Reviews (16)

Moral, moving, and marvellous movie...
Every doctor - and every patient! - should see this movie; the difference is that, not all doctors will understand *why* they should see it..

I use The Doctor when teaching my medical students how to avoid becoming a certain kind of doctor; the kind who is so detached from humanity that they never feel anything of the pain, fear - and the hope - that their patients feel. They have forgotten how to care, and they don't care to remember it.

This is a film about a medical `Everyman`; Jack (played by William Hurt with great integrity and skill)is redeemed as a human being - and as a doctor - by his own experience of serious illness, and by that of his friend - her death frees him from the blinkers of self-absorption. The scene where the two of them dance in the Nevada desert is breathtaking.

Supporting cast are excellent; especially Mandy Patinkin as Jack's unscrupulous surgical partner. Jack's initially dysfunctional family life is a central part of this movie, and the roles of his wife and son are well played.

The last scenes are amongst the best; especially where Jack is explaining to his interns why they are going to spend the next 24 hours not as doctors, but as hospital patients - wearing hospital gowns, undergoing all the appropriate tests, and (horror of horrors) eating hospital food.

The following and final scene is simply beautiful, as Jack stands on the roof of the hospital and dances by himself, revived and renewed.

Anyone involved in medical or healthcare education should have this video - and use it! Others should watch it to understand better what can happen to medical students along the way to becoming doctors.

beautiful film
William Hurt's performance as a cold and arrogant doctor who finds out he has cancer and gets a lesson of life is wonderful(no surprise) as well as the whole cast including Elizabeth Perkins,Christine Lahti,Mandy Patinkin,Adam Arkin(yes, the doctors of chicago hope).Then you think: "but it's a doctor film" but actually this film is for all audiences not only for doctors. The scene where he gets a letter from a patient(Elizabeth Perkins)and he reads it on the roof of the hospital with pigeons flying is so beautiful and I couldn't hold the tears from tumbling down.

THE MOVIE THAT KILLED M.A.S.H.
The Doctor was another of those excellent, well-made 1990-91 releases pre-empted by laser-guided bombs and missiles of the 1990 Gulf War and forced into the video occult. But that's not stopped it from a second chance via DVD where it may get well-deserved recognition and revenues for each actor and crew's excellent contributions.
The cast drove home messages that health care professionals need take a good look at "because one day you'll be sick to" ... So "physician, heal thyself" and thereby prepare to heal others all the way down to your bedside manners. The Word is eventually sent via Jack McKee and partner whose cavalier professionalism ("Get in, cut it out and couldn't care less!") is callously unsuited to genuine warmth patients need communicated to them. And then there's the insurance companies who, like them, run on "stats" and "the bottom line" to coldly determine who lives and dies on the medical production line.
You don't know what it's like until you hear those 3 words "You've got cancer"; they'll floor you -especially if you're a physician who knows the realities of catastrophic illness. So "a taste of my own medicine" (subtitle to book movie is based on) engages McKee when he's told that. I've walked hospital hallways like McKee on the way to radiation therapy and sat with the terminally ill, knowing I'd likely survive (Or would I?) and that others were terminal, and encountered my own death watch. The disingenuous reassurance McKee gave others is sheer hypocrisy and his facetious talk of golf antagonizes "the herd," whom he'd felt beneath his ivory tower profession and HIS herd of incompetents. But now, his relation with a dying patient, whom he actually befriends, turns him inward and he admits his and the profession's shortcomings - then he falls out of love with himself - all too late to save her but soon enough to save himself and his family from the same callousness engulfing all but a few.
It sends a strong message to those who profit from medicine at the deadliest expense to others whom it's supposed to save! My only complaint is that Amazon.com hasn't mailed me my DVD of it yet. How long will it take?

A dose of your own medicine
After getting over the initial shock of seeing half the cast of Chicago Hope (when it was still a good show...and not the pale imitation of itself that it later became: Alan Arkin, Mandy Patinkin, Christine Lahti), this movie evolves into a fine, quiet, character driven drama. There are no great heroics, apart from June (Elizabeth Perkins), and even those are real, not manipulative, cliched, corny or obvious.

