all day: Movies

How differently would “The Godfather” trilogy have turned out if the Corleones had sat down with a good family counselor? Well, maybe that’s pushing it too far, but in the new Harold Ramis comedy, “Analyze This,” Robert De Niro plays an anxiety-ridden mob boss who enlists the help of psychologist Billy Crystal. You try explaining the terms “boundary issues” and “dysfunctional family” to a Mafioso!

* “Analyze This,” which is rated R, opens Friday in general release.

all day: Movies

The North American debut of the new British comedy “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was a smash even if the film had previously been passed on by a slew of U.S. distributors, including indie stalwart Miramax. Gramercy (which is now owned by PolyGram) is distributing the film, which Times film critic Kenneth Turan calls “whip-smart, deliciously complex entertainment about a quartet of young Londoners who get in over their heads with the local underworld.” The fresh young cast includes new faces Nick Moran, Jason Flemyng, Jason Statham and Dexter Fletcher, but look for Sting (whose wife, Trudie Styler, is one of the film’s executive producers) in a cameo.

* “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” which is rated R, opens Friday at selected theaters.

8 pm: Theater

A Noise Within launches its 1999 spring repertory season with Sophocles’ tragedy “Oedipus the King,” about the proud young king who is humbled by destiny as the horrors of his past are revealed. The production is the West Coast premiere of a new translation by Kenneth Cavander.

* “Oedipus the King,” A Noise Within, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m. Also March 21, 2 and 7 p.m.; March 24-26, 8 p.m. Call for April and May dates. Ends May 8. $24 to $28; opening night, $38. (818) 546-1924.

8 pm: Dance

Former Twyla Tharp company heart-throb John Malashock has spent the last 10 years in San Diego building an accomplished modern-dance company and a challenging modern-dance repertory, only coming north from time to time to show the rest of the Southland what it’s been missing. His current touring rep includes the black comedy “Love and Murder” (music by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds); the lyrical and dreamlike “Midnight in Paradise” (set to recordings by Madredeus); an energetic dance about sloth titled “Give Me a Bud and a Slice” (music by Joe Jackson); plus five excerpts from “Let’s Duet,” acclaimed as a virtuosic mixed bill all by itself.

* Malashock Dance and Company, Keck Theater, Occidental College, 1600 Campus Road, Eagle Rock. 8 p.m. Also Saturday, 8 p.m. $10 to $20. (323) 259-2922.

8:15 pm: Pop Music

On her first solo tour, pop’s hottest female artist, Lauryn Hill, has been delivering a consciousness-raising, hip-hop heavy display that enlarges and intensifies the themes and emotions of her landmark “Miseducation” album. Her L.A. debut comprises three nights at the Universal Amphitheatre and comes on the heels of her five Grammys wins, including album of the year, last week.

* Lauryn Hill at the Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City. 8:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday sold out; Sunday, $29 to $55. (818) 622-4440.

8:30 pm: Pop Music

Still charged with the aggression that marked its origins in punk rock’s Riot Grrrl wing, Sleater-Kinney has evolved into an increasingly sophisticated outfit. Its new album, “The Hot Rock,” features both intricate vocal interplay and one of rock’s most awesome phenomena--Corin Ticker’s gale-force wail.

* Sleater-Kinney, the Roxy, 9009 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 8:30 p.m. $10. (310) 278-9457. Also Saturday.

Freebies:

Pianist Bill Cunliffe, past winner of the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition, leads a jazz trio at LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., 5:30 p.m. (323) 857-6000.

Characters from the TV series “Bear in the Big Blue House” perform at the Glendale Galleria at 1, 3 and 5 p.m. (818) 240-9481.