Analyze That is a 2002 comedy film, and a sequel to the 1999 film Analyze This. The film was directed and co-written by Harold Ramis (who also worked on the first film) and stars Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal who respectively reprise their roles as mobster Paul Vitti and psychiatrist Ben Sobel.

Plot

Nearing the completion of his sentence in Sing Sing prison, Paul Vitti's life is threatened by assassins while incarcerated. He fakes insanity and starts singing showtunes from West Side Story to get the attention of Ben Sobel, who had previously hung up on him while attending his father's funeral. The FBI calls in Ben to see if Paul is really insane. It turns out that Vitti is faking it, but Ben doesn't find this out until after he's left Sing Sing. Needing some therapy himself after his father's death, a grieving Sobel talks Vitti into finding a regular job (per FBI request). Vitti attempts to find a legitimate job (he tries his hand at a car dealership, a jewelry store and a restaurant), but his rude manners and paranoia mess things up.

At the same time, he also discovers that the Rigazzi family are the ones who want him dead. He reacts to this by telling the Rigazzis that he is 'out', and seeking a new line of work. He finds employment working as a technical advisor on the set of a Sopranos-like mafia TV series. Meanwhile, FBI agents inform Sobel that Vitti has his old crew back together, and may be planning something big. This rouses Sobel's suspicion, and he visits Vitti, the two get caught up in a car chase, which ends in Vitti escaping. The FBI blames Sobel, and gives him 24 hours to track down Vitti.

After locating Vitti (through Sobel's own son Michael, who now works as Vitti's chauffeur), Sobel discovers that Vitti is planning a big heist. He tries to talk Vitti out of it, but Vitti goes ahead and Sobel is forced to go along. The crew score $20m in gold bullion, but some of Rigazzi's thugs take over. Sobel in a fit of anger defeats one of them and Vitti's men take care of the rest. They use the $20 million in gold bullion to frame the Rigazzi family leaving the Rigazzi goons locked in a truck suspended from a crane. This leads to the arrest of the entire Rigazzi family, and in turn, prevents a mob war.

Sobel meets with Vitti and Jelly on a bridge, and they part ways again as friends, singing another West Side Story showtune together.

Cast

• Robert De Niro as Paul Vitti
• Billy Crystal as Dr. Ben Sobel M.D.
• Joe Viterelli as Jelly (in his last film role)
• Lisa Kudrow as Laura Sobel
• Cathy Moriarty-Gentile as Patti LoPresti
• Frank Gio as Lou "The Wrench" Rigazzi
• Reg Rogers as Raoul Berman
• Kyle Sabihy as Michael
• Anthony LaPaglia as Anthony Bella
• Pat Cooper as Sal Masiello

Background

Initially there was no plan to create a sequel to Analyze This, but the positive reaction generated by the first film encouraged the producers to consider a sequel and discuss it with the studio and actors. They believed, as said by Crystal, that "There was an unfinished relationship between Ben Sobel and Paul Vitti from the first film" and "there was a good story to tell", so the sequel was commissioned.

The story of the sequel was inspired by an article in the New York Times about the psychotherapy used in the TV show The Sopranos. Ramis said the article "raised questions about human nature and morality...Can the criminal mind be turned?" and he became interested in what would happen if "Paul Vitti got out of jail and committed himself to going straight."

The production arranged for Dr. Stephen A. Sands, a psychiatrist and faculty member of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons to be a technical adviser for the film, and he remained on set during the filming of scenes that involved psychiatric issues. Sands was very familiar with the details of Vincent "The Chin" Gigante's alleged mental illness, after studying the case during his post-doctoral training. Sands also arranged for De Niro to visit Bellevue Hospital's psychiatric unit to meet patients and psychiatrists to discuss the character's symptoms, and De Niro sometimes participated in group therapy sessions during these visits.

Production

Filming began in April, 2002, and most of the scenes were shot in and around New York City. Producer Jane Rosenthal said they decided to shoot the film there because "[i]t would have been unpatriotic not to shoot the picture in New York... As a New Yorker it was extremely important for me to get back to work and business as usual after 9/11."

Filming locations for Vitti's attempts at lawful employment include an Audi dealership on Park Avenue in Manhattan, a jewelry store in the Diamond District on West 47th Street, and Gallagher's Steak House on West 52nd Street. The prison scenes were filmed the Riker's Island prison in Queens, with the prison release scene shot outside the entrance to Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. The funeral for Ben's father was filmed at Riverside Memorial Chapel on Manhattan's Upper West Side, and the Sobel household scenes shot in Montclair, New Jersey. The dinner at Nogo restaurant was filmed at West 13th Street in a restaurant that had closed down, and been refurbished by the film's art department. The scenes of Patty LoPresti's home were filmed in Ho Ho Kus, New Jersey, and the Little Caesar set in Washington Square Park, Manhattan. Car chases were filmed on New Jersey Turnpike service roads in Kearney. The heist-planning scenes were shot in two locations: a derelict building in the meat packing district near West 14th Street, and a club called Exit on West 56th Street. Finally, the majority of the heist scenes were shot in an empty lot in West 57th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues, and below a West Side Highway underpass. While filming part of the heist sequence at the New York State 369th Regiment armory, on 145th Street and Fifth Avenue, the film set was visited by former President Bill Clinton, who was pleased the movie was being filmed in New York.

Cinematographer Ellen Kuras said that in shooting the film, the intention was to highlight the contrast between Vitti and Sobel's environments, because the film "exists in two different worlds... We wanted to evoke the contrast so we made Vitti's world cool, blue and blue-green, whereas Ben's world has a brighter, warmer palette, yellows and oranges that provide a neutral tone."

Possible Sequel

A sequel was announced on November, 29th, 2009 and it is rumored that the old cast will be back.

Box office and reception

Analyze That grossed $55 million internationally, significantly less than the $177 million grossed by Analyze This. The film received mixed to negative reviews, and currently holds a 27 percent "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

References

External links