This is a movie that works to develop its characters and plot simultaneously and without artifice or obvious (groanable/cringe inducing) plot devices. None of them are in anwyay what you would call 'extreme' or cliched. They are just very normal people placed is a very stressful situation- the doctor being diagnosed with a growth in his throat and the changes in many lives this growth causes. The changes are both good, bad and 'educational' for most of them. The subplot- hospitals, statistics, malpractice cases, protecting each other- is subdued, never moralized or sermonized on but explored in a way whereby you can make your own judgements, based on some realistics situations (imagine a situation where somebody's life was worth less than $1000). The cast compliment each other and really connect. This movie is quite subtle at times and doesn't use in your face methods to make a point.

This is a movie then that is honest, beautifully made, accessible and at times really funny, and at times really raw and saddening. It isn't an episode of ER. So if you're looking for high medical drama look elsewhere. But if you're looking for real multi-layered human drama then look here. Honesty is the key word and theme in the movie (which if you watch it you'll understand what I mean). Honesty to oneself, others and just to the concept in general. And how too, sometimes we find spiritual and psychological 'healing' in the midst of the greatest physical peril.

The DVD contains no special features, only the movie, scene selection and set-up. Though it was made in 1990, it doesn't look too dated (apart from the cell-phones).

I have to admit watching this movie, I looked at the clock on the DVD player and actually hoped it wouldn't end. How many movies can you say that about?

I think the best moment in the story is when the doctor reads the story June gave him. I think there is a lesson in that that is relevant to all of us. Hopefully you'll get the opportunity to see what I mean by watching this movie.

SO in all, a brilliant, engrossing, poignant and real human drama built around believeable characters doing normal things and suffering typical tragedies that are enormous in our own lives. These are people we can understand and relate to, not the superficial and stereotypical larger-than-life, weirder-than-fiction characters designed to play with our minds and strum on our heartstrings. These people do touch your heart and mind for the right reasons...And maybe, if only for a moment, it causes you to question and reassess how you deal with others and the face you present the world, then maybe it has helped heal you a little bit too...If you need it, as most of us do.

One of my favorite films
"The Doctor" is one of my favorite films. I have seen it maybe 10 times (on VHS) and know much of it by heart. There is nothing artificial about this film. It is a human story about real people, well directed and edited, and with sincere, fleshed-out performances from everyone in the cast.

At the opening we see the successful heart surgeon Dr. Jack McKee, quite full of himself, performing another major operation while "Let's Get Drunk and Screw" plays in the background. We see him as he makes his rounds, failing in his attempts to interact on a human level with his patients, substituting crude attempts at humor for genuine compassion. We see him failing at home as well, as his professional life alienates him from his wife and son. All this begins to change when a seemingly minor throat irritation is diagnosed as laryngeal cancer. Then he learns what it is like to be on the other side of the medical profession, and it changes his life.

William Hurt, a fine but perhaps somewhat limited actor, is perfect as Jack McKee, and he is wonderfully supported by Christine Lahti, who plays his wife, and Elizabeth Perkins, who gives an amazing performance as June, a young woman with a grade 4 brain tumor who has a powerful impact on Hurt's character. June and Jack share a scene in the desert at sundown that gives me a lump in the throat every time.

Also worth mentioning are Wendy Tewson, who plays a rather nasty ENT surgeon who gives Jack a dose of his own medicine (so to speak), and Adam Arkin as Dr. Eli Blumfield, "the Rabbi", who has often been the butt of Jack's humor around the hospital, because he talks to his patients while they are anesthetized.

The Doctor is a film that illustrates the importance of treating people as human beings and not as objects or numbers on a chart. Highly recommended! (I've pre-ordered the DVD too.) ... Read more

Reviews (90)

"The New Phone Book Is Here!!, The New Phone Books Is Here!"
This 1979 debut for Steve Martin is one of comedy's greatest classics. This film definitley opened the door for people like Jim Carrey and all those types of comedies. This one will forever be the granddaddy of them all. Steve plays Navin Johnson, a white man who was brought up by a backwoods family who are black. Navin realizes he's not and sets out on his own to find his own life. It's one misadventure after the next. It's also one hilarious joke after another. Along the way he meets and falls in love with Bernadette Peters. There are also appearences by Carl Reiner, Jackie Mason, and M. Emmett Walsh. The movie is so slapsticky silly that it's hilarious fun to watch from beginning to end. I won't say what happens to our good old friend Navin. You'll have to see for yourself. If only the brilliant Steve Martin would return to this type of comedy. This film is pure comedy gold sent from comedy heaven. A definite must!!.

