Paging DrBenSobel

I think Analyze That is the first movie with its own IM bot. AIM users can message DrBenSobel (apparently MSN messenger isn't supported) to get information on the movie and free "therapy."

I played with DrBenSobel for a few minutes. The idea is cool, but the overall experience was underwhelming. I don't really need a four-page bio of Billy Crystal delivered to my AIM client. The "Go Legit" and "What Kind of Gangster Are You?" games were amusing but kind of predictable.

DrBenSobel gives you a lot of text--complete paragraphs that use "freakin'" several times--which doesn't seem very chatty to me. I expect a conversational flow when I'm in AIM, but my session ended up rather being one-sided. I said "yes" or "no" or entered a letter or number, got a bunch of text in return, and felt like I was interacting with a bot--not a character from the movie. IM just isn't the right place to deliver a movie's detailed plot summary.