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Starring: |
Robert De Niro as Paul Vitti
Billy Crystal as Dr Ben Sobel
Lisa Kudrow as Laura |
Directed by: |
Harold Ramis |
Screenplay by: |
Peter Steinfeld and Harold Ramis |
Produced by: |
Paula Weinstein and Jane Rosenthal |
| Distributed by: |
Warner Bros. International |
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Mob boss Paul Vitti (ROBERT DE
NIRO) is nearing the end of his term in Sing Sing, and the FBI agents monitoring him are
baffled. Day after day they watch as New York’s most notorious gangland figure walks
around his cell in a semi-catatonic stupor, occasionally breaking into songs from West
Side Story.
Is Vitti having a nervous breakdown because of recent threats on his life by a rival
Family or is his odd behaviour merely a foxy ploy to get him sprung from jail early? The
FBI isn’t sure and neither is his former psychotherapist Ben Sobel (BILLY CRYSTAL),
who gets called in to consult on the case.
The last time Sobel treated Vitti he tried to get to the source of his debilitating
anxiety attacks, but barely scratched the surface. Under Sobel’s tutelage, Vitti
applies his unique work experience to the job market, with disastrous results. Working in
a jewellery store proves too tempting, being a greeter at a fancy restaurant too
humiliating, and selling cars seriously tries his patience ("Look at the size of that
trunk -- you could put 3 people in there…I mean, suitcases"). |
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The good news is that Vitti finally appears to be sincere about taking the cure, and he
assures Sobel that he won’t be dragging the both of them into any dangerous
underworld schemes like he did last time. And Sobel wants to believe him. But how can he
be sure when guys like Lou The Wrench keep showing up?
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- The character of Paul Vitti was
loosely inspired by John Gotti (a businessman not in the least affiliated with the Gambino
family of the New York mafia).
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Robert De Niro: |
- Ranked #5 in Empire (UK) magazine's
"The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
- Is commonly referred to as an
Italian-American actor, although he is predominantly Irish in ancestry.
- He is the second actor to win an
Oscar for portraying Vito Corleone. He and Marlon Brando are the only two actors to win an
Oscar for playing the same character.
- Robert first discovered his love for
acting at age 10 when he portrayed The Cowardly Lion in a local production of "The
Wizard of Oz". He dropped out of high school to join a gang.
- Ranked #78 in Premiere's 2002 annual
Power 100 List.
- Has said that Meryl Streep is his
favorite actress to work with.
- Robert De Niro was voted as the best
actor of all time at FilmFour.com (2002)
- Inducted into the Italian-American
Hall of Fame in 2002
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Billy Crystal: |
- He was Jay Leno's very first guest
on Monday May 25, 1992 when Jay took over the late night throne vacated by Johnny Carson
on Friday May 22, 1992.
- Is a partial owner of the Arizona
Diamondbacks, and is a New York Yankee fan. The 2 baseball teams played each other in the
2001 World Series, Arizona ended up winning.
- One of Billy's first breakthroughs
came when he was still a part-time comic and school-teacher, and was called on as a
last-minute replacement for 'Robert Klein' to entertain at a roast for 'Muhammad Ali'. His
dead-on imitation of Ali, as well as of Howard Cosell, knocked out the V.I.P. crowd. Ali
hugged him and promised from then on he would consider Crystal "my little
brother."
- Claims his wife Janice was his first
and only date.
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