In a time when Hollywood launched films with similar themes in pairs, it was natural to expect that Analyze This would be soon followed by another comedy about outsider having to deal with Mafia. The film that followed was Mickey Blue Eyes, directed by Kelly Makin.
Protagonist, played by Hugh Grant, is Michael Felgate, suave English art expert who works as an auctioneer at highly respected New York art gallery. For the last three months he was dating beautiful Gina Vitale (played by Jeanne Tripplehorn), but when he asks her to marry him, she inexplicably leaves. Michael decides to find out the reason and soon learns that she is a daughter of Frank Vitale (played by James Caan), one of the high ranking Mafia bosses. Frank is, however, enthusiastic about potential son-in-law and tries to get him to his family’s “business”. First opportunity for that are paintings that Frank’s psychotic cousin Johnny Graziosi (played by John Ventimigla) made as part of his mental therapy. Things soon get complicated for Michael and that includes murder, so not only his career and potential marriage come under threat, but also his life.
Mickey Blue Eyes is a better film than Analyze This, which isn’t surprising, but is actually quite entertaining, which, to a certain degree, is. Film had messy production with script being constantly re-written and at least two persons – Carl Gottlieb and Hugh Grant – made uncredited contribution to direction. Unfortunately, all the best things happen in first half of the film, when the audience can enjoy some really funny gags. In the second half creators lose almost all inspiration and plot gets drowned in cliches, unnecessary subplots, weak gags and Hugh Grant becoming increasingly annoying in its attempts to speak with Italian American accent. What saves this film to a degree is spirited performance by James Caan who obviously enjoys an opportunity to parody his best known role – character of Sonny Corleone in The Godfather. Good acting work is also provided by veteran character actor Burt Young and British actor James Fox in one of rare opportunities for comical role. However, this wasn’t enough to make Mickey Blue Eyes anything more than merely watchable and, despite adequate box office results, it was deemed failure, even being referenced as such in one of the episodes of The Sopranos.
RATING: 4/10 (+)
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