Analyze This

Jeff’s take

There's a few things about this movie that I notice right out of the gate. This movie definitely has similarities to another movie I've seen called "What About Bob?" where a patient of a psychiatrist finds himself unable to cope with his problems while his psychiatrist is on vacation so he follows him to his vacation spot and nearly succeeds in driving him crazy. About halfway through this movie, I realized that it is the same concept with this movie. The only differences are the actors playing the roles and the circumstance. Throughout this movie, the psychiatrist's attempts to get married are thwarted at the last second by the sudden arrival of his patient. I couldn't believe the similarities between the two movies and I actually believe that this movie may be a sequel to that one, (it came out about 8 years prior to "What About Bob?") Anyway, I'm pretty sure those people who have seen both movies will be able to spot the similarities between the two of them. At times it felt like I was watching the movie "What About Bob?"

Also I find that this movie hits really close to home with me but in a good way. These are the types of movies I like. Ones that indirectly teach me lessons about how to handle certain aspects of my life and in this movie's case, teach me about the mistakes I have made and how to see things from the other point of view. You see, the patient in this movie was given numerous requests by the psychiatrist to give him some space as well as a timeline for when they would be able to talk. Unfortunately, in my own life, I have issues with holding up my end of the bargain in respecting the timeline put forth by mom for us to have our daily chat. Just like the character in this movie, as well as the character in the movie "What About Bob?" which eventually leads to the main conflict in both movies, I have disregarded the request by consistently calling mom outside of the agreed upon time which in turn has lead to annoyance on her part despite my reasoning that I have the best intentions ETC. Well after seeing this movie, I can honestly say that I now see things from her point of view. I mean the patient interrupted the psychiatrist's wedding numerous times throughout the movie all for his own gain. I know it's not as bad in my case with mom. I'm pretty sure when I've called her, I've never interrupted a wedding but this got me to thinking that maybe people do indeed need their own space and need to have their own life. If you were to ask me, I would say that the patient was being very selfish and inconsiderate of other people's right to have privacy. Having said that, I can't say I blame him. After all, I have done that a lot to mom and each time I have, it has led to the same outcome. She always gets mad and accuses me of not giving her the space she needs or respecting the set times put in place, ETC. Well now that I've seen this happen through this movie, I may be able to turn over a new leaf and have respect for the boundaries that have been put in place. It won't be easy but I will try to use this movie as an example of what might be happening each time I do this and how she may be feeling.

There is one little bit of criticism I have for this movie. It appears that it may have lasted too long after the main conflict had been resolved. At one point after I thought the movie was over, I noticed that there was still about a half an hour left during which I nearly dozed off. If this would have happened, I would not have been able to do a proper review due to being too tired. Luckily it ended before I was able to fall asleep completely. Unfortunately though this slightly will effect the overall outcome of this movie though if it was pretty good and it would be perfect otherwise. I hope there's more movies to come like this because I really enjoyed it and I definitely would recommend it!

Jeff O Meter final score: 9 out of 10.

Next movie review: Death to Smoochy starring Robin Williams or one of three starring Eddie Murphy, though no official decision has been reached.

What works

• Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow and Chazz Palminteri in a comedy that actually lands.
• It indirectly taught me a lesson about respecting other people's space and boundaries.
• The type of movie I like — funny, but it left me with something to think about.

What to know before watching

• Not recommended for young children.
• Coarse language, violence, sexual content, sexual dialogue and implications, brief nudity and sexuality.
• Scenes which discuss possible suicide, and scenes depicting mental health issues and discussions including family disputes.
• Scenes which imply divorce.
• It runs about a half an hour past the point where the main conflict is resolved.