Too Funny
The Jerk is one of the most hilarious movies I've seen. The movie is about Navin Johnson (Steve Martin) who is a white boy adopted into a poor black family. He's a little "slow" and doesn't even realize he's white. The movie opens at his birthday where he's having his favorite "tuna on a white bread sandwich and a twinkie for dessert" dinner.
His problem is that he doesn't have rythmn, and late that night, he's listening to the radio when he hears "white" music, and finds that yes! he has rythmn!
So, Navin sets off to see the world, and a hilarous journey ensues - everything from a dog named sh*thead, assasination attempts to love to riches to insanity happens to poor Navin, but it's a great journey!
***** 5 stars for this classic Steve Martin comedy

If You Ever Need Cheering Up
Then this is the movie for you. That is, if you have any sense of humor whatsoever. There are so many funny, memorable scenes in this movie - like when he's standing right outside his parents' fence hitchhiking or when the guy is shooting at him - "These cans! He hates these cans!" "The new phone book is here!" "I'm somebody now!" The Jerk is one of the best comedies ever made. If you want to laugh, if you can laugh, buy or rent this movie!

Where's the widescreen version?
A classic but demand a widescreen version.

weirdly funny
Steve Martin shows a lot of comedic flair in this, one of his first films (he later tones it down and hones it in later works, which is all I had seen up to this point, so this was very strange in how over-the-top he is.)

Steve plaves Navin, a white boy adopted by a large loving African-American family, who honestly believed he would turn black on his 18th birthday (which is when his family reveals to him that he is adopted, although they had hoped he would figure it out beforehand.)

Determined to make his way out in the world, Navin takes on a series of unrelated jobs that turn out poorly --- gas station attendant (in which he demolishes a church), carnival employee (where he has his first carnal knowledge and his first romantic love -- with two very different women), and later becomes a billionaire through some very odd means.

But at heart, he's just a simple country boy who wants to fit in back where he came from. He's not a bum, he's a jerk! All he has are his friends and a thermos. ... Read more

Reviews (40)

A Valentine to New York
Alan Swann: Alfredo, telephone the Stork Club, we'll be two for dinner. Alfi: You sure you want the Stork Club, Mr. Swann? Alan Swann: It's been a year and a half. Surely they've repaired the wall of the bandstand by now. Former actor Richard Benjamin's near classic comedy "My Favorite Year" opens on 50th Street and Broadway in the Manhattan of 1954. Summer sunshine glistens off a new Oldsmobile. Fading, dissolute matinee idol Alan Swann is about to appear in his first live television program. Or will He? Peter O'Toole stars as movie swashbuckler Alan Swann( a thin impersonation of Errol Flynn). O'Toole verifies the comedic spark first seen in 1965's "What's New Pussycat?". A talented cast includes Mark Linn-Baker, Bill Macy, Lainie Kazan, and Cameron Mitchell. Film-within-a-film flashbacks reveal scenes from O'Toole's "Lord Jim". The director's penchant for long, theatrical episodes produces a slow but studied pace. Don't worry. The effect is marvelous. This brand new widescreen anamorphic 1.85:1 DVD of "My Favorite Year" is a stately Warners release. The digital transfer reveals some sloppy mattes around the actors' heads in the firehose balcony sequence. But by then, you'll be laughing so hard you won't even notice. The DVD includes generous chapter stops, a trailer, and splendid audio commentary by Benjamin, as he defines the dangers and head-aches of directing an MGM movie. In "My Favorite Year", veteran Gloria Stuart has a small non-speaking bit part. 20 years later, in a larger role, Stuart played Old Rose in a much more famous film tragedy set in 1912. It was the resonant epic about a ship that could not float.

"Double the lad's bet for me, you toad!"
"My Favorite Year is one of my favorite movies. Set in 1954, it's about an aging movie idol, Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole), who is to make a guest appearance on a television variety show hosted by King Kaiser (Joseph Bologna). However, it turns out that Swann is a libidinous lush, and the freshman writer for the show, Benjie Stone (formerly Steinberg, played by Mark Linn-Baker), is assigned to stay with him--and keep him sober and out of trouble--until after the show. The rest of the movie concerns their adventures together. The film overflows with one-liners and physical comedy, all of which stays remarkably fresh and amusing, even after repeated viewings. The script produces some classic lines; for example, during a take-out feast in which Stone is trying to woo the object of his lust (K.C. Downing, played by Jessica Harper), she comments that he really knows his dim sum. He replies, "Katherine, Jews know two things: suffering and where to find great Chinese food." The DVD also has an informative voice-over commentary by Richard Benjamin, whose first directing job was this film.

