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''Analyze This'' is a 1999 American mafia comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, who co-wrote the screenplay with playwright
Kenneth Lonergan Kenneth Lonergan (born October 16, 1962) is an American film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He is the co-writer of the film ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), and wrote and directed '' You Can Count on Me'' (2000), ''Margaret'' (2011), and ' ...
, and Peter Tolan. The plot follows a crisis-stricken mafioso (
Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
) who solicits the assistance of a reluctant
psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
(
Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
). ''Analyze This'' was given a wide release by
Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of li ...
and
Roadshow Entertainment Roadshow Entertainment (formerly known as Roadshow Home Video from 1982–1993) is an Australian home video, production and distribution company that is a division of Village Roadshow (formerly Roadshow Home Video and Roadshow Entertainment) t ...
on March 5, 1999, grossing $176.9 million worldwide, and received positive reviews. Due to its success, it was followed by the
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
'' Analyze That'' in 2002.


Plot

Mob boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...
Paul Vitti and his ''
consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural ) is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel '' The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a ...
'' Manetta are discussing an upcoming meeting and the Mafia's present-day problems over lunch. Just as Manetta warns Paul to look out for Primo Sindone (an up-and-coming mafioso who wants to be '' capo di tutti capi''), gunmen drive past and kill Manetta. Paul narrowly escapes.
Psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
Ben Sobel is stressed: his son from his first marriage spies on his sessions, his patients are not challenging enough, and his wedding to Laura MacNamara is upcoming. Ben rear-ends a car belonging to Paul and the trunk opens, revealing a man bound and gagged inside, which Ben and his son do not notice. Jelly, one of Paul's men, takes the blame, but Ben gives Jelly his business card in case he changes his mind regarding compensation. During a meeting, Paul has a
panic attack Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, sweating, chest pain or chest discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, confusion, or a feeling of impending doom or of losing ...
and tells Jelly that he needs to see a psychiatrist, but it has to be kept a secret, and Jelly recommends Ben. Paul visits Ben, claiming his friend needs therapy, but Ben sees through the lie. As he realizes Paul is talking about himself, it impresses Paul enough to want to see him constantly, to Ben's frustration. Ben goes to Miami for his wedding and Paul, Jelly, and the crew follow. Paul explains he has been suffering from
erectile dysfunction Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of ma ...
and Ben suggests the source of the problem might be stress. The next day, Paul has another panic attack and requests to see Ben. Paul explains his history with his father to him, who thinks this might have something to do with Paul's
anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
. The wedding is interrupted when an
assassin Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
is killed by Jelly. Ben confronts Paul and causes him to lose his temper. Ben suggests he resolve his anger by calling Primo and telling him how he feels. Paul phones Primo and starts doing it, but ends up threatening to kill him. Ben and his family return to New York, where they find a fountain in their garden, a gift from Paul. The FBI arrive and request Ben inform on Paul, but he refuses despite the FBI's threats. He changes his mind when the FBI play a tape in which Paul reveals his intention to kill Ben after the meeting (which the FBI had altered: Paul was actually saying he would kill anyone who threatened Ben). At his next meet-up with Paul, Ben wears a wire, but discards it when he learns that, as a child, he witnessed his father being murdered. Paul, informed that Ben was working with the FBI, takes him to a secluded place to kill him. They get into a heated argument, and Paul breaks down as he admits that he blames himself for his father's death. Just then, two hitmen arrive to kill Paul, but Jelly kills them both. Paul apologizes for planning to kill Ben, and the two part ways. The day of the meeting arrives, but Paul has a severe panic attack. Jelly interrupts Ben's wedding, requesting Ben attend the meeting as Paul's ''consigliere''. He is reluctant, but his ego causes him to patronize Primo until he finally pulls a gun. Paul arrives, orders Primo to stand down, and announces he knows a traitor in his own family killed Dominic, but will not seek revenge as he instead will retire from the Mafia. Outside, a standoff ensues between Paul's and Primo's men, during which Ben sacrifices himself for Paul. The FBI intervenes, the mobsters are arrested, and Ben is taken to the hospital. Ben visits Paul in prison, and Paul thanks Ben for his help before informing him that Primo is dead. At home, Ben dances with his new wife as
Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...
serenades them.


Cast


Production


Development

''Analyze This'' was co-produced and co-financed by the American Warner Bros. and the Australian
Roadshow Entertainment Roadshow Entertainment (formerly known as Roadshow Home Video from 1982–1993) is an Australian home video, production and distribution company that is a division of Village Roadshow (formerly Roadshow Home Video and Roadshow Entertainment) t ...
.


Reception


Box office

''Analyze This'' opened in 2,518 theaters and earned an average of $7,017 per location, for an estimated $18 million opening, putting it at number 1 at the box office for that weekend; it exceeded the $13 million debut of Crystal's '' City Slickers'' in 1991. It would also break '' Ronin''s record for having the largest opening weekend for a
Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
film. The film held this record until the release of ''
Meet the Parents ''Meet the Parents'' is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. It chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless nurse ( Ben Stiller as Greg Focker) while ...
'' in October 2000. The opening weekend audience skewed older, with 75% over the age of 25, and audience demographics being 54% female to 46% male. The film went on to earn $107 million at the domestic box office and a further $70 million at the international box office, for a worldwide total of $177 million.


Critical response

On review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
the film has an approval rating of 69% from 107 reviews, with an average rating of 6.50/10. The website's consensus states, "''Analyze This'' is a satisfying comedy with great performances by De Niro and Crystal." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film a grade of "A-."
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, saying the film would be thought of in terms of the two leads, but also praised Joe Viterelli for his subtle performance that holds the film together. ''Analyze This'' drew several comparisons by journalists to the mafia show ''
The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...
'', which had premiered two months earlier in January, due to its plot about mobster Tony Soprano seeing a psychiatrist. The movie is also mentioned in ''The Sopranos'' episode " Guy Walks into a Psychiatrist's Office..."


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control 1999 films 1999 comedy films 1990s crime comedy films American crime comedy films 1990s English-language films Films about murderers Films about psychiatry Films directed by Harold Ramis Films set in Miami Films set in New York City Films shot in Miami Films shot in New Jersey Films shot in New York City American black comedy films Mafia comedy films Films with screenplays by Harold Ramis Village Roadshow Pictures films Warner Bros. films Films with screenplays by Kenneth Lonergan Films with screenplays by Peter Tolan Films scored by Howard Shore 1990s American films