Release Date: December 6, 2002
Starring: Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow, Joe Viterelli, Cathy Moriarty-Gentile
Directed by: Harold Ramis
Written by: Peter Steinfeld, Harold Ramis, Peter Tolan
Distributed by: Warner Brothers
MPAA Rating: R (language, some sexual content)
Comedic director Harold Ramis struck the right chords with 1999's Analyze This, but he nearly misses all of them with the sequel, Analyze That. Luckily for him, the bosses at Warner Brothers provided the appropriate budget to pay for the talents of Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal, because without those two, this film could nearly be considered a waste of time. Its shortcomings are mostly due to the sloppy, uncreative writing (a fault in itself typical of nine out of ten sequels), thus making the movie a frustrating experience rather than an enjoyable, farcical romp like the original.
The leads, done by Crystal and De Niro, played off each other very well in the first film because each actor filled his part perfectly -- Crystal's character was a neurotic psychiatrist, while DeNiro was a tough-talking mob boss. Of course, these roles exemplify the qualities most often associated with the two actors, and the idea of exaggerating those traits for comic effect worked successfully in Analyze This. On the other hand, Analyze That completely lacks that same chemistry and ingenuity that original used to its advantage.
The second time around, De Niro's character, incarcerated mobster Paul Vitti, is about to finish the prison sentence he began at the end of Analyze This, and someone is trying to kill him before he has a chance to go free. After being unable to contact his psychiatrist Ben Sobel (Crystal), he resorts to pretending he's insane in order to get out of prison and into a safer environment. The FBI (for believable reasons that elude this screenplay) decides to release Vitti into Ben's custody until the former mobster regains his mental health. Vitti has other plans, though, as he pretends to work straight jobs and help Ben deal with his father's recent death.
Among the few treats left in this sequel are the characters of Jelly (Vitti's right-hand man, played by Joe Viterelli) and Sobel's son Michael (Kyle Sabihy), a small handful of colorful gangsters, the sporadic humor of Billy Crystal, and the occasionally original mobster joke. It would have been an absolute crime for Analyze This fans had director Ramis (of Caddyshack and Groundhog Day fame) not thrown us these few bones.
But the rest of Analyze That gives the viewer the sense that everyone was on set simply to get paid and not to work hard creating worthwhile entertainment. After Paul Vitti arrives at the Sobel household, Ben has a therapeutic talk with him that is awkwardly placed in the script. After that, the gangster subsequently meets with his former mob family to once again declare he's left his old life behind, and sure enough, they want him back in the business to help settle a current mafia feud. From then on, the movie is blatantly arbitrary.
The finale is extremely over-the-top and unbelievable, and again, it shows how little writers Ramis, Peter Tolan, and Peter Steinfeld tried to avoid the common mistake of being overzealous when it comes to a highly anticipated sequel (watching De Niro sing and dance to West Side Story show tunes is further proof of that). Also, Ramis's inclusion of a few brief clips of Vitti and his father is the director's attempt at making the movie warmhearted, but these sentimental moments don't work at all because everything else is so silly and shallow.
Lisa Kudrow's chracter, Ben's disapproving wife Laura, also suffers from the same problems that plague the rest of the story -- compared to the original, her limited appearance here is even more questionable. Even the usually hilarious Billy Crystal can't muster enough of his trademark wit, and it brings back memories of his turn in the highly unsuccessful City Slickers 2: The Legend of Curly's Gold.
As for Robert De Niro, his performance only works when he isn't imitating himself, but it's likely that nobody had the guts to say that to his face, so he might just keep making a fool out of himself. Here he's actually reunited with his Raging Bull costar, Cathy Moriarty-Gentile, but their shared screen time is yet another dull disappointment, and a far cry from that 1980 masterpiece.
It's quite frustrating waiting for Analyze That to get around to the point, or at least give the audience a couple of full-belly laughs. It's safe to say it delivers little worth spending your time on, but the lesson it teaches is one experienced moviegoers should all know by now -- beware of unnecessary sequels.
all contents © 2002 Andy Zientek