One Of My Favorite Films !
I would have to place this into my top ten favorite films of all times. It's a rather unknown delightful comedy that should not be missed by any movie fan. Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker and the rest of the cast are perfect in their rolls. You will not be sorry renting or buying this DVD.

How great is this movie?
I'll tell you. This movie is so great that I was able to rent it and entertain my GRANDPARENTS for an entire evening. I discovered it right after it was released because it was at the same time we got cable. (Man, were WE behind the times!) This movie has it all; a great cast, scads of great one-liners, and best of all, you can pull it out and show it knowing that most people have never heard of it.

O'Toole Dazzling in Wonderful in 'Golden Age' Homage!
Have you ever watched a film and wished it wouldn't end? Where you loved all the characters, adored each scene, and laughed at every joke, even after you'd seen the film so many times that you could quote the dialog? MY FAVORITE YEAR is that kind of movie!

Directed with gusto by Richard Benjamin, the film is both a loving tribute to Sid Caesar's 'Your Show of Show', and the remarkable talents that brought it together each week, and a sincere homage to Errol Flynn, whose antics and larger-than-life persona, in the waning years of his life, still had the kind of magic that could enthrall a shy young fan, or make a woman swoon.

Three dynamic performances dominate the film. Mark Linn-Baker, as Benjy Stone, based on the young Mel Brooks, is a shy kid who hides his insecurities behind a rapid-fire wit. The dazzling young star in a staff of comedy 'pros', Stone suffers from an unrequited love from fellow staffer K. C. Downing (Jessica Harper), and has an inspiration, inviting legendary swashbuckler Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole) to appear on the show. As King Kaiser, star of the hit series, Joseph Bologna captures much of Sid Caesar's legendary physical 'presence' and irreverence to authority. When threatened by gangsters over a 'too close to home' series of parodies about crime boss Karl Rojeck (portrayed with brute menace by veteran actor Cameron Mitchell), Kaiser 'thumbs his nose' at them, mimicking the gangster mercilessly. "I'll KEEP doing it!" he taunts. "Why? Because it's FUNNY!"

Then there is Peter O'Toole's 'Alan Swann'. With his own career a roller coaster ride of alcoholism, resulting in the near destruction of his health, no actor could have 'channeled' Errol Flynn better. Just as Flynn, by the 1950s, was a nearly burned-out roue, his classic good looks long gone, O'Toole's matinee-idol appearance, after years of self-abuse, had aged into a gaunt mask, making Benji Stone's film montage of 'classic' clips more poignant. What Flynn still had, in abundance, was charm and a ready wit, and O'Toole's 'Swann' is so enchanting a personality that you can't help but love him, and root for him to succeed.

From the opening nostalgic strains of Nat King Cole's rendition of 'Stardust', through Benjy's futile effort to attempt to keep Swann sober (Red Skelton loved to tell how he kept Flynn sober on his program...he emptied all of the actor's bottles of vodka, replacing it with water...and Flynn couldn't tell the difference!), to a riotous Swann dinner with Benjy's family, to the near-disastrous broadcast, with Swann developing stage fright, and Kaiser brawling with mob enforcers...MY FAVORITE YEAR has one glorious scene after another, each unforgettable!

One of the AFI's '100 Greatest Film Comedies', MY FAVORITE YEAR will bring a tear to your eye, even as you laugh. It was a time of legends, and heroes who would live up to boyhood dreams.

Film comedy doesn't get any better than this! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

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. Had the brilliant TV series The Sopranos not underscored how thin and watery and shticky director-cowriter Harold Ramis's approach to such potentially rich material actually is, the movie--a hit in theaters and De Niro's biggest film ever--would seem more fresh and kicky. De Niro's definitely a hoot as the ever milder menace, and Crystal actually concentrates on giving a credible performance opposite the acting legend (alas, he doesn't turn his character's fear of his patient into inspired comedy, as Alan Arkin did in Grosse Pointe Blank). The conclusion devolves into the requisite gunplay, and Chazz Palminteri and Lisa Kudrow are criminally wasted as an opposing mob boss and Crystal's fiancée, respectively, but overall, it's breezy fun. --David Kronke ... Read more

Reviews (136)

I see 3 movies/dayand this's the greatest movie I ever seen
This is one of the greatest movies I ever seen in my entire life. In this movie DeNiro had prove that he can act what so ever kind of movie ...

mildly amusing but extremely predictable movie
I was disappointed by this movie given all the great reviews. Typically, Billy Crystal plays it "too close to the vest" resulting in humor that belongs on a TV sitcom.

