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Review by Susan Granger
4 stars out of 4
When a New York Mob boss starts having panic attacks and
secretly seeks out a suburban psychiatrist what you get is one of the
most inventive, original comedies in years. Robert De Niro is
terrific as the powerful, domineering gangster, Paul Vitti, whose
paralyzing anxiety is preventing him from assuming his role as leader
of his crime family. And Billy Crystal has never been better than as
the divorced psychotherapist, Dr. Sobel, with a young son and a
determined fiancee ("Friends" Lisa Kudrow) he's about to marry. "What
is my goal?" he asks. "To make you a happy, well-adjusted gangster?"
Despite Dr. Sobel's understandable terror of his new patient, he's
gamely determined to unravel the mystery of Vitti's childhood and make
him healthy enough to cope with an all-important Mafia meeting - in
just two weeks. Cleverly directed as a fable with Damon Runyon
overtones by Harold Ramis ("Groundhog Day") from a wickedly amusing
screenplay by Peter Tolan, Howard Ramis and Kenneth Lonergan, this
movie offers a rollicking good time, balancing drama, suspense, and
action, as Vitti's psychological troubles have the audience literally
howling with laughter. The key, of course, is that the problems (fear,
grief, rage, and guilt) are firmly grounded in reality and De Niro's
willingness to poke fun at the screen persona that he has created over
the years, along with Crystal's amusing reactions to the
conflicts. Their sense of timing is flawless, and the humor is deeply
inherent in each of their characters. Chazz Palminteri and Joseph
Viterelli ring true in supporting roles. On the Granger Movie Gauge of
1 to 10, "Analyze This" is a devilishly clever, utterly hilarious 10,
the first genuine comedy hit of 1999.
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
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