Analyze That: Final Session
Analyze That: Final SessionI was one of the critics three years ago who applauded Robert DeNiro for loosening up on screen in Analyze This and having some fun with his big-screen, tough guy persona. As Paul Vitti, DeNiro was alternately hilarious and even a little endearing as a mob boss in serious need of therapy. Whether he was shooting a pillow to let out his aggression or threatening to kill psychiatrist Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal) if his therapy sessions ended up turning him gay, Vitti was a great and original character to watch.
The film was the beginning of several comic roles for DeNiro, and the whispers of self-parody have begun to get louder and louder in recent years. Does DeNiro still have another Taxi Driver or The Deer Hunter in him? Can he still play a role like the ruthless criminal in Heat and not have the screenwriter insert the standard DeNiro jokes we've become used to? Is he whoring himself out to give his career longevity?
Analyze That is only going to add to these questions. In the film, DeNiro's Vitti is observed in jail launching into songs from West Side Story. This is intentionally silly, and the audience does laugh. But can I just say for the record right here and now ... ENOUGH, BOBBY D! ENOUGH SELF PARODY! JUST SAY NO!!!
Now, don't get me wrong. DeNiro is a terrific sport for doing what he does in Analyze That. It's great to see him having such a good time in a role. But how far are we away from seeing him in some wacky cross-dressing role? How far is he away from being a Kindergarten Cop or a gangster with an annoying mom sidekick? Mr. DeNiro, please go back to being the brutal, ornery, cross, tough-as-nails S.O.B. we know you are. Please go back to playing deranged or disturbed or just plain disgusted. Yeah, do another Meet the Parents. You were brilliant in that, and Meet the Fokkers is just too good a chance to pass up. But then ... ENOUGH!
Thankfully, DeNiro doesn't embarrass himself in Analyze That. You want true embarrassment? You want a former respected actor turned whore? Try Dennis Franz in those God-awful cellular phone commercials (I refuse to mention the company's name). There is a special torture room in Hell that just plays those commercials 24-hours-a-day, all-day for people like Hitler, Jeffrey Dahmer, and late '90s boy band members. I'm sorry to digress here, but I hate those terrible ads where Franz is faking like he is not doing a commercial, but he's really doing a commercial. Thankfully, DeNiro has not sunk to Franz depths. I mean, seriously. What deal with the Devil did Sipowicz make? Not only is he a whore for an overrated telecom giant, he's also now forced to co-star opposite Zach from Saved by the Bell each week on the monotony that has become NYPD Blue.
OK, enough of this little rant. You're reading this review to find out if Analyze That is any good or not. Well, it's a pretty good sequel. Two-and-a-half stars. A grade of B-minus. I don't think I'd recommend paying full admission price for it. But when it is funny, it is very funny such as a scene in a Japanese restaurant that I will leave to your surprise. However, there are some long stretches in it where the humor lapses and the audience is just watching a plot unfold and characters go from place to place. There is less inspiration this time around, and neither director Harold Ramis nor returning cast members Crystal and Lisa Kudrow (who as husband and wife make for one of the most macabre screen couples in recent memory) can inject the film with any sustained comic momentum.
Analyze That revolves around Vitti being sprung from Sing Sing prison into the custody of his analyst, Sobel. The mobster tries to get his life turned around with a series of jobs that includes car salesman and a technical advisor on Little Caesar, a Sopranos-like mob drama. Eventually, the allure of crime proves to be too much.
Analyze This was a funny idea that executed its plot with precision. Analyze That is more about the characters than the actual plot. If you loved Vitti and the Sobels the first time around, "This" and "That" will probably make for fine companion pieces in your DVD collection. Only, please, guys. No "Analyze This, That, and the Other Thing."
Analyze That is rated PG-13 for occasional profanity and violence, but always with a humorous approach to the Mafia lifestyle.
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