting in their cement graves. But the unlikely prospect of veteran no nonsense tough guy De Niro spoofing his movie wiseguy image for hearty laughs seemed too precious to turn down. And it didn’t hurt that Crystal’s influence helped tremendously in parlaying De Niro into a sensational riot (hey, Crystal provided the forum in which the gritty gravel-faced actor Jack Palance nabbed his Academy Award for City Slickers).

Now the tag team of De Niro and Crystal are looking to strike box office gold once again with the inevitable follow up to their profitable predecessor with the lackluster Analyze That. Yep folks, it appears that the sequelitis bug has predictably overshadowed previously what was once an enticing farce in its original form. If anything, Analyze That is a half-hearted and trite formula that’s about as familiar as a spaghetti dinner being tasted in the kitchen of The Sopranos. This contrived comedy doesn’t even come close to matching the fresh outrageousness of its first installment.

The film solely exists for the sole purpose of basking in the success of the original product.(okay, so I’m guilty of stating the obvious…so sue me!) And it’s not a bad gesture to conjure up a sequel providing it gives the audience a decent continuation of what they endured the first time around. But sadly, the shtick mustered up in Analyze That only trivializes the Mafioso-in-therapy gimmick to the point of exhausting what was once an observant and serviceable in-joke. Now the movie is on the borderline of wearing out its watered-down welcome. Still, what elevates this movie sequel beyond its clumsy conventions is the timing of Crystal’s smug put-upon shrink trying to tap dance around the unpredictable impulse of De Niro’s edgy mobster. The chuckles are quite evident and scattered about. For the most part, we’ve seen this routine before but with more wacky inspiration and spontaneity.

We find our protagonists right where we left off-in a quagmire of desperation. Goodfella Paul Vitti (De Niro) is imprisoned and miserable about his incarcerated status. But Vitti doesn’t realize that the slammer is ironically the safe place he needs to be, especially when there are outside forces that want to see him sleeping with the fish at the bottom of the Hudson River. This doesn’t stop Vitti from wanting out of his current “home”. And so Vitti hatches a plan to act out of whack therefore causing the facility to question his fragile mental stability (or in this case his instability).
Obviously this whole agenda sets the stage for Vitti to be reunited with his trusty psychotherapist and unwilling accomplice Dr. Ben Sobel (Crystal). So thus begins yet another exciting adventure that only a harried head shrink and his criminally cavorting patient can only appreciate.

As soon as Vitti is granted his release and is put in the custody of Sobel’s professional care, the duo manage to literally and figuratively dodge bullets from determined Mob families out to butcher Vitti’s endangered hide. In the meanwhile, Sobel’s suffering wife Laura (Lisa Kudrow) is not too thrilled with having the vilified Vitti hanging around and being part of their domestic lives. But as unwanted as he is, the ex mob boss is a guest much to the dismay of poor Laura. Her feeling about Vitti is understandable in that the guy is automatic trouble and a threat to their family’s safety. And without saying, the little lady is right on the nose with her intuition. After all, gangster-related assassination attempts tend to put a damper on things within the loving family unit, don’t you think?

Despite the old adage “you can’t teach a dog new tricks”, Sobel desperately tries to curve Vitti’s bad habits but to no avail. In fact, the guy even manages to hook up with his old mob lieutenant Jelly (Joe Viterelli) and insists on doing mob-related dealings over the Sobels’ telephone. When Vitti isn’t being his intrusive self by butting into family business (the hilarious scene where a bathrobe-wearing Vitti disrupts a social gathering is a hoot), then he’s being an insufferable bore by undermining Sobel’s authority in a vain attempt to reform him. Just what can you do with an intimidating and corrupt client who’s both clueless and calculating?

Paul Vitti ends up giving an inch and tries to fit into the normal mode of a working stiff. Naturally this scenario sets up the possibilities of having this menacing misfit try his hand at being a productive part of society. And so the film spends its time awkwardly showing us what a well-meaning but unfocused screw-up Vitti really is. The man bounces from one gig to another while never really finding his niche. The hilarity ensues somewhat when Vitti is finally offered a title of creative consultant for a copycat Sopranos-inspired drama called “Little Caesar”. Soon, the exasperating Vitti starts to throw around his muscle by drafting his old colleagues and instilling them in the TV show’s production. Unbeknownst to the backers behind the Little Caesar production, Vitti and company are using the program’s premises as a front in planning their real life heist they’re hoping to bring into full fruition.

Director Harold Ramis uses the built-in plot from this film’s original concept and simply goes with the flow that is advantageous up to a certain extent. However, because Ramis plays it so safe and tightly grips onto this ready-made plot of Analyze This, he unknowingly develops a disadvantage with his own product because he doesn’t generate anything uniquely distinctive or switch the comedic gears to give the audience an interesting insight to Analyze That’s material that is otherwise staid and grandly middling. Merely settling in the comfort zone of its three year-old inspiration doesn’t necessarily guarantee another amazing stint at bringing out the belly laughs from yesteryear.

Suffice to say, one can see the onslaught regarding the string of ditties just awaiting our attention (anyone care for Analyze Those or Analyze Them?). Whatever the immediate future may hold in terms of the Vitti-Sobel “unlikely buddies” bonding experimentation, the banality of mediocre gags and body-functioning references (i.e. farting) has to definitely be cut to a minimum in order to restore the off-kilter magic. It’s still a riot to see De Niro play around with his surprising knack for self-deprecating humor (was it me or did we all find De Niro’s penchant for singing West Side Story songs eerily stimulating in its caustic effect for mental deterioration?). And Crystal is gleefully sound as the improbable straight man for De Niro’s delusional don. The duo, along with Kudow in tow, are in sync most of the time but the movie’s faltering and transparent script invariably fails them on more than one occasion.

In overlooking the pedestrian direction and hollow screenplay, Analyze That manages to plant a smirk on one’s face despite the resistance to question the staggering decision to muddy the memory and existence of the film’s first edition. Some filmmakers need to simply leave well enough alone. In short, all the bouncing bullets in the world couldn’t garner any gunpowder of fresh ideas to lift this gang of rehashed thugs and their sordid activities beyond the stagnation of comical creativity being served on a recycled platter.