User Reviews

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

Woody bares his soul--again--and if the introspective vision of the sad clown (growing old) isn't what you're expecting, the film is likely to be a disappointment. The film is funny, of course, and vulgar (as most Allen movies are), but it's also bitter and cynical, and rather sad.

The jerky jump-cuts might be a stylized editing cover-up for jumping from take to take to utilise the best performances of a pantheon of actors, or they might be planned...I don't know. I had to see a few of them before I settled into accepting them as "the style", but I decided they work in this film.

Other "user comments" complain about Woody and the sexy young women. That bothers me in some films, but not here. Here it's part of Harry's character--part of Woody's "character"--and is clearly part of his problem.

I think this is an honest film, a sad and revealing film about one of the most clever and creative writers in America. It's funny, it's witty, and it's also depressing. It has moments of pure, laugh-out-loud humour (eg. the elevator going down to the bottom floor of hell; Harry arriving at the honouring ceremony with a dead body, a prostitute, and his "kidnapped" son in the car), but underneath it's the story of a man who cannot function happily in real life, only in the fictions he creates. Although fantasy plays a major role in the story, the story is not a fantasy. The parallels between Allen himself and the character and plot he's created here are obvious.

I enjoyed watching this video, and would recommend it-- selectively--to friends. If you like the Allen sense of humour, want to see a fairly unusual editing style used effectively, want to see some superb acting cameos by some very talented actors, or have an interest in the torments of a neurotic middle-aged genius and how they might be revealed on film, then you'll like this movie. If this doesn't sound like your kind of thing, watch something else.

Regardless of what Woody Allen may do in real life, he surely shines through his films. Just like the main character in this film who can't seem to get personal matters resolved, Allen faces the same predicament each day. He lets his films do the talking and stays away from the limelight. Deconstructing Harry does him justice in a few sequences as to what he feels and how the media treats him.

This film showcases some of Allen's better quirks when it comes to storywriting and directing. The much used "jump cut" effect helps to create a world that is disjointed from all else. When things are going fine, there are no jump cuts. However when things are less than opportune jump cuts add confusion to the scene and are used more often as the tension increases. The "out of focus" effect is the first of its kind and is very funny. The Robin Williams cameo didn't have much meaning, but his scene was one of the funniest due to him losing his touch. The same effect is used on Allen himself later in the film in another hillarious scene.

The storyline has many layers and isn't at all confusing (as others may have you believe) to the viewer. The use of actors portraying actors in this film is pure Allen genius and is another way that this film differs itself from the crowd. It is not so much that one follows along to see what happens to Harry, but rather to see what is going to happen next. When Allen needs an entourage to go to his alma mater honouring, he ends up taking a very unlikely group. The humour is at times crude and pokes fun at his usual groups (ie - ultraorthodox jews, hookers, WASP's and just about everyone else).

Allen uses his interesting techniques and smart plot to make this such a good film. One can only wonder how he always gets the foxes. At least he got Billy Crystal to play the devil. How fitting.

8/10 stars.

Just as I've found a newfound appreciation for Elvis Costello, I've likewise opened my heart to Woody Allen (my New Year's resolution: be nicer to nerdy art-types). I even saw Deconstructing Harry twice, (after which I read a Woody Allen collection of short pieces and rented both Bananas and Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex). Hey, what can I say – I thought The Purple Rose Of Cairo might've been a fluke, but I guess I'm just a Woody Allen fan now.

Deconstructing Harry is laugh-out-loud funny, tracing the steps of Harry Block, a neurotic, foul-mouthed, Jewish, self-hating, pill-popping, womanizing alcoholic (three wives and six therapists later) that oddly enough, resembles Woody Allen and his own life (give or take a few things). Block has (giggle) writer's block, and can't write about his life. As a result, he becomes `unfocused,' entangling himself in fact and fiction (i.e. he interacts with his own characters). `You expect the world to adjust to the distortion you've become,' Harry's analyst tells him. What follows is a series of skits that interact with the past and present and the real and imagined – it's kind of like watching a Kurt Vonnegut story edited by Quentin Tarentino.

The all-star cast is phenomenal: Robin Williams is hilarious, Kirstie Alley is hysterically funny, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is super-sexy and Elizabeth Shue is as sweet as sugar. Billy Crystal even pulls off a good role as the Devil. But other than the characterization, Woody's new flick is witty, cold-hearted, extremely vulgar, often tasteless and perfectly profane with enough catch-lines to keep film buffs cracking for years (`I always keep a little hooker money around'). Hannah And Her Sisters this ain't!

