# Analyze This (1999)

### reviewed by
Berge Garabedian

    ANALYZE THIS
    RATING:  8 / 10 --> Great movie

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Serious actor Robert DeNiro lines up in another one of his every-now-and-again comedy roles, satirizing a role that he knows all too well...a mobster. This movie also co-stars every other mafia-looking actor this side of Italy, and the seriously-looking-for-a-hit-movie actor, Billy Crystal.

PLOT: Mafia kingpin suddenly finds himself suffering from panic attacks, stress and bouts of sadness during his everyday mob routines. He decides to help himself, by seeing a psychiatrist. The shrink is not very willing to help the renowned gangster during the week of his own wedding bliss, but a little strong-arming by the kingpin's "associates", ultimately waives the doctor's well-rooted reservations.

CRITIQUE: This is a very funny movie, I mean, it's like...fuggeddaboudit! Whether or not you enjoy mob movies, this film will have you laughing out loud during several scenes, chuckling along to DeNiro's infantile blubbering sessions, and re-appreciating Billy Crystal for the superior comedic actor that he is. This movie takes a completely overdone film genre, the mob films, and mixes it into a great script, some super performances, and an all-around good time. It's never boring, striking jokes at every other line, and confirms Robert DeNiro's stature as one of the greatest American actors of his generation. The superb performance put forth by DeNiro in this movie, is one of the main reasons that it works. You like to watch DeNiro. He has that charisma, that look, that weighty presence that makes you want to see him in each and every scene. He even convinces during his ultimate "breakthrough" scene with his doctor. This man is truly an American acting legend.

The one thing that did surprise me about this movie was its excessive use of obscenities. Not that I mind that one bit, it just threw me back a little considering that it was a comedy. Having said that, another reason for the script to work as well as it does, is because it doesn't overly parody the mafia folks like in other comedies. It shows them as they are, violence, swearings and all, with pointed humour laced throughout. This was the first movie since THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY (7/10) that actually had me missing many of its lines, due to the audience's over-the-top laughter. I personally loved the whole "Freud" scene the best, along with the hilarious remake of a very famous scene from a very famous mafia movie. Francis would be proud! I'm actually looking forward to seeing this movie again on video, so that I could catch all of the lines the next time around. The light tone of the movie and its soundtrack are additional points to director Ramis, as well as the upbeat pacing and the solid acting. The film might not go down as well for non-DeNiro or non-Crystal fans, but everyone else should prepare to strap on their giggle-belts.

This movie's got an original premise, some convincing performances by its leads, especially DeNiro in an atypical role, and plenty of fresh humour sprinkled throughout its spaghettilicious body of fun. Capice??

Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: Billy Crystal once studied directing under the guise of legendary director Martin Scorsese (a man Robert DeNiro knows quite well) at New York University. Crystal is also known to have played the first openly gay character on a network television series, "Soap". One of the producers of this film, Jane Rosenthal, founded the Tribeca Productions company with Robert DeNiro. Bobby received US$8Million for his role in this film. Born and raised in California, Lisa Kudrow attended Vassar College and graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology, intending to pursue a career in medical research with her father, a renowned headache specialist. But when she returned to California after college, her passion for performing also came back. Encouraged by her brother's good friend, actor/comedian Jon Lovitz, she began studying improvisation, and in 1989, became a member of the famed Los Angeles improvisational group, The Groundlings. She claimed to be a virgin until she got married in 1995 to French advertising exec Michel Stern. She was 31 at the time. Joseph Viterelli was a late bloomer in his acting career. For more than 25 years he had been offered acting opportunities from producers, casting directors, and directors, including his longtime friend, filmmaker Leo Penn. Viterelli declined them all until 1989, when Sean Penn called and said they were having difficulty casting a character from the Lower East Side in a film that was shooting on location in Viterelli's old neighborhood on Mott Street. That screen test led to a major role in Phil Joanou's STATE OF GRACE, Viterelli's motion picture debut. CASTING FUN: The roles of Vitti's "people" were filled in a rather more unconventional manner. "We sort of adopted the Martin Scorsese-Bob DeNiro method of casting when it came to the Mob roles," Ramis says. "This consists of Bob and Marty walking the streets of Little Italy, spotting a civilian, saying, 'Hey, that guy would look good,' and signing him up.

Review Date: February 20, 1999 Director: Harold Ramis Writers: Peter Tolan, Harold Ramis and Ken Lonergan Producers: Jane Rosenthal and Paula Weinstein Actors: Robert DeNiro as Paul Vitti, Billy Crystal as Ben Sobol, Lisa Kudrow as Laura, Joseph Viterelli as Jelly Genre: Comedy Year of Release: 1999

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(c) 1999 Berge Garabedian

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