Analyze That
Directed by Harold Ramis
- comedy
- crime
The story
The mafia's Paul Vitti is back in prison and will need some serious counseling when he gets out. Naturally, he returns to his analyst Dr. Ben Sobel for help and finds that Sobel needs some serious help himself as he has inherited the family practice, as well as an excess stock of stress.
What it’s like
Bright, flat studio lighting and conventional two-shot framing give Analyze That the look of a polished early-2000s studio comedy: therapy offices in warm beige and wood tones, cramped New York apartments, and a few gaudy mob interiors full of gold fixtures and dark suits. The camera stays practical and unshowy, cutting between faces during exchanges that depend on timing, and the score is bouncy, jazz-tinged, and unobtrusive. The vibe is light, brash, and easygoing, the kind of comedy that works well on a lazy weekend afternoon, as background during a long-haul flight, or for a comfort rewatch. Pacing is brisk and the emotional register stays broad and affectionate, following a jittery therapist and his volatile patient as their odd dependency turns into a grudging, funny kind of friendship. Violence appears mostly as gangster bluster and threats, with occasional brief scuffles and no gore, and the sexual content is mild and mostly innuendo. It suits viewers who want playful, low-stakes laughs with a dash of crime-caper chaos and no real menace.
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