A terrible De Niro movie, shame on him.
This movie is nothing more than a theft of plot from National Lampoon's 1997 hit "The Don's Analyst". If you want to see a hilarious psycho-spoof about a Mob boss, see this one. Robert Loggia is, as always, excellent and very, very funny. The rest of the cast supports with vigour.

As for "Anylyze This", if it weren't for De Niro I would have given it 1 star. Billy Crystal is his usual incompetent self; Harold Ramis fails miserably.

Don't waste your time on this one.

A brilliant refreshing comedy!
This has to be one of the funniest movies that has ever been made. The premise itself is funny. A mob boss getting in touch with his feelings. The therapy sessions bring out very funny scenarios as ideas and concepts are intrepreted from different perspectives. What is normal in phsyco speak is completely repulsive to a mobster. Likewise, what is normal for a mobster is completely irrational to a psychiatrist. When Crystal suggests Deniro may have sexual feelings about his Mother that are described as normal, Deniro is afraid to call his mother after that. Then of course, the patient confidentially issue comes up. As a patient, Deniro shares secrets with his doctor. The consequences for the Doctor violating that confidentially has a whole new meaning when the patient is a wiseguy! This is not a movie that relies on one liners or gags for the laughs. It is the situations that are funny. A movie that will stand the test of time and keep you laughing long after it's over.

Hysterical!
The people who do NOT think this film is funny are the same people who take themselves and LIFE entirely too seriously! This is a great comedy that does what it set out to do... entertain. It was fun to see DeNiro in a comedy and to see that he has such great comedic timing and talent. Crystal is his usual funny self as well, and the two blend beautifully. Buy the movie... it's one you can watch over and over again. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Carl Reiner, who paired with Steve Martin in The Jerk, takes another rewarding gamble in Sibling Rivalry, matching comic actress Kirstie Alley with a screwball tale of mistaken identities, three sets of siblings, and a pesky corpse. Alley plays a neglected wife encouraged by her sister (Jami Gertz) to have a fling; when she does precisely that with a handsome stranger (Sam Elliott), he not only dies in bed but turns out to be a long-lost brother-in-law. Further complicating matters is a salesman (Bill Pullman) who thinks he inadvertently killed Elliott's character, plus a lot of doctor jokes (Carrie Fisher plays a bullying gynecologist married to a protologist) and a deadpan cop (Ed O'Neill). The screenplay's comic complications take a little too long to reach critical mass, but when they do, Reiner masterfully controls the essential screwball timing and Alley, Pullman, Gertz, and screen veterans John Randolph and Frances Sternhagen thoroughly deliver. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (8)

A Family Tree Becomes A Family Bush
I found this movie so funny and mind-bending. About a woman, Marjorie Turner, who is so bored with her husband, Harry Turner, is persuaded to have an affair by her sister, Jeanine. Marjorie does, indeed, have the affair (which is against her character): Unwittingly, with her husband's brother, Charles Turner Jr. Talk about loving someone to death! A salesman, Nick, enters the hotel room, with the body under the covers. He tries to install vertical blinds, and they fall on the head of the dead chap. Nick thought that he killed Charles. He manages to call Marjorie, to tell her about the news of the death of what he thought to be her husband. (Marjorie tripped over Nick's blinds, things spill out of her purse. She hurries into the lift before Nick discovers her wallet.) Both of them find themselves in a sticky-wicket. Neither can contact the officials (for Marjorie's husband and his family are doctors, and Nick's brother is a policeman.) So they try to make it appear that Charles committed suicide. Brothers and sisters of Marjorie, Harry, and Nick all get involved somehow or another. It's difficult to give details without confusing you (as I said, it's mind-bending) and/or giving out too much information. Kirstie Alley is Marjorie Turner; Bill Pullman is Nick; Scott Bakula is Harry Turner (who, by the way, looks absolutly gorgeous with longer hair and beard at the end); Sam Elliot is Charles Turner Jr.; Jami Gertz is Jeanine; etc. Three families intertwine so much that they are no longer family trees, but a family bush! Enjoy!

