Analyse That (2002)

1.5 out of 4

Starring: Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow, Joe Viterelli, Anthony LaPaglia, Cathy Moriarty-Gentile

Director: Harold Ramis

Time: 95 mins

Analyse This was a surprise box office hit when it was released in 1999. The story about a Mafia boss (Robert De Niro) and his reluctant psychiatrist (Billy Crystal) allowed De Niro to send up his tough guy image and included plenty of jabs at mob movies like The Godfather. What is also a surprise is how long it has taken for the producers to come up with a sequel. Now that it has arrived, we can easily guess why. Analyse That is a poor follow-up to the original. The film contains a few chuckle-worthy moments, but the story is flaccid and the jokes come only every five minutes. It seemed like all that was needed was to have De Niro ham it up again, but even his performance can't save this film.

The film begins several years after the events in Analyse This. Mob boss Paul Vitti (De Niro) is serving time in Sing Sing Prison, and trying to survive occasional "whackings." His psychiatrist, Ben Sobel (Crystal), is coping with the death of his father and trying to enjoy wedded life with Laura (Lisa Kudrow). When Vitti turns catatonic, he is placed into Sobel's care. Little does Sobel realise that Vitti, with the help of faithful henchman Jelly (Joe Viterelli), is out to find who's trying to kill him. It could be someone from warring families headed by Patty LoPresti (Cathy Moriarty-Gentile) and Lou "The Wrench" Rigazzi. Sobel, meanwhile, is trying to help Vitti turn legit, and signs him up as a consultant on TV mob show Little Caesar, which stars Anthony LaPaglia. Amidst all the mob frictions, will Sobel be able to stay sane, keep his marriage, and his life?

I didn't expect Analyse That to be match the original, but with stars De Niro and Crystal, and writer-director Harold Ramis back on board, I thought the jokes would at least try to approach the level of Analyse This. Sadly, this doesn't happen. Analyse This mined the richness of Mafia films for all they were worth, and the result was an often hilarious film that combined the talents of De Niro and Crystal into one satisfying whole. With Analyse That, the main plotline of warring mob factions isn't developed all that well, and the paranoia of Sobel that was the germ of many of the first film's best moments is noticeably absent. The lack of consistent humour and a coherent story is surprising, since writer Ramis was also responsible for the original and those seminal Bill Murray films, Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day. There could have been a funny development of the Sopranos-like subplot, when Vitti is used as a consultant on the TV mob show, but this isn't fully explored. When one of the running gags involves repeating the line, "I'm grieving...it's a process," several times, you know the film is in trouble.

De Niro has shown he is adept at light comedic roles, as evidenced by recent turns in Showtime and Meet The Parents, in addition to Analyse This. Here he does several non-typical De Niro riffs, including a few hearty renditions of songs from West Side Story. While intermittently funny, we've seen all this before. Worse, the film's creators thinks that this is what drove the success of the original, and lazily bring this aspect back. They forgot the first film was as much story-driven as character-driven. Crystal was also very funny the first time around, but here he seems to play second fiddle to De Niro's shtick. Lisa Kudrow reprises her hapless wife role, and Joe Viterelli is brought back as Jelly, the pockmarked Mafia tough guy. Anthony La Paglia has fun as the TV star Don, though he doesn't have much to do, given how little this part of the plot is developed. Finally, it's interesting to see Cathy Moriarty-Gentile, who got her first big notices playing (not coincidentally, perhaps) opposite De Niro in Raging Bull, in a rare screen appearance.

Analyse This was one of the funnier and more enjoyable comedies over the past few years. Its combination of a star parodying his own image, some memorable situations, and a smorgasbord of great one-liners, all added up to a good time at the flicks. Sadly, the sequel fails to come close to that standard. There are some chuckles to be had, but even at its relatively short 95 minute running time, there were moments when I yawned and wanted it to end. A pity, actually, given the talent involved.

(c) Joe Wong (9 December 2002)