Billy Crystal and Robert DeNiro are back again as shrink and mobster in the sequel to 1998's hugely successful Analyze This. The title, Analyze That of course, which I'm guessing will be followed by Analyze The Other Thing, or maybe AT3 for short. This doesn't really matter, but it is an entertaining exercise.

The storyline takes off from where the last film ended with gangster Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro, City by the Sea) serving time in the slammer for his various transgressions. Then suddenly, people start attempting to kill Paul, so he calls his old friend and psychiatrist Dr. Ben Sobol (Billy Crystal, Monsters, Inc.). Unfortunately for Paul, Dr. Sobol is at the funeral for his father and cannot talk to Paul at that time. So after another attempt on his life, Paul goes crazy and begins singing show tunes from West Side Story. After a few songs he would then go catatonic, which is when the warden calls in Dr. Sobol to determine if Mr. Vitti has gone crazy or is just faking it. After a series of tests, Dr. Sobol feels that Paul is indeed crazy, so the FBI release Paul to Dr. Sodol's care (this would never happen in real life). Everyone thinks he is faking it, but the FBI wants him out to stir-up trouble in a gang war that has erupted between Mob families. Soon after being released, Paul reveals that he was faking it, but that someone really is trying to kill him, and he doesn't know whom it is. Now, because Paul is just out to seek treatment, he can't go to work in his old line of business, so Ben sets him up with a series of jobs that are just not to Paul's liking. This is until Paul lands a job as a consultant to a Sopranos like show called Little Caesar. All during this time, Dr. Sobol is dealing with his own issues. These issues are mainly his insecure wife Laura (Lisa Kudrow, Dr. Dolittle 2), his Mob wannabe son Michael (Kyle Sabihy), and finally dealing with the death of his father (he's grieving, it's a process). Now once Paul is working on the show, he starts putting into place a plan with his old friend Jelly (Joe Viterelli, Serving Sara) that will get rid of all his troubles. So the questions becomes, will it all work, has Paul gone legit, and will Dr. Sobol stay out of the way? Regardless, it is often funny.

For this sequel, most of the cast is back, and so is the director, Harold Ramis. He also did a lot of the script writing. A few others in the film are William DeMeo, Joe D'Onofrio, Firdous Bamji, Pat Cooper, Cathy Moriarty (Gloria), Donna-Marie Recco, Reg Rogers, Raymond Franza, Anthony LaPaglia and a cameo by the Yankees Joe Torre.

It is always difficult for a sequel to be as funny as the original. It is even rarer for it to be funnier (though I think Toy Story 2 fits that category). Analyze That is not nearly as funny as the original. It is still funny, and De Niro continues to delight in his comedic endeavors. So, a decent film worthy of six couches out of ten.

Last updated: Thursday, March 20, 2008 02:48:27 AM

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