Analyze This

As a tough guy Robert De Niro has been an indomitable cinematic presence over the years. When he's strayed beyond the genre (Awakenings and Midnight Run), it's always been a tad unsettling to witness a kinder, gentler De Niro on screen. Harold Ramis's film is one of these latter vehicles that tartly leverages De Niro's "wise guy" shtick for some uproarious laughs, whether it's his Mr. V. (a New York City crime boss, ostensibly fashioned after John Gotti) making a thuggish retort to his shrink (Billy Crystal in his best role since City Slickers) after learning the Freudian definition of "Oedipal complex" -- "Freud was a sick fuck and so are you" -- or a delightfully cheesy dream sequence where the duo re-enact the infamous fruit-market hit scene from The Godfather.

But for every gag that De Niro and Crystal pull off -- and they do have comedic chemistry -- the script strands them in eddies of frivolity. First there's Mr. V.'s disorder: he's been a hard-ass don for years, and suddenly he's afflicted by panic attacks because of a turf skirmish and the big upcoming mob meeting? Then there are his bouts of emotional weakness: not only are these moments awkward and poorly orchestrated, but even in a comedy, it's a stretch to watch De Niro cry. Analyze This plays The Godfather bit fast and funny, it just picked a framework it should have refused.

-- Tom Meek