Analyze This (1999)

This would be a good movie if not for all the swearing. The "F" word is used far too liberally for me to have enjoyed this picture. Yes, yes, I can hear you all screaming "authenticity" where street language is part of a movie, but honestly, we can get by without it and still end up with a much more enjoyable picture-going time. Just look at all the movies that were made in the 50's and 60's. There was not a "B" or an "F" word among them and we still loved the movie-going experience and enjoyed the movies all the more! The acceptance of bad language in movies has come about because so many people these days have not been taught right from wrong, and so they fail to understand that such language does not belong in our entertainment. This contribution to the decline of our society is allowed to fester and pervade every aspect of our daily existence but it should not be so. You might think it's alright to include gutter-talk in movies, but I would have enjoyed this picture so much more without all the "F's". I also have the sequel to this picture, ("Analyse that"), but I will not be watching it because I already know that it will just be more of the same. I find it disappointing that a couple of potentially good movies with otherwise great actors have been ruined for me. I have rated this one a 7 only because of the comical story-line and the fact that Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal are good together in this, but now I will be throwing both of these pictures into the rubbish where they belong! I will not let my family see these movies and feel degraded by them as I was!

Robert De Niro as a mobster and Billy Crystal as his analyst. Just the premise is enough for a chuckle, but the resulting picture -- "Analyze This" -- is more than a high concept stretched to feature length. This is a funny and extremely satisfying comedy, the best in a while.The picture, which opens today, is not just funny in the moment. It's funny days later. Moments and lines are so perfect that they linger in the mind. In one scene, the analyst has a dream based on a scene from "The Godfather": He's Don Corleone, and the mobster is his son, helpless as a rival gang guns down the old man at a fruit stand. The analyst (Crystal) confides his dream to the mob boss."You mean, I was Fredo?!" De Niro says. "I don't think so." De Niro has figured out that his best strategy for playing comedy is to play it as he would a drama. He plays it straight and lets the situation determine whether it's funny. Audiences will be delighted and slightly shocked at the sight of De Niro, as Mafia boss Paul Vitti, weeping at a sentimental TV commercial. He's at the end of his rope. All the pain he's buried is clamoring to come into the light, and the result is a series of anxiety attacks.A nice aspect of "Analyze This" is that it never gives way to silliness. The setup is a good one, and director Harold Ramis keeps the movie true to it, in tone and style. As outlandish as things get, the characters' dilemmas stay real -- Who could a troubled wise guy turn to? What would an analyst do? -- and there's a dark edge. The threat of violence is ever-present, and with Chazz Palminteri as a rival boss lurking in the background, a happy ending never seems guaranteed.Easily, "Analyze This" is Crystal's best picture. Always at his best when bouncing off of a talented co-star, Crystal has too often found himself in romantic comedies in which he's made a wormy, unconvincing love interest.Here he gets to do great shtick -- in one scene, posing as a consigliere, he double-talks at a meeting of the Mafia commission. But he also holds up the screen opposite De Niro, as Ben, a bored therapist who blossoms into his emotional and professional adulthood over the course of a dangerous and stressful ordeal.It's dangerous because other mobsters are worried that the boss of all bosses is telling the therapist too many secrets. It's dangerous because the feds want to squeeze him for information. It's also dangerous because his patient has a bad temper and a violent streak -- and might, at any moment, turn on him.All the De Niro-Crystal scenes, and there are plenty, are a pleasure to watch. In the first, the crook shows up at the analyst's office, insisting that he's there on behalf of a friend. When the doctor tells him that he thinks the mobster is really describing his own problems, De Niro's take is priceless. He pauses, smiles in awe and says, "You're good. You got a gift, my friend." From there, the doctor can't get rid of this patient, who shows up everywhere. The one-liners and banter are unexpected: The mobster mentions that he has a mistress because there are things he won't do with his wife. When the doctor asks what things, he answers, "Hey, that's the mouth she kisses the kids good night with." De Niro has played so many gangsters that his role here could have seemed like parody. Yet in his own way, Paul Vitti is as real as the Irish gangster De Niro played in "GoodFellas." It's the same type but from a bizarre new angle

This may be the beginning of the period in which Robert De Niro just stopped trying. This period continues, unfortunately. This movie is not funny. I didn't laugh -- not once. The premise seems amusing, but not too far into the movie you start to get that familiar feeling that goes with so many bad movies: that the film editor tried to piece together whatever they had shot into a decent movie, even though not enough was completed. What was completed was of mediocre quality, but the final product is GARBAGE. I paid to see this in the theater and really wanted to ask for my money back. There's one scene in particular that is clearly improvised... but so badly. Don't watch this. I can't even imagine how bad the sequel was with such a disappointing start.

'Analyze This' is a complete treat of a comedy. It is so funny & sublime, & the superb performances from it's supremely talented cast only add to it's booty. 'Analyze This' is a comedy about a psychiatrist whose number one-patient is an insecure mob boss. 'Analyze This' has a superb start, middle & end. It's a complete entertainer, that relaxes your mind. The relationship between the psychiatrist & the mob boss is infectious & extremely charming. Paula Weinstein & Jane Rosenthal's Screenplay is first-rate. Harold Ramis's Direction is appropriate. Cinematography is well-balanced. Editing & Art Design are decent.Performance-Wise: De Niro & Billy Crystal are at their funniest best. De Niro, like always, lives his character & gives him an entire ark, while Crystal scores due to his impeccable comic-timing. Also, their On-Screen Rapport is top-notch! Joe Viterelli is lovable. Lisa Kudrow supports well. Chazz Palminteri is as usual. Others leave a mark.On the whole, 'Analyze This' is one fine comedy. I really enjoyed this film!