When Analyze This came out, it was immediately overrated and made much more money than it should have over a premise that just wasn't that funny. The worst thing that can happen now happens with Analyze That, the case of the sequel that never should have been. Instead of coming up with a logical premise for a sequel, Analyze That is the type of sequel that haphazardly throws the principal stars back together and hopes for the same success as the original. Because there is little if any discernible story, humor in this movie is a moot point.
Director Harold Ramis (Bedazzled, Analyze This) and co-writers Peter Steinfeld (Drowing Mona, Echo) and Peter Tolan (Stealing Harvard, America's Sweethearts) needed some contrived plot device to reunite mob boss Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro, City by the Sea, Showtime) and therapist Ben Sobol (Billy Crystal, Monster's Inc., America's Sweethearts). The lame premise here is that Vitti fakes going crazy in prison by singing songs from West Side Story. The FBI remands Vitti into Sobol's custody, which means that Vitti must live with Sobol and his wife Laura (Lisa Kudrow, All Over the Guy, Dr. Dolittle 2). Vitti immediately goes about reassembling his old crew and plotting some unknown shenanigans.
Interspersed along with Vitti's plots are Sobol's attempts to get Vitti a real job. This entails suffering through De Niro as Vitti trying his hand at a maitre'd, car salesman, and finally as a consultant for a mob show. Lately, it seems that comedy and De Niro do not go well together, and Analyze That continues the trend. Most of the time, he is mocking himself (or older movie versions of himself) and it is not new anymore. Crystal's character is written too whiny. The funniest person is Anthonly Lapaglia (The Salton Sea, Lantana), who stars in the show Vitti is consulting on. It's pretty depressing when talented comedic actors like Crystal, Kudrow, and even Joe Viterelli (Serving Sara, Shallow Hal) sit around with no material to use. There is really no point to Analyze That, and it seems that everybody involved knows this. This makes sitting through the film difficult, since it has nowhere to go.