It isn't as lovable as "Annie Hall" or "Hannah and Her Sisters," and it's not as overtly philosophical as "Crimes and Misdemeanors." And that's probably why "Deconstructing Harry" is underrated by film/Allen fans. Still, it ranks among the Top 5 Allen films. Woody plays a Philip Roth-like fiction writer who is lecherous, unlikable, and disloyal; in dropping his "cute loser" shtick, the performance rings with more honesty than he's had in years. In a nod to Bergman's "Wild Strawberries," Allen's character has a chance to reflect on his life as he travels to a university for an honor. Memories mix with scenes this writer's fiction, providing opportunities for the large and excellent ensemble cast. Many of Allen's later films seem tired, but the neurotic jumpiness he brings to "Deconstructing Harry" reinjects energy into his work. If you loved "Husbands and Wives," try this. I rate it 9.

In a string of films that recapitulate familiar themes, this one stands out as perhaps the loudest cry of anguish and self-loathing, and it's a comedy.

Where Woody Allen has paid serious hommages to other artists' bleak "heaviosity" (his word) and inevitably come up short, here he does a blistering comic riff on two of the greatest films of the 20th century, Bergman's "Wild Strawberries" and Fellini's "8½."

The parallels to the Bergman film are obvious and much discussed. The bits of Fellini are less often recognized, including the complaining wife, the impossible mistress, other people's demands creating a totally chaotic existence, closing with a yearning fantasy of getting everybody in his life together in one place and time to create harmony and wholeness. In Woody's version, we even have a double for Mia in the reunion, as if some kind of healing reconciliation were possible.

So Woody hits the wall, looks at his life, can't stand any of it and rips the bark off his own skin. What can seem like self-indulgence in other films is not forgiven here. He writes scathing, vituperative attacks on himself for other character's mouths and the viewer can only gape.

Lots of fun, but not for the whole family.

The only mystery is why, at the time I write this, Imdb singles out such a lame misfire of a slam for the first page of this movie's entry. Just about anybody else who has posted has a better understanding of the film.

It's a shame that so much negative criticism focuses on Deconstructing Harry's bad language, because this is one of Allen's funniest, smartest and most perceptive films. In fact, it may actually be his best film full stop – only Manhattan and Crimes and Misdemeanours can challenge Harry. But although the bad language and crudity may affect some people's enjoyment of the film, for me, as someone who loves bad taste, it's a major benefit, especially as it's a side of Allen we rarely see. I mean, we're used to the romantic Allen and the neurotic Allen, and we've even had serious Allen, but here you have Allen almost becoming Philip Roth. It's very enjoyable to watch.

In this film, Allen's alter ego is Harry Block, a writer in the mould of Philip Roth who, in the words of one his exes, turns everyone else's suffering into literary gold. And this assertion is corroborated by the opening scene, a section from one his books where a man and a woman who are having an affair, during a barbecue, decide to have sex in a bathroom while their spouses are eating in the garden. It's a very funny scene, especially as an attempted blow-job is interrupted by a false alarm (the woman grinds her teeth when the man spots his wife) and as some doggy-style sex is interrupted by the woman's blind grandmother coming into the room (when asked what's happening, the woman tells her grandmother that she's making Martinis while they continue banging away). But while the scene is absolutely hilarious, it does also have a point. This is a scene from Harry's life. He's using it in his work. Therefore his ex isn't too happy to find this episode in his book. Of course, Harry tries to explain that it was 'loosely based' (the grandmother was an embellishment), but that doesn't cut much ice with his ex, who's having all of the sordid details of her affair revealed to friends and family. So the film touches on ideas of a writer's responsibility. What's exploitation and what's inspiration?

One of the most revealing sections of the film is when Harry talks to his therapist. He discusses his attitude to women. "I'm always thinking of f****** every woman I meet… I see a woman on a bus. I think what she looks like naked. Is it possible I might f*** her?" Essentially Harry is a man who has never grown up. He can't commit and he can't sustain a relationship with a woman, a fact backed up by his string of exes and his affection for prostitutes. Indeed, for him, whores are perfect. You don't have to woo them, they don't nag you and they do whatever you want; all you've got to do is pay them. And in the film, Harry takes Cookie, a black prostitute ("Do you know what a black hole is?" Harry asks her. "Yeah, that's how I make my living.") with him to an honouring ceremony at his old school.

