although many people have compared this new gangster comedy to the hit hbo drama ' the sopranos , ' analyze this is witty and entertaining enough to be a good movie in it 's own right .
billy crystal plays wiseguy shrink ben sobol , who new ' patient ' happens to be gangster boss paul vitti ( de niro . )
ben wants nothing to do with vitti , as he 's about to get married to laura macnamara ( kudrow ) and having a gangster as a patient would n't really help .
but ben is soon drawn into vitti worlds , and reluctantly helps vitti to sort his life out .
all done in a comic fashion , of course .
although never brilliant , analyze this is also never rubbish , which makes for a fun ride .
billy crystal , who has n't had a good role since city slickers way back in the early ' 90 's , is given a role that lets him fully exploit his wiseguy act .
he 's pretty funny while he does it , and although his character is a little close to his character in city slickers ,
he 's pretty funny .
robert de niro is hilarious as vitti , playing it dead straight but coming off as really funny .
he 's a serious gangster unaware that he is a comic gold mine .
lisa kudrow , barely seen as crystals ' estranged wife to be , basically reprises her phoebe role from t .
v series friends , which is getting rather tiresome , and does n't come off well on the screen .
the supporting cast is apparently made up of the entire cast of casino and goodfellas , and are all funny caricatures , especially vitti 's bodyguard jelly ( joe viterelli . )
the film genuinely plays like a proper gangster movie , but with laughs instead of hard ass talking .
it sometimes gets a little bloody for a light hearted film , but it strangely fits in .
spoofs are made of famous gangster movies , including a nice parody of the godfather .
the italian tunes playing throughout the soundtrack contribute to the fun .
there 's also some odd plot points : fbi guys appear and suddenly disappear for no apparent reason .
it is true that analyze this has had a somewhat chequered production history , and perhaps the plot points were expanded in a earlier version of the script .
unfortunately , this is hollywood , so we will never know .
harold ramis , best known as egon from ghostbusters , has a deft touch with directing comedy , as shown in the immortal groundhog day , and the less immortal caddyshack .
all the comic potential in a scene is dug out and presented to the audience .
the script , written by ramis along with peter tolan and ken lonergan , starts off funny , remains funny for the most of the film , but sadly peters out somewhat during the last twenty minutes where it wrongly enters more serious territory .
the film is short , however , and just before audience interest is waning the film suddenly goes into a rather rushed and unsatisfying ending and the credits roll .
analyze this is a good comedy , and is certainly worth watching .
robert de niro sobbing is reason enough to watch it , even though it does seem forced , or like a parody ( although i think this was intentional . )
crystal is his most likeable in years
, kudrow is given as little screen time as possible , which is a good thing , and de niro
is just awesome .
it 's no goodfellas , and it probably wo n't be remembered as much as groundhog day , but analyze this is a well done comedy that wo n't leave you feel cheated .
is hilarious are all funny caricatures starts off funny , remains funny for the most of the film is a good comedy , and is certainly worth watching is just awesome he 's pretty funny he 's pretty funny coming off as really funny it strangely fits in is his most likeable in years makes for a fun ride a well done comedy that wo n't leave you feel cheated contribute to the fun lets him fully exploit his wiseguy act witty and entertaining enough to be a good movie in it 's own right all the comic potential in a scene is dug out and presented to the audience