Paul Vitti’s Panic Attacks Carry De Niro and Crystal Past Analyze This’ Weak Middle

Analyze This opens with a mob boss named Paul Vitti having a panic attack at a meeting. He calls for a psychiatrist, and the psychiatrist, Dr. Ben Sobel, gets dragged into the situation. That premise is simple, and it works. The movie spends its runtime trying to convince you that the mob boss’s neurosis is funny, and sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn’t.

Trailer, via Warner Bros. Worldwide.

Paul Vitti’s Panic Attacks

Robert De Niro plays Paul Vitti, a powerful racketeer who can’t stop panicking. The panic attacks are the engine of the plot, and De Niro sells them with a mix of menace and vulnerability that makes the character feel real. His performance carries the film through stretches where the jokes land flat.

Billy Crystal plays Dr. Ben Sobel, a psychiatrist who doesn’t want to deal with a mob boss. Crystal plays Sobel as a frustrated, exhausted man whose life is falling apart, and the chemistry between him and De Niro drives most of the movie’s best scenes. The two actors play off each other with genuine warmth, even when the script asks them to repeat the same joke three times.

The Wedding and the Assassin

The film’s middle stretch slows down around the wedding. Paul follows Ben to Miami, and there’s a sequence where Ben tries to enjoy his honeymoon while Paul and his crew hover nearby. It’s a quiet moment, and it works better than the action scenes that surround it.

The assassin scene interrupts the wedding. Jelly, one of Vitti’s men, kills an assassin, and the violence cuts through the comedy. It’s a reminder that this is a crime movie first, and the laughs are a cover for something darker.

The Sequel and the Spoofs

Analyze This was a hit. It made $176.9 million worldwide, and that success spawned Analyze That, the 2002 sequel. The original film is built on spoofs of countless wiseguy films, and it leans heavily on references that don’t always land. Some jokes work because the audience knows the template; others fall flat because the movie assumes too much familiarity.

The tagline promises that “New York’s most powerful gangster is about to get in touch with his feelings.” That’s the whole pitch, and it’s accurate. The film is about a man who runs a criminal organization and can’t handle his emotions. It’s a setup that could go either way, and it mostly goes well, even when the execution stumbles.

The Supporting Cast

Chazz Palminteri plays Primo Sidone, an up-and-coming mafioso who wants to be capo di tutti capi. His scenes are few, but he gives the film a sense of threat that grounds the comedy. Kresh Novakovic appears as a ’50s gangster, and Bart Tangredi plays Young Vitti, Sr. These roles are small, but they add texture to the world.

Molly Shannon plays Caroline, and she brings a wild energy to a part that doesn’t need it. Her scenes are brief, but they’re memorable. Max Casella plays Nicky Shivers, and he provides comic relief that doesn’t always fit the tone.

What Works and What Doesn’t

The film’s strengths are its performances and its premise. The weaknesses are its structure and its reliance on familiar territory. The plot is thin, and the movie spends too much time repeating itself. The jokes about Paul’s panic attacks and his relationship with his father are the film’s best material, and everything else feels like filler.

Here’s what stands out:

• De Niro and Crystal have real chemistry
• The panic attack scenes are genuinely unsettling
• The wedding scenes offer a quieter pace
• The assassin scene cuts through the comedy

Here’s what doesn’t:

• The middle section drags
• Some jokes rely on references that aren’t explained
• The sequel’s existence is mentioned but left unexplored

A Solid Premise, a Shaky Execution

Analyze This is a film that knows what it wants to be, but it isn’t always confident enough to deliver it. The premise is strong, the performances are solid, and the movie has a handful of great scenes. But it also has a lot of filler, and it never fully commits to being either a comedy or a crime thriller.

The film is at its best when it’s focused on the relationship between Paul and Ben. Those scenes are sharp, funny, and moving. They’re the reason the movie is worth watching. The rest of the runtime is less successful, and it drags the overall experience down.

The film’s final score is 6.5 out of 10.

Key Facts
– Director: Harold Ramis
– Writers: Harold Ramis, Kenneth Lonergan, Peter Tolan
– Runtime: 103 minutes
– Genre: Comedy, Crime
– Gross: $176.9 million worldwide

Cast Highlights
– Robert De Niro as Paul Vitti
– Billy Crystal as Dr. Ben Sobel
– Lisa Kudrow as Laura MacNamara Sobel
– Chazz Palminteri as Primo Sidone

Analyze This is a mixed bag. It has a great premise, solid performances, and a handful of excellent scenes. But it’s weighed down by a weak structure and a tendency to repeat itself. The film is better than its reputation suggests, but it’s not a masterpiece. It’s a good movie with a bad middle section.

If you’re looking for a crime comedy with heart, this is a decent entry point. If you want a tight, focused film, you’ll find yourself waiting for the next good scene. The film’s strength is its core idea, and its weakness is its inability to sustain that idea across its full runtime.

Analyze This · Billy Crystal · crime comedy · Harold Ramis · Robert De Niro