Review of Analyze This (1999) by Ruhan R — 27 Aug 2011

I'm probably one of the few people that thought "Analyze This" was an awesome comedy. It's probably because I really like the direction of Harold Ramis, as well as the chemistry that was created between Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro. In my opinion, it worked, and therefore, this movie worked as a whole.

Not to be related to "The Sopranos" in anyway at all, Robert De Niro plays a mob boss who begins to feel physical stress and sees a shrink. The shrink is played by Billy Crystal. The idea of a mob boss seeking a shrink was also taken in the hit television show, but in a dramatic sense, where as this film is comedic. I think it might have been just a coincidence, but who knows. Anyway, the idea for the movie really isn't special, but like I said, I really enjoyed the performances.

De Niro and Crystal just seemed to work together perfectly. At moments I really enjoyed myself because of the hilariousness, and other times I was just simply impressed by the good acting from the two of them. The rest of the actors were simply so-so, but really these guys made the movie.

To tell you the truth, I couldn't really tell you why I REALLY liked this movie. I mean the plot of the movie is kind of dry to tell you the truth, and there isn't a lot of substance to keep you hooked from start to finish. If there were any other two people in the lead rolls, I definitely would have advised skipping this film. It was just plain luck that I really liked this movie at all, because believe me, it definitely had the potential to be horrible.

So on that note, I say see the movie, not for it's plot, which is pretty simple and bleak, and not for it's execution, which is a little predictable, and you can tell that it seems like, production wise, the movie was a little too easy to make. Just see the movie for these two guys. They work pretty well together, and really what makes the film work is recognizing and nostalging about both their careers while viewing the performances in this film, because it's a nice little reflective treat, that makes you admire what your watching. See this film.