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Gareth
Von Kallenbach
DeNiro, Crystal struggle through
Analyze That
Billy Crystal and
Robert De Niro deserve better. In a follow
up attempt to the 1998 hot "Analyze
This," the duo returns to the streets of New
York without much of the wit and drama that made
the original film a success.
As the film begins, we rejoin
mafia boss Paul Vitti (De Niro) and Dr. Ben
Sobel (Crystal) as the mobster is about to
regain his freedom from Sing Sing Federal
Penitentiary. There is only one problem: Vitti
has seemingly lost his mind. He spends hours at
a time pacing his cell and singing tunes from
"West Side Story." The Feds aren't sure what to
do with him, and after some careful testing;
they call on Dr. Sobel, whose father has just
passed away, to release Vitti into his custody.
It is up to Dr. Sobel to help Mr. Vitti return
to normalcy and become a contributing member of
society.
This however is not an easy
thing to do for a man who is used to giving
orders instead of taking them. Through a string
of 'normal' jobs, Vitti wanders his way through
a handful of predictable tough guy one-liners,
none of which really hits the mark leaving one
left wanting more.
Another constant and
predictable reference in the film is made to the
hit HBO series "The Sopranos." Such as Vitti
being hired as a creative consultant to the
fictitious drama "Little Caesar," [no, not the
pizza] and soon he has replaced other members of
the cast and crew with his own former cronies.
As life begins to imitate art, the motley crew
is soon pilfering the set and bringing several
luxurious items to the boss' trailer to make him
feel more comfortable.
Despite the shortcomings
"Analyze That" is not without humor. There are
signs of brilliance and chemistry between
Crystal and DeNiro, but unfortunately, they are
too few and far between. One scene, where the
selfish and thoughtless Vitti wanders through a
Sobel family gathering wearing only a bathrobe
is one such gem, but makes one wonder what could
have been had more time and effort been spent on
the script.
Thin on plot [could it be that
the mob boss can't help but return to his old
ways?] The film meanders to an unlikely climax,
and leaves us thinking of the original. Crystal
and De Niro. …Together in the same film? "It's
got to be good," you think to yourself. But then
you remember the first one. Billy Crystal and
Robert De Niro deserve better.
2 out of 5 stars
About the author: Gareth, a member of the
International Association of Film Critic,
reviews mainstream films and writes commentaries
on
his website. You can hear his live
commentaries by
clicking here.
Past Gareth commentaries:
George Lucas
Strikes In "Attack Of The Clones"
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