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Analyze This

An excellent comedy. You! The movie had flawz, but it delivered where it counts and that helped me overlook the problems. (A bad movie is where the mistakes outweigh the good moments.)

Analyze This is as a comedy and it was consistently funny. It started with a laugh, had more laughs every couple of minutes and ended with the biggest one. That was the clincher- Billy at the meeting with all the mobsters. That was the scene that put the movie over the top and gave it a lasting impression (even though there was no good reason for Billy to be there!).

For the sake of improving the craft, though, I did find these things troublesome.

• Character

-Dr. Sobel’s (Billy Crystal) son. There was something odd about him, like he was in no-man’s-land. He was in a number of scenes, yet wasn’t important to the story.

-Sobel’s problem with his father was nicely established early on- Step 1. There was a cute moment in the middle where the tables are turned; Paul Vitti (DeNiro) becomes the therapist and questions Sobel about his father- Step 2. Then nothing else along this line. Major mistake. Another scene near the end with Sobel learning something about his father and reconciling his anger would’ve been perfect. That would’ve been the final Step 3 and would’ve completed the circle.

Midnight Run, also with DeNiro, had a very similar sub-plot. Watch it to see how DeNiro’s problems- his ex-wife, the gangster from Chicago, the job he hates- slowly evolve throughout the story and close with resolution by the end.

• Structure/Plot

-The impending marriage. The idea of Vitti interupting Sobel’s nuptials was good enough, but there was never a moment when the relationship seemed lost. Lisa Kudrow was obviously mad and upset, but it would’ve been meatier to have her threaten the marriage and even cancel it at one point.

-What was the point of having Dr. Sobel go to Miami and having Vitti chase him around everywhere? The marriage plot could’ve stayed intact, but in NY.

• Other

The movie was funny without spoofing the Mafia- a major highlight. So why the one scene making fun of The Godfather?

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