Analyze That (Widescreen)
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Movie Reviews of Analyze That (Widescreen)
Movie Review: EASY TO ANALYZE - A FUNNY BUT DISAPPOINTING SEQUEL
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a sequel in search of a story. The great commercial success of ANALYZE THIS (when the same cast managed to create a hugely enjoyable lighthearted gangster spoof) meant that a sequel was inevitable. However, the writers, producer and director apparently never decided whether they wanted this film to be a comedy, a heist, THE SOPRANOS, a musical or simply a vehicle for Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal and the rest of the reassembled cast to perform a bunch of loosely connected skits. The movie begins with mobster Paul Vitti (De Niro) having an apparent psychiatric breakdown and managing to get paroled from prison into the custody of his shrink, Dr. Ben Sobel (Crystal). However, a condition of the parole is that he has to move in with Dr. Sobel and his family in order that his treatment can be continually supervised. As you may imagine, Ben's wife Laura ( Lisa Kudrow) is appalled; however, the potential comedic effects upon their relationship are much less well developed than in the original. Paul manages to generally disrupt the family with his attitude, his invitation of a hooker to spend the night after his enforced monasticism in prison, and his inability to function in any of the honest jobs in which he briefly engages. Eventually he is hired a a consultant for a TV series about the mob ("Little Caesar"), and at this point the comedy picks up and the story starts to come together.
However, two factions of the mob are batling for control, and in parallel with his work on Little Caesar, he and his former associates who are "consultants" on the set are planning a criminal endeavor. Of course, just as in the previous film, Dr. Sobel becomes unwittingly involved and saves the day at a key moment. Joe Viterelli wonderfully reprises his role as Jelly, and Cathy Moriarity-Gentile is perfect in a small but key role as Patty LoPresti, leader of one of the rival mob families.
DeNiro and Crystal work well together, and some of the jokes are really funny, but many are simply of the smile and move on variety. However, the scenes at the begining and end which are musical parodies are amazing comical. The editing was far from perfect, and some of the camera transitions seemed quite jumpy. Furthermore, the crude language and sexual references were ubiquitous for much of the early part of the movie, much more than necessary to lend realism. After all, this is supposed to be a comedy, not a true to life documentary. In all likelihood, my reaction of disappointment is probably partially due to my high expectations based on my enjoyment of the original film. My three star rating attempts to strike a balance between my lack of enthusiasm and the fact that overall I still did enjoy the film, especially the outtakes shown during the credits. Be sure not to leave until you've watched these, but when the outtakes have some of the funniest moments it is a comment about the film.
Movie Review: Very funny but kind of drawn out.
Summary: 3 Stars
Summary:Dr. Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal), after having done his best to counsel notorious mobster Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro) and help him overcome his anxiety is now faced with helping the mobster again. Vitti, beginning the movie in prison but with only a few weeks until his parole, has a contract on his head and he's scared. Feigning insanity, he is finally released into Sobel's care. Sobel is entrusted with this assignment by the FBI who is actually trying to set Vitti up believing he will recontact his old croons so they can bring them all down. Sobel, on the other hand, believes that Vitti is supposed to be reforming and therefore tries to help him find a job. He eventually lands one that works for him as a consultant on a mafia TV show (very Soprano's like), but is planning a massive heist on the side.
Of course, what we don't realize or perhaps Vitti doesn't realize, is that, with the help of Sobel - both physically and psychologically - Vitti's heist is going to turn into a scam that will rat out the people trying to kill him and end up putting them in jail - helping him, the FBI, and the new head of his mob family, Patti LoPresti (Cathy Moriarty).
My Comments:
Billy Crystal is funny; I don't believe anyone can argue that. Robert DeNiro, on the other hand, is fun to laugh at with the help of Billy Crystal. He doesn't really have the comedic touch, but teaming him up with Crystal, pioneered in Analyze This, seems to work just as well, if not better, in Analyze That.
The story is engaging for the most part, but definitely suffers from some serious slow time. Even though it is supposed to be funny, the time spent consulting on the TV show drags on and on. Perhaps this is understandable because Vitti needs time to develop his plan for the heist, but it really slows the movie to a crawl for a while.
The other part of the movie that just doesn't seem to work is the continual crying outbursts by both Vitti and Sobel. Sure, the movie is a comedy and perhaps, in a sense, this is frontier breaking work in having grown men crying on screen, but their crying comes across more as infant wailing then men expressing emotion. I felt it was just an odd mix of the actors trying to balance humor and seriousness because their psychological problems are supposed to be both at the same time - it just doesn't work.
Overall, the comedy makes up for the slow pace, but the movie isn't something special. It's funny, perhaps funnier than Analyze This because they learned what worked from the first one, but hopefully they will be content to let the series end with this one.
Movie Review: Very funny but kind of drawn out.
Summary: 3 Stars
Summary:Dr. Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal), after having done his best to counsel notorious mobster Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro) and help him overcome his anxiety is now faced with helping the mobster again. Vitti, beginning the movie in prison but with only a few weeks until his parole, has a contract on his head and he's scared. Feigning insanity, he is finally released into Sobel's care. Sobel is entrusted with this assignment by the FBI who is actually trying to set Vitti up believing he will recontact his old croons so they can bring them all down. Sobel, on the other hand, believes that Vitti is supposed to be reforming and therefore tries to help him find a job. He eventually lands one that works for him as a consultant on a mafia TV show (very Soprano's like), but is planning a massive heist on the side.