Harry also takes a friend along with him and his young son – well, he actually 'kidnaps' his son. And the whole journey, the whole act of going back to remember the past, brings back memories of stories he wrote, stories that are thinly veiled versions of actual events. One of the funniest is a story of a man who married his therapist. At first everything is great, the woman understands the man like no other woman in the world. But once they have a child she becomes "Jewish with a vengeance". No longer is she smart and funny and sexy; all of a sudden she's a dowdy nag who's rediscovered her religion. And in one hilarious moment she even prays before administering a blow-job. Again it's highly amusing, but again it has a point; Harry wants everything to remain perfect. He can't understand why people have to change. I mean, even having a child doesn't change him. He talks to his son about naming his penis. He may be getting on, but he's still really just a kid.

Harry's whole life philosophy is neatly summed up by his half-sister: "You have no values. With you it's all nihilism, cynicism, sarcasm and orgasm." To which Harry quips, "Hey, in France I could run for office with that slogan, and win!" But although Harry may be deemed to be juvenile, he's entirely correct about religion. He tells his devout sister that they're clubs and that their function is to exclude people. And then he asks her whether it bothers her more when a Jew gets killed or a gentile. She says a Jew death bothers her more – "They're my people." "They're all our people," he replies. I'm with Harry. Religions are nothing but divisive. Plus they encourage people to prove how devout they are – as if you can be more Jewish than someone else, or more Catholic etc. It all becomes a competition.

But amongst all this, the only thing that Harry can do to remain sane is to write. Somehow life doesn't make any sense but fiction does. I guess it's a problem most writers have. To able to write you have to observe, but the more you observe the less you understand why people behave the way they do. Plus the more you observe the more you actually remove yourself from life. However, self-examination does allow Harry to become more perceptive as regards himself. In fact, his characters help him out a lot, as they offer insights that he couldn't possibly come up with alone. So although the film's coarse, it ends up being quite optimistic. Salvation lies within.

Very funny, very coarse, very Woody Allen. This movie not only has autobiographical elements, Harry Block to a large extent is Woody Allen himself. I think never a director exposed the weaknesses of his own "ego" as mercilessly as Woody did in this film, descending into the deepest layers of the "id", into the very depths of hell (literally, with all the molten lava and sulfur smoke that go with it)! But Woody Allen covers this merciless exercise of psychoanalysis with a thick cover of humor. It is also a very funny movie!

Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry is arguably his best film in my opinion. True, there are his works in the 70's that are masterpieces, but this is definitely his best recent work. His script is one of his funniest, because this is a movie wham-packed with Jewish humor (which coming from Allen is a blessing).

The plot involves troubled writer Harry Block (played to the best of Allen acting) who along with writer's block, has trouble holding on to women, mentioning real life in his book, and meeting hookers who find the black hole to be their living.

It's not just him though, the other characters including Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Judy Davis, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Caroline Aaron and many others bring this film to a high pitched comedy. And since, me being Jewish, I understood much of the humor and laughed through most of it. Great entertainment. A++

Harry Block is a writer who tends to thinly veil his won life in his art. His tendency to mock his friends and family through similar characters in his work has left him with three ex-wives and a huge number of people who hate him. He lives a lonely life and has a penchant for pills and whore (prostitution being pure and totally free of BS). When his college plans to honour him he finds he has no-one who wants to go with him, so he ‘kidnaps' his son, a black whore and an old friend with him. As the characters from his work come and go around him, he finds that he struggles to make amends with those around him and decides than he can only be happy in his work.

This is a fantastic Woody Allen film, and his only film to be rated 18 in the UK. The story seems to be a very clear, very personal attack on himself. It's like Allen is using a fictional story (going to be honoured by his college) to lay himself bare. Certainly Block's habit for using his own life in his work seems to echo accusations towards Allen in real life. At times this makes the film really hard to watch, some scenes are so full of apparent self-loathing and bile that it's hard to laugh. Happily the film is hilarious all the way through - this is not one of Allen's arty, serious films. It should be said that Allen denies that this is as personal as it appears but it is easy to see why it is seen as a personal attack on himself.

The film's main story is littered with scenes from Block's work that demonstrate how he has used his characters to mock others and to portray himself - Robin Williams is the best as the artist that literally lacks focus and Crystal is hellishly good. The story's moral about art and life is not as clear or as clever as it thinks it is, but it's very, very funny and the level of bile Allen appears to be spitting at himself is very interesting to observe.

