Review of Analyze That (2002) by Stuart K — 30 Dec 2012

Even though Analyze This (1999) managed to be a massive success in 1999, there were initially no plans to make a sequel. But, the lure of director Harold Ramis and the stars from the original working together again was strong, they all felt there was more to tell.

So, they started work on the sequel, it's a funny film, not as good as the original, but it does have some good laughs along the way. 3 years after being sent down, Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro) is near the end of his sentence at Sing Sing Prison, but after an assassination attempt, he goes insane.

The FBI call upon his shrink Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal) to determine whether Vitti has lost it. Sobel agrees, the FBI let him out of prison, and entrust Vitti into Sobel's care, and give him 30 days to turn his life around.

But, it turns out Vitti was faking it just to get out as he has unfinished business with the mob. However, Sobel tells Vitti he has to get a legitimate job, which he does, on a gangster themed TV show, and Vitti uses that as a cover for one last job, much to Sobel's horror.

It is a bit more unbelievable than the first film, but it's a funny film. While it is a joy to see De Niro sing songs from West Side Story, it's also good to see Crystal lose his cool more than once, and he shows a tougher side than we're used to, but it gives good closure to this mob saga.