Deconstructing Harry
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Movie Reviews of Deconstructing Harry
Movie Review: The Perfect Woody Allen Film.
Summary: 5 Stars
"Deconstructing Harry" is not just a Perfect Woody Allen film, it's a Perfect film... Period. Allen's Dialogue Shines more than Ever in this Ultra-Clever Showcase of his Writing/Directing Talents for a New Generation, like Myself, to Discover. 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.
Movie Review: Woody's Angriest and One of His Finest
Summary: 5 Stars
This film, which I've seen many times, gets better each time out. It is not the usual Woody fare (although experimentation has been a hallmark of his career--this is quite different). Harry Block is awful and disgusting and hilarious. This film was loved by some and hated by many. I argue it is Woody's return to his peak after the Mia mess. A bitter and honest self-examination. It is shockingly vulgar to some I'm sure. The short stories (the cannibals and the star wars bar mitzvah is grand) are marvelous. There are so many brillant touches here. My favorite moment comes at the end in a dream sequence. I won't say too much about it (no need to ruin it for those who have not seen it). I noticed this very small touch the first time I saw the film in theatres. Most people miss it. My advice would watch the dream sequence in slow motion and on the DVD and watch the people closely. You'll see Woody's final statement there. Utter brillance and bitterness. Just like this film and his life in the early 1990s.Movie Review: I've squandered everything on shrinks, lawyers, and whores.
Summary: 5 Stars
This may well have been Woody's last great film. Everybody runs out of things to say at some point in their lives and the line between clever and camp is rather thin. Nothing this good came afterwards, and it may be late enough in his career to make such judgments. "Deconstructing Harry" is definitely a black comic masterpiece. The jokes are diamond sharp and the one liners are as good as anything in his oeuvre. The bit about Robin Williams being "out of focus" is a great example. With Elizabeth Shue, Demi Moore, Judy Davis, and Billy Crystal, this may be the most famous, and popular, cast that he ever assembled. I've heard that his reputation makes it's very easy for him to get people to play in his films. The only thing that bothered me was Elizabeth Shue as it's not believable that she would be with sixtyish Allen for anything other than cash. It's kind of funny the way that his costars became more and more beautiful as he aged.Movie Review: Woody ain't Ingemar
Summary: 5 Stars
Look folks:
Woody ain't the Swede even though he likes to copy his movies.As if the Swede will rub off on him.Never happen.Woody has too much schmaltz covering himself.
Now this film one is clearly a copy of Wild Strawberries,one of the great movies ever which describes the journey of 24 hours in which an old man slowly comes to grips with what his life has been.
In Bergman's movie,the man endures, with much uncomfortable reflection, that he has messed up his life but at the end,he feels a bit more at peace and ends up --a mensch.
In Woody's movie here,the protagonist takes a similar motor trip revisiting old memories and people en route to receive an award an his alma mater(so does Bergman's Dr.Isak Borg)but at the end of his silly attempts at insight,Woody ends up the same old shmuck he's always been.No mensch award for the kid from Brooklyn.
Groucho5
Movie Review: Exhilarating Depression
Summary: 5 Stars
Woody Allen, for some, is an acquired taste. Many remember him for "Annie Hall," while others appreciate his darker side in "Crimes and Misdemeanors." I lean toward the latter, and therefore find this film among his very best. Brilliantly conceived, the jump cuts that create the sense of memory at work begin early with the arrival of Judy Davis at Woody's apartment, to give him hell for having depicted their relationship in his recent novel. Davis is at her best, a fulminating monster of rage. Memory and guilt fill the story of this tormented writer who has no sense of loyalty, save that to his art. The actors are fantastic: Richard Benjamin, Billy Crystal, Philip Bosco, Robin Williams. This film was made when Woody was at the top of his form. His cast and crew fully fulfill the tormented inner life of the writer whose needs are insatiable.