Deconstructing Harry Rating: Release Date: 26 May, 1998 Retail Price: $24.98 OUR Price: $9.97 You SAVE: $15.01! Cast: Woody Allen Tobey Maguire Judy Davis Richard Benjamin Complete Cast (5 total)

Deconstructing Harry Reviews

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NOT YOUR USUAL STRAIGHT-AHEAD BRAINLESS HOLLYWOOD NARRATIVE
the title ought to tip you off that an approach to viewing this film is required more sophisticated and acute than the usual Hollywood bright mights and mirrors delusions which accompany or popcorn.

In fact the first ten minutes of the lucious Louise DReyfuss pleasuring the elder Richard Benjamin are awful in itself, especially as an introduction to this film. Only later does it begin dimly to dawn upon us that these intriguing characters (just what is Dreyfuss's MOTIVATION here?), plus the iconic blind grandmother witness, are merely characters in Woody Allen (Harry)'s commercial rewrite of his life. In fact, we vainly come to miss the presence of some of these characters with concern for their outcome.

Once you get a hang of the narrative structure, it's pretty clear what is going on. In fact it is not far from Play it again sam, when fantasy (here formalized in writing) crosses with reality. I find this character of course more pathetic than any earlier character, and more true. THe whole episode of the lost son is especially telling, when one considers Mr. Allen's and his son Satchmo's suffering at the eccentric and vindictive hands of the bizarre and abusive Mia Farrow. And so the reality of Mr. Allen's life crosses the reality of his character Harry's life, which is further crossed by Harry's fantasizing into his writing as a means of making reality more bearable.

I really wish nondrinkers would not overestimate their capabilites after chugging various whiskeys.

The editing was so jarring it seemed amateurish and I thought my new DVD was choking on my brand new used disk, with several incomprehensible jumps, until I realized that was part of the deconstruction message as well.

THere is much to like and to think about here. How could a grown man believe a real out there street whore could hold the secret to peace and happiness and the resolution of our tragedies, and yet so much of us do just that, or they would have no job.

But those first few minutes one would not wish to see again. I can never look at Seinfeld in the same way, where the wonderful Dreyfuss is always the pratfall for the callous jokes of others.

A very nervous and jarring and challenging film, one worth seeing, but I would prefer to see Sam, or The Front, or take the money and Run



Fans of Woody Allen will like it
This was a pretty good Woody Allen film packed with well known celebrities. Woody Allen is playing a novelist named Harry who written books based on people he knowns. He doesn't tries much to disguise them and upsets his friends with his tales. There are funny moments when the movie segues to his fictional characters. My favorite is the one with Demi Moore. The one with Billy Crystal is pretty funny too. In Harry's real life I got a kick out of Cookie the goodhearted [...].


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