Being a gangster can make someone rich and powerful, but it isn't easy. New York don Paul Vitti (who else but Robert De Niro?) starts to succumb to the tension. Crisis situations cause him to freeze up, and sentimental commercials on TV make him sob. Vitti's breakdowns are jeopardizing an upcoming meeting of crime lords. Unfortunately, his stress shows no sign of abating. A rival hood (Chazz Palminteri) is moving in on Vitti's territory and killing his men.

In desperation, Vitti forces a harried psychiatrist named Ben Sobol (Billy Crystal) to "treat" him. Valuing his life, Sobol complies. Dealing with the impatient wiseguy's whims and neuroses is a challenge in itself. That's the least of his problems. The feds want Sobol to inform on his new "patient," and Vitti's rivals see him as a potential target.

All of this chaos results in a solid and occasionally
explosively funny movie. Director Harold Ramis
(Groundhog Day) and writers Peter Tolan and Kenneth Lonergan make the most of the simple but juicy premise. One of the treats about Analyze This is that many of the choice gags were just a little too ribald for the trailers. De Niro's reasoning for keeping a mistress is worth the price of admission. Analyze This actually gets funnier as it progresses.


Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal in Analyze This.
© 1999 Warner Bros., used by permission.

Ideal casting in the leads doesn't hurt. Describing De Niro's work here as self-parody is demeaning. He approaches the "lighter site" of his gangster persona with gusto. He looks like he's having a ball, and it's a riot watching him burst into tears when he's trying to be tough.

While De Niro demonstrates a capacity for comedy,
Crystal more than holds his own. After misfires like
Father's Day, it's a pleasure watching him work with
potent material. A good portion of the fun concerns Crystal trying in vain to keep his composure as the absurdity around him compounds. If Crystal occasionally plays straight man for De Niro, he gets the film's biggest laughs during the finale when he tries to moderate the meeting of goodfellas.

As good as Crystal and De Niro are, it's a shame Ramis couldn't have done more with Lisa Kudrow, who plays Crystal's fiancée. While her performance is fine, her motives are sometimes sketchy and her attraction to Crystal's irritable character is mysterious. Kudrow is a virtuoso at playing airheads, and The Opposite of Sex demonstrates that she has a wide range. It's a shame that such a talented actress is reduced to window dressing

Still, the unusual but dynamic pairing of Crystal and
De Niro is a treat that only those who are sleeping with the fishes couldn't appreciate

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