Sibling Rivalry - A Family Tree Becomes A Family Bush
I found this movies so funny and mind-bending. About a women, who is bored with her husband, is persuaded to have an affair by her sister. Marjorie does have an affair: unwittingly, with her husband's brother. Talk about loving someone to death! A salesman, Nick, enters the hotel room, with the body under the covers. He tries to install vertical blinds, and they fall on the head of the dead chap in bed (Charles Jr.). Nick thought that he killed Charles. He manages to call Marjorie, to tell about the news of the death of what he thought to be her husband. Both of them find themselves in a sticky-wicket. Neither can contact the officials (for Marjorie's husband [Harry] and his family are doctors, and Nick's brother is a policeman.) So they try to make it appear that Charles committed suicide. Brothers and sisters of Marjorie, Harry, Nick, all get involved somehow or another. It's difficult to give details without either confusing you or giving too much information away. The cast is good. Kirstie Alley as Marjorie Turner; Bill Pullman as Nick; Scott Bakula as Harry Turner (who, by the way, looks absolutly gorgeous with longer hair and beard at the end); Sam Elliot as Charles Jr. Turner; Jami Gertz as Marjorie's sister, Jenenne; etc. Three families intertwine so much that they are no longer family trees, but a family bush. Enjoy!

Horrible
I'll make this review quick: This movie was so awful that I seriously contemplated jabbing my eyes out with a rusty fork so that I would no longer have to watch it. The acting is ok, but for the people in the movie (especially Kirstie), it's very below par. The plot is convoluted and stupid, and by the time 1/4th of the movie has passed, any interest or concern for what happens to the characters is replaced by a concern for how much longer the film can possibly continue. Save yourself the money and time that I will never be able to get back: don't watch this movie.

A funny little Movie
This movie has some scenes in it that make you laugh until you cry. Kirsty Alley's character who is a bored wife of a Doctor has a crazy fling with Sam Elliott's character. She thinks it's a one night stand until she finds out he is her husband's brother returning to the US after being away for years. When her brother-in-law dies of a heart attack in the motel room, the movie takes off as Bill Pullman a nerdy blind salesman tries to help her make it look like her brother-in-law committed suicide. Carrie Fisher plays a snotty Sister-in-law. A Great cast and a funny movie.

Rolling on the floor laughing
There are not many movies I can watch 6 times and enjoy every
time. Kirstie Alley, Sam Eliott, Ed O'Neil, and Carrie Fisher
are all at their best, and this commedy does not hold back any
opportunity to score laughs. ... Read more

Description

An aging private eye tries to solve the murder of his ex-partner with the help of an aimless young woman. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

