Joe Viterelli

They locked up mob boss Paul Vitti in Sing Sing and that's where he sang sang- croaking tunes from Westside Story and carrying on in a way that convinces the feds Vitti is better suited for the nut house than the Big House. Better yet, they conclude, let's release Vitti into the custody of his therapist Ben Sobel. The boys are back and so is the fun when Robert De Niro (Vitti) and Billy Crystal (Sobel) reprise their Analyze This roles. This time, Vitti is ready to find gainful employment and go straight. Or so he says.

Coming from the creators of Dumb & Dumber and There's Something About Mary, the sensitivity of Shallow Hal seems like a minor miracle. The codirecting Farrelly brothers haven't forsaken their lowbrow inclinations, but this clever romantic fantasy offers unexpected substance with the same comedic effrontery that made the Farrellys famous.

Cast Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal together in a film and it should be a sucker's bet as to who's going to be funnier and who's going to give the more nuanced performance. Somehow, though, De Niro walks away with most of the laughs in Analyze This, a buddy action-comedy about a mob boss (De Niro, natch) suffering from panic attacks who makes a nebbishy shrink (Crystal, natch) an offer he can't refuse--actually, it's not really an offer, it's a command. The good doctor is forced to help the gangster get in touch with his feelings.