Allen is great in the central role, but you do occasionally feel like you should look away at times because he appears to be giving himself a real kicking. The rest of the cast is really good and is full of famous faces ranging from big stars (Moore, Crystal, Alley, Williams) to familiar faces (Maguire, Bogosian, Louis-Dreyfus, Shue, Tucci). As a director Allen does some new tricks to make this feel even more different from his other films, but the jump cuts etc are a little tiresome. The most important character to me is Cookie. She is significant because Allen has not really ever created a good black character (even if she is a prostitute).

Overall this is a really funny film. The degree of vitriol that Allen appears to aim towards himself makes this a little less enjoyable but overall it is a great film.

"Deconstructing Harry" (1996) is Woody Allen's angriest, busiest, most neurotic, most complex, most personal with the funniest one-liners film that effortlessly moves from past to present, from reality to the world of imagination, and from funny bits to contemplation on serious and personal subjects so rapidly that you have to watch closely in order not to get lost in all these worlds. Allen plays Harry Block, a famous writer suffering from the writer's block and also from inability to survive in real world, to be happy and to make the people in his life happy, "Six shrinks later, three wives down the line, and I still can't get my life together". Harry can't get his life together but he can write and he has put himself and all people he knows including his wives, friends, girl-friends, and his sister into his last novel. His art imitated life so closely that real people recognized themselves in the fictional characters very easily and now Harry lives through the nightmare of confronting near everybody he has ever known as well as the fictional characters, offended, infuriated, and insulted, who all rush in anger to face him: "You have no values. With you it's all nihilism, cynicism, sarcasm, and orgasm."

By its structure,"Deconstructing Harry" reminds the earlier film by one of Allen's favorite directors, Ingmar Bergman, "Wild Strawberries". As Professor Borg, Harry Block travels by car to upstate New York, where his college that expelled him as an undergraduate now wants to honor him as a world renowned belletrist. He travels by car with three unlikely companions, a hooker, a friend with bad heart, and his 9-years-old son whom he had kidnapped from school. As in "Wild Strawberries", Allen's film provides sincere, intelligent, and emotional contemplations of life's disappointment, regrets, and losses but at the same time, it is hilarious as only Allen's films can be. One of the best scenes of the film is Harry's descent on the elevator to air-conditioned Hell where in the ninth circle he meets the Devil who looks very much like Billy Crystal. Another wonderful scene concerns a married couple where after thirty years of happy uneventful marriage a wife learns some interesting eating habits from her husband's previous life. I can go on for long time. As often in the case of Allen's movies, with the modest running time of 96 minutes, "Deconstructing Harry" is expertly shot, boasts an amazing cast (Billy Crystal, Judy Davis, Bob Balaban, Elisabeth Shue, Demi Moore, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobey Maguire, and Stanley Tucci just to name a few), and is in my opinion one of the most interesting and personal Allen's films.

I recently re-watched this on DVD and was surprised to find I liked it much more than on seeing it in the theater on it's initial release. (Something that's happened to me with a number of more recent Woody Allen films).

I recalled it as misogynistic and self serving. While it still has moments of those qualities, it feels like Allen is toughest of all on himself. But is he tough enough? This is certainly the worst, most abrasive and selfish Allen has ever let himself look on screen, but there was still a feeling of pulling his self-aimed punches just a bit. Sort of an "All That Jazz" lite.

The film has a good number of very funny lines, and creative ideas (Robin Williams as an out- of-focus actor is a brilliant concept), and its fun to see a filmmaker Allen's age pushing his style limits, with jump cuts and multi-layered construction.

Still, it starts to repeat its own ideas after a while, both literally and thematically, and the ending feels a bit wimpy. While far from Allen's best, its still a dense, funny, thoughtful film, something increasingly rare in American cinema.

Deconstructing Harry is Woody Allen's masterpiece. The editing is unlike anything else Allen has done, full of little cuts which give the movie a level of abstraction that raises you above the narrative thread. It was instantly my favorite Allen film and has remained so ever since. Praised when it came out for its unflinching honesty, it eschews the self-glorifying cuteness of his other quasi-autobiographical movies such as Stardust Memories and Annie Hall and even Manhattan.

