Robert De Niro gives one of his best comedy performances to date in this feel-good Mafia tale from Groundhog Day(1993) director Harold Ramis.
De Niro stars as Manhattan Mob boss Paul Vitti whose stressful lifestyle – and a close brush with being whacked – causes him to seek undercover therapy from psychiatrist Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal).
De Niro’s deadpan responses to the Freudian dissections, together with soon-to-be-married Crystal’s increasing entanglement with the “family” business, bring on the laughs thick and fast.
There’s a clever script packed with fresh repartee, digs at Goodfellas(1990) and hilarious moments of joyous farce, and Ramis’s skilled timing allows the two dynamic leads to show their full comic potential.
Ben Sobel
Billy Crystal Paul Vitti
Robert De Niro Laura MacNamara
Lisa Kudrow Jelly
Joe Viterelli Primo Sindone
Chazz Palminteri Isaac Sobel
Bill Macy Caroline
Molly Shannon Nicky Shivers
Max Casella
Director
Harold Ramis
Video
Related Posts
Angel Heart (1987) The hardboiled 1940s private-eye movie tradition goes south in director Alan Parker’s outlandish thriller, slipping its metropolitan moorings amid a…
Al Capone (1959) 1919, Chicago. A young scar-faced hoodlum joins one of the underworld gangs terrorising the city. Surrounded by corruption and murder, only…
Groundhog Day (1993) Mean-spirited TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is sent to cover the annual Groundhog Day festival at a small town called…
Pretty Woman (1990) Pretty Woman is a funny, beautifully photographed, old-fashioned yet modern romantic love story. Julia Roberts plays Vivian, a Hollywood hooker who…
Arthur (1981) Arthur Bach (Dudley Moore) is a weak, spineless, noisy little creep, who also happens to be a midget, a millionaire,…
Wag The Dog (1997) Just before an election, the US President is accused of molesting a teenage girl in the Oval Office. Keen to…
Phenomenon (1996) A strange light in the sky gives small-town mechanic George Malley (John Travolta) paranormal powers in this feel-good sci-fi fable…
Cop Land (1997) This police drama was a real change of pace for Sylvester Stallone, who appears in a touching role as Freddy…