Of course, what we don't realize or perhaps Vitti doesn't realize, is that, with the help of Sobel - both physically and psychologically - Vitti's heist is going to turn into a scam that will rat out the people trying to kill him and end up putting them in jail - helping him, the FBI, and the new head of his mob family, Patti LoPresti (Cathy Moriarty).
My Comments:
Billy Crystal is funny; I don't believe anyone can argue that. Robert DeNiro, on the other hand, is fun to laugh at with the help of Billy Crystal. He doesn't really have the comedic touch, but teaming him up with Crystal, pioneered in Analyze This, seems to work just as well, if not better, in Analyze That.
The story is engaging for the most part, but definitely suffers from some serious slow time. Even though it is supposed to be funny, the time spent consulting on the TV show drags on and on. Perhaps this is understandable because Vitti needs time to develop his plan for the heist, but it really slows the movie to a crawl for a while.
The other part of the movie that just doesn't seem to work is the continual crying outbursts by both Vitti and Sobel. Sure, the movie is a comedy and perhaps, in a sense, this is frontier breaking work in having grown men crying on screen, but their crying comes across more as infant wailing then men expressing emotion. I felt it was just an odd mix of the actors trying to balance humor and seriousness because their psychological problems are supposed to be both at the same time - it just doesn't work.
Overall, the comedy makes up for the slow pace, but the movie isn't something special. It's funny, perhaps funnier than Analyze This because they learned what worked from the first one, but hopefully they will be content to let the series end with this one.
Movie Review: Harold Ramis' Analyze That
Summary: 3 Stars
Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal return in a sequel that takes an unsubtle swipe at "The Sopranos," and offers little else. Paul (Robert DeNiro) is in prison and Ben (Billy Crystal) has settled down into a routine life in suburbia with wife Laura (Lisa Kudrow) and his son. Someone is gunning for Paul in the big house, and Ben's father dies. Paul has a complete nervous breakdown, singing the score to "West Side Story," and he is released into Ben's care (after some very funny psychoanalytic tests). Of course, Paul was faking and of course, the FBI knows, trailing the men as Paul must suddenly go out into the world and get a real job.
After several employment mishaps, Paul is hired on as a consultant on the mob TV series "Little Caesar." There, he reunites with his old gang and they begin planning a huge heist. Meanwhile, Ben is still trying to grieve for the father he sometimes hated, popping pills and trying desperately to keep Paul in line. In the end, we find out who was trying to kill Paul, who may be redeemable after all.
Like its predecessor, "Analyze That" is merely okay. The focus here is definitely on DeNiro, as he is featured in almost every scene. Ben takes a backseat in the film when in fact his situation dealing with his father's death (running gag: "He's grieving, it's a process") is more interesting than Paul's heist and double crossing cronies.
The film takes an almost angry look at "The Sopranos" in the form of its fictional show "Little Caesar." Naturally, I felt a little hypocrisy at this stage. A fake movie about mobsters poking fun at a fake TV show about mobsters.
While no laugh riot, there are some bright spots. DeNiro has the funny psycho tests scenes, and Crystal is very natural while watching his life unravel. If you thought Kudrow's role in the first one was overpraised, then you will completely think the same here. Her lines seem hurried, like she did this over lunch hours during "Friends," and she is once again completely wasted in an underwritten role. Joe Viterelli is always good as Jelly, Paul's henchman, and Cathy Moriarty is fine as a rival crime boss.
"Analyze That" is a ninety five minute foul mouthed sitcom, complete with end credits outtakes, that has its likable characters and not much else. The initial "mobster/shrink" gimmick wore off long ago, and a third movie does not seem likely.
Movie Review: Competant DVD, mediocre movie
Summary: 3 Stars
This DVD is a well-produced disc, containing a breezy commentary with the wonderful Harold Ramis, an amusing quiz to test your mob capability, and a standard behind-the-scenes featurette and trailer. Video quality and sound is good, just as you'd expect most modern DVDs.The movie, unfortunately, is not quite as well-made as the disc. The first movie had the advantage of originality, pairing Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal for the first time with snappy dialog and interesting situations. I hate to say it, but you, Analyze That, you... you're not so good, you.
With the main action of the movie based around a "Sopranos" TV show look-alike, Little Caesar, the movie about the mafia makes fun of a TV show about the mafia. I don't know why they'd feel the need to do this... the lead actor in the TV show "Little Caesar" is from Australia (though Italian), making fun of actors who really aren't Italian trying to pass off as the genuine article. However, all the actors on the Sopranos pretty much are the real thing, aren't they? I don't get why you'd need to make fun of it... it's definitely not saying anything to me, though I don't watch the Sopranos. Maybe I need a few season history to catch more of the jokes...
Some snappy dialog is exchanged between DeNiro and Crystal... and again, as many others have said, Lisa Kudrow is essentially shoved in a corner, not getting a chance to show her considerable comedic skill. It's a shame, too, because too much of this movie seems ... well... not funny. You're looking for a laugh, since you think it's supposed to be a light-hearted Billy Crystal romp... but it just doesn't come off as that effectively enough.
Even with a pretty average to sub-par comedy, the music will have you rockin'. Done by David Holmes, the soundtrack here is very much in the same vein as the Clooney/Pitt Ocean's Eleven. Very deep beats.
The beginning 20 minutes or so start off well enough, but the movie just dragged after that. If you get it, wait until you get to see a catatonic Robert DeNiro, and then consider popping in the original or watching a new episode of the Sopranos.