BETTER A "LATE SHOW" THAN A NO-SHOW
"The Late Show" (1977), Robert Benton's valentine to the 1940's detective film genre has it all: the structure, the language, the grit and noir, plus something more--humor and heart. Long overlooked and drastically under rated by 1970's reviewers, the film and especially its title seemed to dredge up images of some old B&W flick that belonged on late night TV and perhaps didn't fit the mold of being "with it" or of being retro-slick in a then-generation of the Think Young, Drink Pepsi (not Alka Seltzer) society it reflected. Yet what most critics seem to have missed about the title alone is its play on words which embraced not only the old, late night TV movie idea but also the spirit of the tribute writer/director Robert Benton presents here: the vernacular of 1940's detective speak, where "show" meant a client or a job, and, "late" meant late, as in beyond the time someone or something is expected to arrive. Thus, the slang title refers to both Ira Wells (Art Carney) and Margo Sperling (Lily Tomlin), who are thrown together, quite unexpectedly, at a crucial time--before it's really too "late" (as in "dead"). Carney brilliantly (yet so unassumingly) plays 'Ira Wells,' a set in his ways broken down old heat packing (private) detective with "a bum leg, perforated ulcer, and hearing aid," who's been living out what's left of an empty and lonely life in a rented bedroom in an older widow's home. Resigned to this seeming fate, Ira believes his best days, times, and friends are all behind him (especially at the rate people he's known are "kicking off"). Ira can see his own end, which is brought home even more forcefully when his former PI partner, Harry Regan (Howard Duff), who seemingly arrives for a long over-due visit after a bender, dies in Ira's rented bedroom bed from a gunshot to the gut (yet spilling nothing save for blood). Enter Charles Hatter (Bill Macy), a chiseler and con artist, along with a wonderfully zany and off-beat wannabe actress, Margo Sperling (Lily Tomlin). They show up with a stolen cat "case" for Ira Wells at Regan's funeral entombment--and the game of cat and mouse, or, rather, rat, is almost ready to begin--again--for Ira, who says only he's "out of the business" and never uses the word "retired." But this will not be "just another case," it will be THE case, coming in the nick--and Nora--of time to make a difference and a change possible in the lives of two people. Of course, hindrances loom immediately: old-school/generation collides with new, language usage throws up an initial barrier as does Ira's 1940's mind set about women ("dolls") and how they're supposed to act. Yet all this goes by the boards when Ira and Margo start to work the related cases of the missing cat and Regan's murder together. These two people turn out to be an unlikely team that has needed the likes of one another all along. Their differences are far outweighed by what they have in common--such things as character, dignity, regard for others, loyalty, caring, and inner strength. They complement each other which tends to bring out the best in both of them. Ira has not ever had a pal, partner, buddy, or romantic interest who wasn't simply out for himself or herself until Margo; and Margo hasn't ever met anyone quite like Ira, who inspires her, looks out for her, and not only encourages but trusts her to sleuth with him, the pro, even before he discovers she could really excel at it and is more savvy about life and things than even he expected. He becomes enough at ease with Margo. though, that when pressed, he emotionally reveals his inner most fear with her--the scene between the two at the diner, after Ira collapes and Margo wants to take him to the hospital, should have earned Art Carney an Oscar nomination alone. But will they solve the murder? Will they ever team up? "The Late Show" is as much a story of the human condition as it is a noir murder mystery to be solved. Even the bad guys like Ronnie Birdwell (Eugene Roche) and Charles Hatter (Bill Macy) have real dimension and differences--and are portrayed as likeable louses with their own problems in life. The plot is skillfully and painstakingly developed with twists and turns which cover, much as the detective films of the 1940s did, mystery, which can turn to comedy, then switch to tragic drama, and even twist to include a hint of romance. Robert Benton deserved the Oscar for this original screenplay, not simply the nomination. The only remaining question is: when will the director's cut become available on video or DVD so that audiences can discover the rather obvious chunks of missing footage from the film including (but not limited to) John Davey as 'Sgt. Dayton'?--Lenore Hutton Normal, Illinois

Another Great Detective movie!
Along with Night Moves,(and obviously Chinatown) this one of my favorite detective films from the 70s. Art Carney and Lily Tomlin are a great pair and they help make a good movie even better. Robert Benton(Bad Company, Nobondy's Fool, Twilight) has made a great film here that is at once a tribute and a commentary on Raymond Chandler-type films. Carney is great as an aging PI who is hired to find a cat and ends up embroiled in a much larger story. The dialogue here is so well done-it's very stylish-throwback dialogue if you will. I love this movie and it seems that so few people have seen it. I own it and any fan of the Maltese Falcon or the Big Sleep should too.

A forgotten gem
I can't believe no one else has reviewed this fine movie. Art Carney has never been better, even in Harry and Tonto, and Bill Macy does a fine turn as a small-time con man. Lily has some classic lines, like her description of Macy's trash Cadillac; ``This car is a toilet and you're the attendant''.

Partly a send up of private detective movies and partly a charming buddy movie (Art and Lily), this belongs in anyone's collection. And if you've never seen it . . . well, you're in for a treat indeed. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Analyze This
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. Had the brilliant TV series The Sopranos not underscored how thin and watery and shticky director-cowriter Harold Ramis's approach to such potentially rich material actually is, the movie--a hit in theaters and De Niro's biggest film ever--would seem more fresh and kicky. De Niro's definitely a hoot as the ever milder menace, and Crystal actually concentrates on giving a credible performance opposite the acting legend (alas, he doesn't turn his character's fear of his patient into inspired comedy, as Alan Arkin did in Grosse Pointe Blank). The conclusion devolves into the requisite gunplay, and Chazz Palminteri and Lisa Kudrow are criminally wasted as an opposing mob boss and Crystal's fiancée, respectively, but overall, it's breezy fun. --David Kronke

