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Deconstructing Harry
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by New Line Home Video
Sales Rank: 15157
Price: $14.98
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Woody Allen roared back at his detractors with <I>Deconstructing Harry</I>, a bitterly funny treatise about the creative process. Known to mine his often tumultuous personal life for his movies, the embattled writer-director-star didn't bother to make his alter ego likable in this movie: Harry Block (Allen) pops pills, frequents prostitutes, and cheats on the women in his life, then writes about their foibles in thinly disguised fiction. No wonder they're all furious with him. As Harry journeys to his alma mater with a hooker, ill pal, and kidnapped son, a series of flashbacks unravel, juxtaposing Harry's relationships with their "slightly exaggerated" fictional counterparts. There are amusing cameos throughout, including a humorous turn by Demi Moore as a fictitious ex-wife who "became Jewish with a vengeance," and Billy Crystal as the devil who found Hollywood too nasty for his liking. The humor is dark and caustic, but well worth it; <I>Deconstructing Harry</I> is a near-brilliant mediation on the sometimes queasy relationship between art, creator, and critic. <I>--Diane Garrett</I>
Viewer Reviews
Getting to know Woody Allen's filmography as of late has been a real trip, and while there have been some misses for me, for the most part I have become a real fan of his work. `Deconstructing Harry' may very well be one of my favorites. The film is an uproarious look at the struggle one makes to create something, about the fact that fiction truly imitates life and that life, in its rawest of forms, is truly remarkable.
Woody Allen stars as Harry Block, a famous writer who is suffering from a serious case of writers block. While he's struggling with this artistic roadblock he is also presented with the honor of being the center of a University tribute, as the school that once threw him out wants to give him an award. Now, more than ever, Harry is faced with his own slew of insecurities as he contemplates why no one in his life likes him. As he struggles to find someone to accompany him to his awards ceremony he realizes that the decisions he has made in life has segregated him from those he loves, or at one time loved. He's been unfaithful to every wife he's ever had and has single-handedly destroyed the reputations of his family, friends and lovers in his novels. No one can stand him and this forces Harry to reach down inside himself to find the reasons why.
The process he uses is what really makes this film so unbelievable good.
Telling the story of his life through a series of short stories he in fact wrote, Harry exposes his inner feelings through characters based on himself and others around him. He explores his romantic relationships and his countless infidelities; his feelings on marriage and loyalty and even success. He tackles his views on religion and culture and family, all of which help construct (or deconstruct) this man from the inside out.
The film is littered with countless supporting actors who just devour the screenplay that Woody delivers to them with such conviction and comedic excellence. Even actors who have very small roles (Robin Williams) make the most of their limited screen time to deliver performances that elevate the films core. Billy Crystal and Elizabeth Shue are phenomenal and Demi Moore and Bob Balaban (of Christopher Guest fame) are both scene stealers. The real standout here, aside from Woody himself, is Kirstie Alley who just dominates as Harry's ex-wife Joan. She has only a few scenes, and in each scene she is ranting and yelling and throwing a fit, but that fit is seriously comedic genius, rich with honest emotion and brutal delivery.
The real star of the show is Woody's brilliant script (which really should have won the Oscar) for it is rich with wit and a truism that makes the film so much more effective than your average comedy. Harry Block is far from a likable guy, but underneath it all he is an extremely relatable guy, someone who we can see within ourselves. `Deconstructing Harry' is a smart and successful look at deconstructing ourselves.
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