Liam Neeson delivers a few genuinely amusing scenes as an undercover DEA agent on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The strained plot is desperately overstretched in search of funny situations centered on Charlie Mayo’s (Neeson) fractured psychology. He has a major bust going down, but the near death trauma of the last undercover job gone south has left him twisted up with anxiety attacks and gastrointestinal troubles. Much of the comic relief comes during his group therapy sessions where his cool retelling of torture and close brushes with violent death creates a hilarious contrast to the stories of his fellow patients who suffer from nerdy job and relationship anxieties.

Charlie seems to get a dramatically improved outlook on life after meeting and falling in love with nurse Judy (Sandra Bullock). The relationship brings much needed joy to Charlie’s stressed routine, and he begins to realize that job dissatisfaction is the root of all his ills as it is the cause of problems for the members of his therapy group. In an amusing twist, the Mafia hit man who wants to rise in the ranks to an "executive position", Fulvio (Oliver Platt), suffers from career misdirection anxiety and turns to Charlie for friendship and support.

Gun Shy attempts to strip down and make fun of our tendencies to attach the meaning of our lives to careers that we have long forgotten to enjoy, or perhaps never have. All major characters in the film base their self-confidence and self-image on their success in a career that is contrary to their talents and passions. Thus, their desperate strain to excel could have provided fertile ground for humor because they cannot help being exposed as incompetent, pathetic hacks.

Perhaps, all of this sounds a little like Analyze This, a comedy with Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro released last year, but unfortunately, Gun Shy is deflated by too many subplots that seem to be running away from each other. The story follows Mayo’s therapy, his undercover work, his romance, the tension with his bosses, and the growing friendship with the Mafia man, Fulvio. All of this is almost magically flipped to become much more than the character development can support. The final surprise is literally pulled out of a hat and completely implausible. Most disappointing is Sandra Bullock’s role. The character of nurse Judy seems more doctored to accommodate Ms. Bullock, who also produced the film, than it is really needed in the story.