In this sequel to the 1999 hit Analyze This, De Niro and Crystal are back as Paul Vitti, a mobster with a heart of gold, and Ben Sobel, his neurotic shrink. We catch up with Vitti in Sing Sing, where his sudden mental health problems (when he's not catatonic, he's singing the score of West Side Story) call Sobel back to duty. Released from prison and into his therapist's care, Vitti must live at the Sobels' home (Kudrow, who's back as Ben's wife, once again reveals herself to be a one-trick pony -- you wonder what Phoebe from Friends is doing married to a shrink who's treating a mobster). Determined to live a clean life, Vitti tries his hand at legit jobs like selling cars (he praises one model for having a trunk big enough to fit three bodies) and working as a consultant on a TV show called Little Caesar, a clever parody of The Sopranos.
The movie is definitely not as cohesive as the original (the premise of Analyze This was somehow less of a stretch). However, Analyze That has more laugh out loud, genuinely hilarious moments. The Little Caesar element, for example, is deliciously fun, simultaneously satirizing the hit HBO series and Hollywood in general. Overall, it feels like Crystal, De Niro, and director Ramis have settled into a familiarity with the material and each other that allows for richer comedic chemistry and improvisation.
Copyright © 2008 Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc.