By EWAN McDONALD
(Herald rating: * * *)
Analyse this: how come Robert De Niro gets 34.5 million of our low-grade dollars to parody his once-brilliant career ... and a few years later pockets another $34.5 million for taking the proverbial out of himself again?
Analyze That, the sequel to 1999's hit comedy
Analyze This (and probably the forerunner to Analyze The Other, as a number of wits have pointed out) is the formula once again as De Niro replays Paul Vitto, the Mob boss in therapy (Tony Soprano without the jokes). Billy Crystal is his analyst, Dr Sobel (Dr Melfi with less angst, almost), Lisa Kudrow plays Sobel's wife Laura, and Joe Viterelli is Vitti's hapless henchman, Jelly.
Second time around, Vitti is in prison, fearing for his life among people who know him too well, and tries to get out by faking a breakdown. De Niro Sings West Side Story? Betcha Travis Bickel wouldn't.
Vitti is released into the care of Dr Sobel, who is as dumb as the prison authorities and falls for the act. Vitti makes ends meet with some odd jobs before landing a job as consultant on the mafia TV series Little Caesar, starring Anthony La Paglia. So now, to remind you, we've got De Niro in a movie parodying his roles as a Mob boss in a movie that parodies The Sopranos. Capisce?
Behind the scenes, however, Vitti is getting back together with the usual suspects and dragging Sobel into another fine mess. So if you liked the first movie, you'll get a giggle out of this one. But, please, no more. If anyone suggests a third, buy him a pair of concrete gumboots.
And in next week's column, we find that Robert De Niro hasn't given up his day job.
DVD features: movie (96min); commentary by director/writer Harold Ramis; Making Of ... ; M. A. D. E. game.
