"Family" Therapy?
Crystal and DeNiro Shine in Mobster Comedy

Relatively few movies have ever successfully combined organized crime and comedy. For every good movie like Johnny Dangerously that's made, there's a bad one like Mafia!. In the new Billy Crystal/Robert DeNiro comedy, Analyze This, the comedy is solid. More importantly, the superb acting carries the movie beyond one-liners and gags.

DeNiro plays Paul Vitti, the head of a New York crime family who is having anxiety attacks. These episodes are caused in no small part by the fact that someone is trying to bump him off. To overcome his problem before the "big meeting" of the various families, he seeks the assistance of a reluctant psychiatrist, Ben Sobel, played by Crystal.

While in part a "mob" movie, Analyze This never falls into gangster movie clichés. It concentrates instead on Ben and his attempts to keep his personal and professional lives from colliding. After being kidnapped from his hotel room while on vacation for an impromptu night session, he confides his secret to his bride-to-be, Laura (Lisa Kudrow). Soon, his association to the mobster is also being noted by a rival family and the FBI.

The comedy in Analyze This is often silly, with one-liners and site gags about the mob. There is also some subtle satire, as in the dream sequence when Ben sees himself in being gunned down while buying oranges (a recreation of the scene in The Godfather in which Vito Corleone is shot). I laughed throughout the scene, recognizing it for what it was. Sadly, I was the only one in the theater who seemed to get it.

The fact that this film works so well can be attributed to DeNiro's ability to convincingly play a mobster (now there's a stretch!) and remain sympathetic. Even as he strong-arms the people around him, he does so with a grace and civility that seems almost charming. When he gives Laura an envelope and tells her its a gift for the bride and groom, she instinctively refuses and says, "We can't accept this." "Yes, you can," says Vitti. And that is that. No one argues with Mr. Vitti.

Crystal shines as Sobel, managing to make his character believable, despite the unbelievable circumstances he is thrust into. Rather than playing him weak through the entire film, Crystal shows Sobel change and grow as the chaos surrounding him threatens to engulf his life. Yet, he never succumbs to whimpering and whining, making Sobel an enjoyable character who ultimately makes a stand when the occasion arises.

Sobel has issues with his own father, a well-known psychiatrist and author, which were hinted at but never furthered in the plot. It is my guess that the story thread was removed from the script at one time or another. The ending of the movie, likewise, is a little too pat. I would have preferred a little exposition about Sobel's fate. These dangling loose-ends are the only faults I can find in the film.

One last note, singer Tony Bennett makes a surprise appearance as himself in the end of the film.

MY RATING: 8 out of 10.

RATED: R
RUN TIME: 103 min.