Mob boss Paul Vitti (Robert DeNiro) is nearing the end of his term in Sing Sing prison, and things are not going well. Day after day, he walks around his cell in a semi-catatonic stupor, occasionally breaking into songs from West Side Story. The Feds, who have been monitoring him, aren't sure if Vitti is having a nervous breakdown because of recent threats on his life by a rival Family or if his odd behavior is merely a ploy to get him sprung from jail early.

The FBI decides to call in his former psychotherapist, Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal), to consult on the case. However, now is hardly the best of times for the doctor to deal with a man like Vitti. Ben's father has just died, plunging him into an identity crisis in both his personal and professional lives.

But when Vitti is granted a conditional release into Sobel's care and custody, becoming his patient again and - even worse - his houseguest, Ben finds that he has no choice. In order to get peace back in his life he must help the troubled gangster sort out his psyche, find gainful employment and go straight - which proves easier said than done.

The best parts of Analyze That are found in the first twenty minutes, dealing with Vitti's breakdown in prison and then as Sobel's houseguest. DeNiro's knack for comedic timing and Crystal's ability to play it straight come shining through in these scenes. The duo manage to elicit some laughs here and there past the first reel, but after a while even they're dragged down by the, ahem, "plot". There's the standard mafia movie clichéd crud about rival crime families out to whack both the lead character and each other. But you really couldn't care less since you've seen most of these characters a thousand times before - and in better films. There's a bit where Paul becomes a consultant on a Sopranos-type show that is meant to be a satirical swipe at Hollywood, but once again: been there, done that and better. As for Paul and Ben trying to sort out their personal problems, that too was done before and to much better effect in a film called... Analyze This.

Three people are credited with the largely unfunny screenplay including Peter Tolan, one of the original's writers, and Harold Ramis, the film's director. Ramis probably put as much effort into his scripting chores as he did the directing, which would be very little. As the film and its story plod along with all the grace of Marlon Brando on roller blades, it becomes all too apparent that Kenneth Lonergan's screenplay for the original went a long, long way towards making it a success.

Analyze That is a disappointing second round of guns, goons and therapy from talented people who could have and should have known and done much better. You might laugh a bit to begin with, but Analyze That may have you swearing a vendetta against sequels before it's over.

To borrow an all-too familiar phrase, Fuggedabodit.

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