Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal - the double act that surprisingly struck box-office gold with Analyze This - return for this sequel, but fail to conjure up anything like the same magic. After faking a breakdown, De Niro's imprisoned mobster Paul Vitti is released into the custody of his psychiatrist Ben Sobel (Crystal), much to the disgust of Sobel's wife (Lisa Kudrow). Soon fed up with his slobbish houseguest, Sobel gets Vitti a job as a consultant on a TV show that is not unlike The Sopranos. The similarity could hardly be coincidental, but, unfortunately, the comparison doesn't flatter the film. The Sopranos was consistently good over six series, while this comedy can't even stretch to two films, running out of ideas halfway through and turning into a lame heist caper. Crystal's quick-witted neuroses still spark effectively off De Niro's bovine charm, but are not enough substance for a whole movie.

The mafia's Paul Vitti is back in prison and will need some serious counseling when he gets out. Naturally, he returns to his analyst Dr. Ben Sobel for help and finds that Sobel needs some serious help himself as he has inherited the family practice, as well as an excess stock of stress.