The main conceit of this movie is that Allen's character, writer Harry Block (get it?), meets his alter egos and other characters from his writing as though in real life. Block's characters have been modeled with almost no attempt to disguise them on his relatives and ex-relationships, which infuriates and sometimes devastates them. You have to follow very carefully to distinguish the "real life" relatives from the alter egos who spring to life from the pages of his books.

Block has many very seamy weaknesses and peccadilloes which he readily admits and indulges without remorse. His "real life" relatives and exes submit him to scathing criticism and resentment, while their "fictional" counterparts contribute a more dispassionate and omniscient commentary on Block's misdeeds and poor judgment. The cast is among Allen's most star-studded and uniformly brilliant. It's always fun to watch actors appearing in their only Allen film, and there are many here. My favorite is Billy Crystal, who plays a friend of Block's who stole his lover--and also appears as the devil giving Block the cook's tour of the tenth circle of Hell.

To maintain this complexity of voices requires brilliant writing, and Allen does not disappoint. My favorite quote is:

Doris: Your whole life, it's nihilism, it's cynicism, it's sarcasm and orgasm.

Block: You know, in France, I could run on that slogan and win.

If I were one for condescendingly dogmatic assertions, and I'm not, but if I were, I would tell you that if you do not love this movie, you are watching Woody Allen movies for the wrong reasons.

For the record, rounding out my top five Allen movies are: Mighty Aphrodite, Bullets Over Broadway, Small Time Crooks, and Stardust Memories, with honorable mention to Shadows and Fog.

I'm sure some people wouldn't agree with me, but this movie is a great piece of art on film. Like Hitchcock, Coppola, and others, Woody Allen is a real cinema artist. He makes great use of the possibilities of cinema without losing himself in expensive special effects.

Of course cinema is a medium to create a near-perfect realism on a fictional story. But it can also be an artistic medium. Playing with the possibilities. An example in this film is Robin Williams. A men who is 'out of focus'.

The story is, like most films, not very original. A character that struggles with his personality and social life. But unlike most movies, you can see an artist made this film. It's a Woody Allen creation. His own style, his own characters, his own humor. Not a collection of an expensive scriptwriter with an expensive director, an expensive special effects team , an expensive director of photography etc. to make a total non-personal creation for the big public. Of course the whole crew did a perfect job, but it is surely a Woody Allen film!

A great movie with a nice plot. Some nice switching in timeline and fiction / reality (for the story that is) makes it more interesting then the story really is. Also the jumpcuts, the camera movement, the cast and the humor are making this film a must see! Even if you are not a Woody Allen fan you will like this movie. If you are a fan of big blockbuster movies (standard Hollywood confention movies) this movie is a must see as well! Not only to see the real art of cinema (something different then perfect special effects) but also just for a nice evening and some good humor.

This is easily Woody Allen's best movie. It is funny, daring, provoking, very well played and very critical of religion, especially of the idea of "chosen people", which is so important for most Jews, but is present also in the minds of Christians, who think they are something special because they believe in an invisible being of an ancient book.

"Tradition is the illusion of permanence." - Woody Allen (Deconstructing Harry)

A must see!

After Woody Allen's movie quality hit rock bottom with the worthless "Everyone Says I Love You", he rebounded with the biting "Deconstructing Harry". He plays writer Harry Block, whose memoir about his acquaintances brings out the nastiest in everyone. I really liked the appearances by Death, the Devil, and that part about a "black hole". As for Robin Williams's character...well, let's just say that it's the sort of thing that one would expect from "Gilligan's Island". Just as an FYI, this was Richard Benjamin's first starring role in sixteen years (he'd only been directing in between). All in all, a really funny movie.

Woody Allen comedy is often cited to be an acquired taste - and it is. Albeit one that I've almost acquired. Though I still find Woody Allen's comedy to be rather hit and miss, I've somewhat come round to his way of thinking. Annie Hall is an out and out masterpiece, and judging by the eighteen Allen films I've seen; this one is the best since then. Deconstructing Harry is basically a cross between Annie Hall and Ingmar Bergman's 'Wild Strawberries', although Allen seems to have had his tongue firmly in cheek regarding that last influence. The story follows Harry (Allen); a writer that is suffering with writers block. Harry has seen fit, therefore, to base his short stories on friends and relatives, much to their dismay. Harry has been honoured by the college that expelled him (Wild Strawberries), and he now also has to deal with all the people he has upset by his writing, leading us into a life-affirming piece of cinema for Woody Allen.

