Here, Harry has writer's block for the first time in his life (his last name is Block as well, pun possibly intended) since everyone he has taken from his real life and "thinly disguised" isn't around to give him any ideas (outside of the Crystal thing). The bulk of the film holds flashbacks, in brilliantly edited fashion, where he recollects his old stories, the alter egos of his real life wives and relatives and so on.
If Woody had made this movie as a deep and serious self-reflection of his demons, it would be interesting but it wouldn't be funny. Here, he reminds his old fans that he can bring laugh out loud jokes and gags, most for Jewish people, to be sure, but all around ones as well, and the moment you realize it's a comedy/drama and not a vulgar piece of cinema that was thrown from Woody's chair as a backlash to the critics, you'll have fun. One of the best pictures from 1997.
Never before has Dialogue been So Cleverly Written, and then So Brilliantly Delivered (except for "The Big Lebowski" of course). Allen's Casts are always something to Behold, but in "Deconstructing Harry", he has gathered enough big names to open 20 films.
Judy Davis' nervy style fits in a Woody Allen film Perfectly. He brings out the Best in her. Where in Other films her All or Nothing performances can lean towards the Wrong side of Annoying, under Allen's Steady and Strong Direction, she gives her Best Performances (she has Also worked with him in "Celebrity" and "Husbands and Wives").
In fact, I'm going to cut my review short to go and watch the film right now, every actor is great, every line is memorable. See it now.
Once again Allen has leveraged his considerable fame to draw in Hollywood's elite. Throughout the film, every face is a familiar one. Billy Crystal is portrayed as the devil who steals Woody's romantic lead, Robin Williams as a blurry actor who can't get his focus, Kirstie Alley as a ex-wife who discovers Harry has cheated with a patient, and countless more celebrity cameos.
The joy in partaking in this film is evident in the celebrity actors who appear. There's a certain prestige in such an endeavor, and we, the film audience, can identify just about everyone in the film. At the same time, each character that appears has so much baggage in our minds. For instance, Demi Moore appears as an ex-wife. How many of us can honestly think of her in any way other that her celebrity profile. While this isn't a major problem, identifying with some of the celebrities proves difficult at times.
Deconstructing Harry catalogs Woody's struggle with sexual desire and his inability to love. Early on we discover that he has finally found true love in a pupil, Elizabeth Shue, but she has fallen in love with his friend.
The plot is shaped around Harry's self-identity questions, and the character's goal is to go to an honorary ceremony at his alum. He has nobody to take. His ex-wife won't let him take his son, his girlfriend has left him, and a hooker is the only one around that will take him up on his need for companionship.
The play between Allen's semi-autobiographical stories, which flash to and from reality, illuminate the film and shows how Allen's writing channels his depression and gives him a release from an otherwise ugly life.
After viewing Deconstructing Harry, I wonder how autobiographical it really is.
On the downside, the bad language is more frequent and offensive than any other Allen film, and the sexual content more explicit (visually). Other than that, this one will have you in stitches.
