Analyze That

A seriously subpar sequel, Analyze That details the complications and chaos that ensues after Robert De Niro’s Paul Vitti is released from prison into the reluctant custody of his psychiatrist, Billy Crystal’s Ben Sobel. It’s clear almost immediately that Analyze That possesses little of the easygoing charm that made its 1999 predecessor so palatable (if entirely disposable, admittedly), as filmmaker Harold Ramis, working from a script written with Peter Tolan and Peter Steinfeld, delivers a meandering, purposeless comedy that suffers from a lack of both momentum and memorable sequences – which paves the way for a hit-and-miss midsection that’s ultimately far more miss than hit. The strong work from De Niro and Crystal occasionally helps alleviate the otherwise completely irrelevant atmosphere, at least, and the picture certainly benefits from Anthony LaPaglia’s entertaining turn as the Australian star of an American TV series about the mob. Such positive are hardly enough to compensate for a narrative that never entirely (or even partially) justifies its existence, and by the time the tedious, action-heavy climax rolls around, Analyze That has cemented its place as a rather misbegotten misfire that shouldn’t gotten past the drawing board.

*1/2 out of ****