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'I don't want to become too funny'
Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal confessed they laughed a lot on the sets of Analyze That
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Som Chivukula
Three years ago, audiences worldwide noticed Robert De Niro could tackle comedy with a sidesplitting role in Analyze This. Of course, De Niro had taken on comedic roles before. Of particular note is his acclaimed performance in 1997's satire Wag The Dog that made about $40 million in America.
But audiences began to take note of De Niro as a serious funnyman with Analyze This. The nonbelievers also had good reason: for the large part of three decades, De Niro made a name for himself as one of the greatest dramatic actors of all time with gripping performances in films like Taxi Driver, Mean Streets and Raging Bull.
The story, however, was different with Harold Ramis's Analyze This. The film clicked mostly due to the chemistry between De Niro's mobster Paul Vitti and Billy Crystal's Dr Ben Sobol.
Analyze This finds Vitti visiting Sobol, a psychiatrist, for counselling when his past interferes with his daily business. Vitti's continuous presence in Sobol's office has a trickledown effect on the doctor's personal life as well. Made for a modest budget of $40 million, it made about $175 million worldwide.
As is to be expected, the film's success gave birth to a sequel. Analyze That, which brings back the original cast, opens December 6 nationwide. Warner Bros, which has the current hit Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets in theatres, releases the new film.
"We didn't want a sequel that would take them [the main characters] to Hawaii or something," said Ramis. "We wanted to continue the story from where we left off and see how Paul Vitti grows from the inside."
Ramis was speaking at a press event November 23. De Niro, Crystal and actresses Lisa Kudrow and Cathy Moriarty-Gentile joined him. Kudrow, who is widely recognised for her role as Phoebe Buffay on the sitcom Friends, plays Crystal's wife Laura in both films. Moriarty-Gentile has a small part in the new film as the wife of a rival gangster, a role that reunites her with De Niro, her Raging Bull co-star. It took 20-plus years for them to come together.
"What's interesting about her and Bob was that they had the rapport of people who had acted together," Ramis said.
It was interesting to note the five principals as they were seated in front of almost 100 domestic and international press members. Kudrow and Moriarty-Gentile did little talking, which was to be expected since their characters are secondary. Crystal, who has a reputation for being press friendly, lived up to his billing.
"I am not surprised by Bob's sense of humour. Even his darker movies such as Raging Bull and Sleepers had a lot of humour," Crystal said. "He's such a beloved actor that I told him 'they'll go nuts if you do some of [comedic] scenes'."
De Niro was another story, as he quickly confirmed the widely held belief about him being press-shy. With a look from the 1970s featuring a gray beard that matched his hair, De Niro appeared listless and uninspired.
Crystal's energetic presence was not enough to revitalise De Niro, who with his drooping shoulders, had the look of the catatonic character he portrays in Analyze That. Often, both Ramis and Crystal jumped in to respond to queries directed at De Niro who had almost nothing interesting to spout.
On a positive note, his persona before the media does not translate to the screen. The new film begins with Paul Vitti spending time in a maximum-security prison, where someone is trying to assassinate him. Vitti wants to find out who it is, but first he has to get back on the street.
Vitti walks around his cell in a semi-catatonic state often breaking into songs from West Side Story, hoping to be transferred to his trusting doctor. The FBI calls in the dependable counselor for suggestions. After a thorough examination, Vitti is handed over to Sobol so that he can recover slowly.
Once outside, Vitti is back to his demanding ways and impacting Sobol yet again. This time, Sobol has problems of his own as he is facing an identity crisis after the passing of his father.
Analyze That is De Niro's first sequel. Next year he will appear in Meet The Fockers, a follow-up to 2000's Meet The Parents.
"There was no hesitation because we had nothing to lose," De Niro said about the pressure of filming a sequel.
Crystal jumped in, adding: "We wanted to make the story good. We felt more comfortable this time to keep changing the characters and make it more funny."
Ramis said filming a sequel to a comedy was more difficult because he had to rely on building a story that had no special effects.
One of the funniest sequences finds Sobol and his wife in a restaurant with Vitti to discuss a job for him as a consultant on a television show. Both Crystal and De Niro had to perform physical comedy, which they found to be quite a task.
"We're very open and honest with working with each other," Crystal noted. "There's no ego. We didn't like to leave the set before finishing the comedy scenes. We laughed a lot and I was actually thankful for the chance to do it."
De Niro said he could relate on a personal level with Crystal that made his job easier.
One of the controversies surrounding the film was that its plot was a parody of The Sopranos on HBO. Not so, says Ramis. "We knew about the show before we made the first movie. They know about us. We don't attempt to do what they do," he said with a chuckle.
Crystal had a humorous take on the question. "Like Tony Soprano said, 'it's a f***ing comedy," he said.
De Niro said he enjoys comedy quite a bit and he even warmed up to the idea of pursuing more roles such as Paul Vitti. "I don't want to become too funny," he said. "I can do comedy in a certain way that I know how to do the other stuff [also]. I have to sense the humour and the irony in the situation."