TheLittleSongbird
By all means, Deconstructing Harry will divide, and has divided, viewers, people may be put off by the odd cuts, the (deliberately) fragmented story and the crass language(which will be a shock even for Woody Allen fans). Personally though Deconstructing Harry was a great film and among the best of Allen's 90s output and among his best overall as well. True, the pacing is too erratic in places but compared to how truly brilliant everything else that made no difference to me. The film may not be as visually beautiful as, say, Manhattan and Purple Rose of Cairo(but it was never was meant to be, it's not that kind of film), but while the photography may be deemed odd by some with the jump cuts it was really interesting and fitted perfectly with the subject matter. The scenery and such are lovely and authentic as usual. The soundtrack again, as is true of Allen, is very well chosen and catchy and never feels misplaced. The humour and script are very, very crass and scathing which was a shock to me on first viewing and for other people as well seeing as Allen has never been more bitter, but is so cleverly written and hilarious with a tinge of sadness the approach works wonders. Allen has plenty to say here and he doesn't hold anything back and presents it bluntly, it seems that he was having troubles personally(like Stardust Memories where he showed frustration at his critics except that was done much more subtly) at the same and there is that sense here. The story is unusually structured and very ambitious, almost fragmented, but never to the state of incoherence, and there are some really effective and hilarious scenes like the explicit sex scene and the one in hell. The character relationships are beautifully and insightfully done and the characters are written scathingly but not to the point of completely hating them(the mistake that Anything Else did). The acting is great from everyone, Kirstie Alley is cute and funny, Elizabeth Shue is sweet while not being too sugary, Robin Williams is just hilarious and Billy Crystal is devilishly good, pun intended. But Allen is the one who deserves a lot of the credit here, Deconstructing Harry has some of his most unique direction, perhaps a very close second to Zelig, and one of his best performances too. Overall, personal, daring, blistering and hilarious, one of Woody Allen's better films but one of his most divisive and (to me and quite a lot of other fans) under-valued. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox
ElMaruecan82
"Deconstructing Harry" stands, in my opinion, as one of Woody Allen's best, probably his last masterpiece although it doesn't have the 'masterpiece' vibe. It looks like a typical Woody Allen movie but watch it closely and you'll get more insights about the director, the artist, ultimately the man. If you're not interested in, enjoy the gags and forget about it … if you can.I am more and more confident that Woody Allen is never as inspired and –of course- hilarious as when his movies work as media to expresses his personal fears, angst and frustrations. And being capable to distort life, facts and reality to produce insights based on his own living, and in the intellectual and emotional process, to enable us to question ourselves, is in my opinion the work of a true artist. The film might feel 'minor' compared to other Allen's films but for some reason, it touched me, not immediately, but the ending was one of Allen's most triumphal achievements. Don't let yourself guided by your first feelings, this is not Allen wrapped up in his own ego, the film works on higher levels, and use Allen's own demons to tunnel us into ours, to use our empathy as a lightning torch to find truth in our personal darkness.Woody Allen is the titular Harry, Block is his last name, a fitting one as the writer he plays seems to suffer from mental block, the nightmare of every writer. But this block is justified by the series of incidents that undermined his inspiration. "Deconstructing Harry" is set during the aftermath of Harry's best-seller's success, a novel where he unveiled his most intimate secrets involving his friends, ex-wives, sister, family and acquaintances. It is one thing to reveal one's intimate secrets but we tend to forget that our secrets involve our personal circle. As a writer, Harry doesn't embarrass with such dilemmas, inspiration commands the writing and the others' anger is only a collateral damage he can afford but still must deal with. He tries to hide the names, to use lamentable pseudonyms, but behind every character, there's Harry. The film, like "Radio Days" is a succession of little vignettes, all reflecting a part of Harry's life, this is what the whole deconstruction process is about, in a masterstroke of writing.Whether it's a writer whose wife rediscovered her Jewish faith after the birth of her son, an old man indulging himself to cannibalism, a man cheating on his wife in front of an old blind parent, it's all about Harry, his friends are not fooled, neither are we. Is there a message behind that? Yes, every single piece of work of an artist is autobiographical. I'm tired of the whole: "Woody Allen always plays the same character" argument, because rather than a criticism, this is the best homage he can receive. But I would specify it a little bit, he doesn't play the same character, but within his whole oeuvre, there is one and only one Woody Allen. To understand the personality, one has to follow his evolution step by step, film by film. In "Interiors", the artist put his own inspiration into perspective, in "Stardust Memories", his comical talent or in "Zelig", his capability to please to be part of the mood..In "Deconstructing Harry", it seems like the constantly self-deprecating Woody Allen is finally over with his own demons, because he comes to one realization, this is the best thing he can do, this is the only talent he truly has, and he's only exploiting it for the best. One of his friends, played by Billy Crystal, stole his girlfriend, but he acknowledges he doesn't have his talent. And yes, Allen is the best screenwriter. At the film's apotheosis, when all the characters he created applauded him, you can see the overwhelming effect on his eyes, and for one second, we imagine Woody Allen being applauded by Annie Hall, Virgil, Hannah and her Sisters thanking him for having graced the silver screen and pleased a generation of movie goers, for more than 20 years. Almost 20 years later, Woody Allen is still prolific but you could feel a relief after "Deconstructing Harry", when he could finally get to more fictional stuff, and telling stories again.I didn't speak much of the film because it's typically Allenian with a great cast, a deliberately disjointed editing, sometimes confusing but I guess it's a benign artistic license in order to convey the chaotic aspect of Harry's life as a sort of story he tries to rewrite inside himself, with the same process of writing, erasing, rewriting, copy-pasting etc. But what rises above the whole chaos, is the self-reflexive approach of Allen to his own work, he did it with "Interiors" and "Stardust Memories", but the films were inspired by Bergman and Fellini's works. I guess it took the revival of his comical genius in the 80's and the early 90's so he could understand that the best one to talk about Woody and to deconstruct Woody, is still Woody.And from someone who wishes to become a writer and can't function in the cold and average normality of life, I realize that I'm more inclined to bloom during writing, and stop being so out-of-focus, I should be the one to give people the right glasses to see what I'm worth. This out-of-focus metaphor is a strike of comical genius, and it touched a very sensitive chord. I loved "Deconstructing Harry" in a very deep and personal level and as I get older, I feel a very strong connection to the artistic and even neurotic personality of Woody Allen.To deconstruct Harry is to understand Woody, and ... a certain part of ourselves, imprisoned in a life of futile conventions and begging for expression, no matter how hard, and painful or shameful they are. I guess we should all learn to deconstruct ourselves to be over with our inner demons.
Martin Teller
Allen's homage to (and send-up of) WILD STRAWBERRIES has its pluses and minuses. It's interesting, and in a way refreshing, to see him being so blatantly crass. It's one of his darkest movies, and maybe his most cynical comedy. Some of it is riotously funny, like the confrontation with Kirstie Alley in the middle of a patient's therapy session, or his version of Hell (with Billy Crystal in one of his most enjoyable roles). But with all the little sub-stories going on, it comes off like a clearinghouse for unfinished ideas. Also, the fragmented, jerky editing (because he's being "deconstructed," get it?) is an annoying quirk that adds little. Still, there's a lots of laughs to be had and it's an interesting bit of self-deprecation combined with self-admiration.