Analyze That
Analyze That has more bada bing than its lukewarm reception would lead you to expect. Analyze This had the advantage of a then-fresh idea--Robert De Niro as a neurotic mob boss seeking therapy with reluctant shrink Billy Crystal--but that idea's stale, so this sequel relies on established chemistry and zesty dialogue that matches the original. There's nothing wrong with a retread when it's this funny, and De Niro's latter-day penchant for comedy suits him well when, as kingpin Paul Vitti, he lures Dr. Sobel (Crystal) into a prison breakout scheme involving faked catatonia and West Side Story show tunes. The contrived plot involves Vitti's criminal comeback. Unfortunately, there's little room for Lisa Kudrow as Sobel's sarcastic wife, but De Niro's Raging Bull costar Cathy Moriarty-Gentile is welcomed as a rival mob queen. You want a comedy masterpiece? Fuhgeddaboudit. You want 95 minutes of easy fun? It's right here... and don't miss those obligatory outtakes. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (3)

One MOVIE is very much good ! ...TWO are splendids
BILLY CRYSTAL as much as ROBERT DE NIRO Forms a good team and in the fiction same at rhe reality : They are FRIENDS ! These TWO MOVIES are WONDERFULS ... The first movie is a discovery and the second another discovery and these film with many jokes does mean that a mafioso can also be ill as much as anybody THEY ARE TWO HUGES ACTORS ! AMUSING ! YES OF COURSE ! Jus for that buy these DVD MOVIES ! ... FILMS !!! WONDERFUL !

Better of the 2 bt still a 2.5 star at best for language
This was an amusing movie, but the language is 100% gutter. Rounded down from 2.5 stars to 2 stars for language. I Acutally liked Analyze That a little better than Analyze This. but now that I've seen them once, I see no need to see them again.

"Analyze This and That" You!
"You, you're good, you." Yes! Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro) is brilliant as the mobster who cries and gives no mercy to his enemies. Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal) becomes his shrink after one threat and there goes on! "Analyze This" is funny with Sobel trying to get married, but Vitti interrupts his life and shoots pillows for no reason. "Analyze That" is funnier with hilarious parts including the woman and the midget picture, the tuna casserole, and the "West Side Story" sing-a-longs. Momentous! These are two funny movies that people need to see. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

RIGHT ON MAUDE!!!!!!
GOD! I LOVE THIS SHOW!!! I can remember when TV Land did a Maude-a-thon a few years ago, and I practically broke my neck to tape every episode. Unfortunately, the sound was'nt very good on some of the episodes, considering I was recording from an old tv at the time.
Since the technology of DVDS and the release of Norman Lear's other classic sitcoms, All in the Family, The Jefferson's, ect., I've been eagerly awaiting the release of Maude!!!!
Beatrice Arthur is one of my all-time favorite funny ladies and she was just darling as Maude!!! I loved her on the Golden Girls, but she really shined as the acid tongued Maude!!!
She had it all, controversy, quick wit,that great 70's hairstyle,those awesome pantsuits, and a husband like Walter!!!
In one episode she said the name Walter so much I lost count!!!
Anyways, I could go on and on about the greatness of Maude, and I hope to see her immortalized on DVD where she belongs!!!! It would also be nice to feature an on-camera interview with Beatrice Arthur discussing her most unforgettable character!!!
PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! DVD GODS IF YOU ARE LISTENING RELEASE MAUDE PRONTO!!!

...and then there's Maude
Quite possibly the funniest TV sitcom ever, it is about time this incredible show hit the home video market. Having actually NEVER been available before (not even on Beta!), this is a must-own collection, with a superb cast headed by the one-and-only Beatrice Arthur, with marvelous support by Bill Macy, Adrienne Barbeau, Conrad Bain, Rue McClannahan, and others. Get this for a great trip back to the sensational, daring 1970s.

"Gawd'll get ya for that, Walter!"
This was one of the loudest, funniest, gutsiest comedies on the tube thirty years ago.And now that I think of it, Maude Findlay might be the only woman on a comedy series to ever get an abortion.Pretty astonishing that it happened at all, given that in 1972 the Rowe vs. Wade case hadn't even fully played out yet.Hey, whoever owns this baby nowadays [is it still Norman Lear?] needs to get it onto digital disc format ASAP.I'd love to hear Bea Arthur's commentary on the abortion episode -- a two parter if I recall!!

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Description

Donna and Joel Gregory (Kate Jackson and Robert Wagner) are busy researching a book about highly-revered and long-dead Hollywood film goddess Lorna Love. They decide to visit Lorna's estate, where they stay while interviewing old "friends" of Lorna. Things get sticky when Joel, whose father had had a passionate affair with Lorna, quickly becomes obsessed with the deceased movie star. Suddenly, their lives are in jeopardy, and it's up to Donna to try to break the spell that has her husband acting strangely and her marriage creeping towards trouble. ... Read more