Like most of Allen's oeuvre, this one is very personal. Allen made this film at a time when he was in the papers every day for various allegations, and at times it almost feels like Woody has been backed into a corner and he's trying desperately to get out of it. In this movie, Allen builds up a three dimensional portrait of his character though various events in the movie, which are intertwined with short stories that he has made up. The short stories themselves are generally imaginative and many would make a great movie in themselves (the one with Tobey Maguire being a particular highlight). The way that Allen combines these two elements of story telling is really skillful, and despite the huge area for cocking up; Allen doesn't fall into it, and the story flows smoothly throughout. The film features much of Allen's trademark witty dialogue, with some of the exchanges being truly memorable and absurdly funny. Deconstructing Harry is Allen at his neurotic, self-styled best and I rate it as his best since Annie Hall.

Deconstructing Harry (1997) I had a lot of problems with this movie.

Thought it very crude (along with Mighty Aphrodite, a very overrated Woody Allen movie) and misogynistic.

Of course, this echoes Woody Allen's recent personal life, and since a good friend told me that's really what this movie is all about (i.e. Woody) then I suppose I'd have to say, it's right on the money. However, I'd rather spend my money elsewhere.

After all, seeing Julia Louise Dreyfuss give Richard Benjamin fellatio is not my idea of entertainment.

If you're into the nastier more cynical side of Woody, then I suppose you'd probably go for this film, but pardon the pun, it just left a bad taste in my mouth.

While suffering from writer's block and eagerly waiting to receive an award, Harry Block remembers events from his past and scenes from his best-selling book come back to haunt him. This was a great Woody Allen film, for any fan of Allen, this film is a must. But personally, it wasn't among the very best Allen films in my eyes, and i rate Woody Allen very high (hes one of my top 5 directors), thats not to say this film is not good, i liked it a lot, but i have seen even better from Allen (purple rose of cairo, annie hall and more recently melinda & melinda or Celebrity). The performances are very good in this film, but its Allen's witty screenplay which makes it all work, and his directorial hand is also not bad here, keeping it interesting throughout. Robin Williams' performance is very good, he should do more work with Woody Allen--- IMDb Rating: 7.1, my rating: 9/10

Wow! Who would have thought Woody Allen would have ever produced this kind of movie? Extending the returning winning streak of great films he began with in 1993 after spending the late 80's and early 90's mired in morose drama, "Deconstructing Harry" is both a swipe at his detractors as well as himself. This is NOT your average Woody Allen film. It is profane, obscene and vulgar in its content and dialogue. As the main character, Woody is unlikable, selfish and morally bankrupt. However, it boasts an all-star cast put to great use. There is a unique editing and narrative method employed, great one-liners, and it is executed with Woody's usual comfortable confidence. Overall, it is an absolutely hilarious journey.

Woody portrays Harry Block, an alcoholic, pill-popping, whore-frequenting writer whose thinly-veiled books that account the lives of his family & friends provide for successful stories but leave him at great odds with nearly everybody in his life. Harry soon learns that the college that once expelled him (for giving the Dean's wife an enema, it seems) is now honoring him for his literary contributions to the world. Harry brings along a sympathetic hooker, an ailing friend, and his son, whom he has half-heartedly kidnapped from school. Upon driving to the university, Harry begins to evaluate his life. Communicated in flashback, Harry reflects on the numerous relationships he's wrecked with his gluttonous ways and how he shamelessly incorporated those experiences into his novels, at the expense of others (the film showcases how these events happened in his own life, or how they appeared in the book - with different actors playing the fictional equivalents of his friends & relatives. It is a fantastic device, and Allen utilizes it to frenetic effect).

Only the truest of Woody Allen fans will recognize this as one of his best films. Supposed fanatics clamoring for the sophisticated insights of "Manhattan" and "Hannah & Her Sisters" may be disappointed here. This is Woody Allen in a raw, unpolished form (which may account for the jerky, quick-cut editing). This is a battle-weary Woody emerging from the wreck that was his personal life in the early 1990's to give a big middle finger to his interrogators. The stellar cast does wonders, especially Woody regulars Caroline Aaron and the always-hysterical Judy Davis. Billy Crystal serves up his usual dry humor in a dual role as Harry's best friend as well as his fictional vision of the devil ("You ever f**ked a blind girl? Ah, they're so grateful.") Allen does a great job of examining a man who is a failure at life but a success in his art. We'll never truly know how much of this is autobiographical, but it is a rare, fierce achievement for Woody Allen. Proceed with caution!