Analyse That

Plot

Paul is under threat of assassination in prison, and fakes a breakdown in order to be released into the custody of old friend and shrink Ben. When out he must try to become a part of society and get a normal job, and becomes a technical advisor on a mob based TV show.

Direction

I hate to talk ill of the dead, but this was such a poorly constructed and made film. The irony that one actor character complains about a shot being done poorly, and minutes later a Steadicam is wobbling as two characters are walking…

There was little to no memorable shots within this film.

Cast/Characters

Of the five returning characters (Paul, Ben, Jelly, Laura, Michael), only Michael really resembles his character of the first movie.

Ben is far less intelligent this time, and his pill/vitamin shtick is strange, and never resolved.

Paul is way more aggressive and unlikeable, especially towards Ben. While he has always been a mobster, the first film was able to add touches of comedy, and even slight empathy – here there is none.

Laura is written as a shrew wife with little of her confrontational nature towards Paul returning here. What a waste of Lisa Kudrow.

The villain is completely forgettable, especially with so many new cliché mobsters within.

Even the loveable Jelly has some questionable dialogue that reveals how dangerous he is.

Screenplay/Setting/Themes

The real problem is the writers had no idea what this film was supposed to be, was it a comedy or a mob movie? While the first film combined both perfectly, this failed epically.

The characters are all completely unlikeable, and the film did not really know what it wanted to do until the last fifteen minutes when all of a sudden they’re going to rob an armoured truck.

There is also a fair bit of ‘forced emotion’ where both characters burst into tears uncontrollably. This is either played for laughs or pity, and it fails on both counts.

There are a few moments where the characters go off into a day dream, and they are just strange.

Score/Soundtrack

Silly and maniupaltive, it tries to homage ‘the gangster’ theme at times, but fails epically.

Overall

I hated every moment of this film, and every scene was painful to watch. Just when you thought it was bad, it just got worse. Saved from a lower score from a few jokes that landed, and the goofs over the credits.

Don’t watch this.

1/5