Deconstructing Harry (1997)
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71% of critics liked it
(35 reviews) -
79% of users liked it
(21,364 ratings)
Woody Allen wrote, directed, and stars in this very dark comedy about a novelist, Harry Block, who says with admirable honesty, "I'm a guy who can't function well in life, but I can in art." So far, Harry has made his way through six psychiatrists and three marriages (one,… More Woody Allen wrote, directed, and stars in this very dark comedy about a novelist, Harry Block, who says with admirable honesty, "I'm a guy who can't function well in life, but I can in art." So far, Harry has made his way through six psychiatrists and three marriages (one, conveniently enough, with one of his psychiatrists), and he has precious few friends whom he hasn't alienated or betrayed. Harry uses the chaos of his life as fodder for his writing, angering his friends, lovers, and family, who find thinly veiled (and rarely flattering) portraits of themselves in his work. Drowning his growing misery in pills and sex, Harry finds himself invited to receive an award at a college in upstate New York which he attended, but never graduated from. However, he has a hard time finding anyone who will attend the weekend-long symposium with him: his girlfriend Fay (Elisabeth Shue) has just left him to marry his friend Larry (Billy Crystal); his best friend Richard (Bob Balaban) is afraid he's about to have a heart attack; his former wife/analyst Joan (Kirstie Alley) refuses to let him take their son, and his one-time sister-in-law Lucy (Judy Davis) is literally ready to kill him. Undaunted, Harry hires a hooker, Cookie (Hazelle Goodman), kidnaps his son, forces Richard to come along, and heads upstate, where disaster awaits. A stellar cast appears in small roles and episodes from Harry's stories, including Robin Williams, Demi Moore, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Eric Bogosian, Amy Irving, Richard Benjamin, Mariel Hemingway, and Julie Kavner. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Woody Allen
- Written By
- Woody Allen
- Genres
- Comedy
- In Theaters
- Dec 12, 1997 Wide
- Studio
- New Line Home Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
In this nasty, verbose comedy, Woody Allen the director has cast Woody Allen the actor as a foul-mouthed, self-absorbed, sex-obsessed writer.
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Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Too bad it is difficult to really care about what is going on since such a thoroughly unpleasant character is at the center.
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James O'Ehley, Movie Gurus
Woody Allen's most foul-mouthed effort to date . . .
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
A slightly unpleasant and shocking film.
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James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
By turns clever, devestating, bitter and delightful, this challenging piece of work is easily one of Allen's most mature efforts to date.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Woody Allen
as Harry Block
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Kirstie Alley
as Joan
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Bob Balaban
as Richard
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Richard Benjamin
as Ken
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Billy Crystal
as Larry
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Eric Bogosian
as Burt
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Judy Davis
as Lucy
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Hazelle Goodman
as Cookie
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Caroline Aaron
as Doris
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Mariel Hemingway
as Beth Kramer
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Amy Irving
as Jane
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Julie Kavner
as Grace
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Eric Lloyd
as Hilly Block
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus
as Leslie
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Tobey Maguire
as Harvey Stern
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Demi Moore
as Helen
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Elisabeth Shue
as Fay
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Stanley Tucci
as Paul Epstein
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Robin Williams
as Mel
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Annette Arnold
as Rosalee
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Philip Bosco
as Professor Clark
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Stephanie Roth
as Janet
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Gene Saks
as Harry's Father
- Shifra Lerer
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Viola Harris
as Elsie
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Jennifer Garner
as Woman in Elevator
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Robert Harper
as Harry's Doctor
- Paul Giamatti
