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One of Woody Allen's most ambitious projects was 1997's Deconstructing Harry. a film almost Robert Altman-like in its size and scope, but presenting the accustomed nutso characters we expect from the Woodmeister, brought to life by an impressive all-star cast at the top of their game.
Woody plays Harry Block, a writer who is being honored by the college that once expelled him, who decides to drive upstate to the ceremony, accompanied by his best friend (Bob Balaban), a hooker (Hazelle Goodman), and his son (Eric Lloyd). This journey is framed with stories from various parts of Harry's life, which are presented in the form of characters from some of Harry's work.
Woody has crafted one of his most complex screenplays that requires and assumes complete attention from the viewer. On the other hand, Harry is not a terribly sympathetic character, a womanizing egomaniac not worthy of viewer affection. On the other hand, as accustomed with Woody's characters, it is hard to understand what all these women see in Harry in the first place. Allen has always overestimated his power over the opposite sex, justifying it by claiming they are attracted to his work, but the stories never play out that way. As always in Woody's films, I always find myself distracted from the story being told because I just can't buy the fact that these women are attracted to Woody in the first place.
Suspending disbelief regarding the sexual power of Allen, we have a wonderfully entertaining story with an amazing all-star cast, with standout work from Judy Davis, Demi Moore, Richard Benjamin, Kirstie Alley, Julia Louis Dreyfuss, Billy Crystal, Tobey Maguire, and Stanley Tucci. I think a lot of actors involved here took smaller roles than they usually do just for the opportunity to work with Allen, but every actor onscreen here is committed to the sanctity of Woody's word processor, which seems to have priority over everything else here, including a somewhat bizarre denoument that is explained while it is occurring, which was a little unsettling, but with Allen, we tend to forgive.
One of Woody Allen's most ambitious projects was 1997's Deconstructing Harry. a film almost Robert Altman-like in its size and scope, but presenting the accustomed nutso characters we expect from the Woodmeister, brought to life by an impressive all-star cast at the top of their game.
Woody plays Harry Block, a writer who is being honored by the college that once expelled him, who decides to drive upstate to the ceremony, accompanied by his best friend (Bob Balaban), a hooker (Hazelle Goodman), and his son (Eric Lloyd). This journey is framed with stories from various parts of Harry's life, which are presented in the form of characters from some of Harry's work.
Woody has crafted one of his most complex screenplays that requires and assumes complete attention from the viewer. On the other hand, Harry is not a terribly sympathetic character, a womanizing egomaniac not worthy of viewer affection. On the other hand, as accustomed with Woody's characters, it is hard to understand what all these women see in Harry in the first place. Allen has always overestimated his power over the opposite sex, justifying it by claiming they are attracted to his work, but the stories never play out that way. As always in Woody's films, I always find myself distracted from the story being told because I just can't buy the fact that these women are attracted to Woody in the first place.
Suspending disbelief regarding the sexual power of Allen, we have a wonderfully entertaining story with an amazing all-star cast, with standout work from Judy Davis, Demi Moore, Richard Benjamin, Kirstie Alley, Julia Louis Dreyfuss, Billy Crystal, Tobey Maguire, and Stanley Tucci. I think a lot of actors involved here took smaller roles than they usually do just for the opportunity to work with Allen, but every actor onscreen here is committed to the sanctity of Woody's word processor, which seems to have priority over everything else here, including a somewhat bizarre denoument that is explained while it is occurring, which was a little unsettling, but with Allen, we tend to forgive.