Deconstructing Harry (1997)

Directed by: Woody Allen | 92 minutes | drama, comedy, romance, fantasy | Actors: Woody Allen, Richard Benjamin, Kirstie Alley, Billy Crystal, Judy Davis, Bob Balaban, Elisabeth Shue, Demi Moore, Robin Williams, Caroline Aaron, Eric Bogosian, Mariel Hemingway, Amy Irving, Julie Kavner, Eric Lloyd, Julia Louis- Dreyfus, Tobey Maguire, Stanley Tucci, Stephanie Roth Haberle, Dan Frazer, Jennifer Garner, Paul Giamatti, Dan Moran

Always nice to be tricked. Anyone who sees the first scenes of ‘Deconstructing Harry’ will not believe that this is a Woody Allen film. We see how a cheating couple is caught in an almost deserted house, while a barbecue is going on in the garden. The one who catches the couple is a blind elderly person, who does not fully understand what is going on. The dialogue that then unfolds, full of moans and faint ambiguities, seems to have come from the pen of a third-rate farce writer.

What you as a viewer don’t know is that we are watching a narrated episode from the life of Harry Block. Block is a writer who incorporates his adventures and feelings into his stories. And as befits a real writer, he seasons those events with humor and fantasy, using fictional elements to illuminate his themes or to sharpen the story.

In ‘Deconstructing Harry’ we follow this writer for a few days as he visits his exes, is pampered by a prostitute with free hands, he makes a trip to his old university and also kidnaps his child. Between the acts we see fragments from Harry’s stories, which make clear how it all happened.

It seems that Allen always knows how to get the best out of himself, when he has come across an original concept. We saw it in ‘Zelig’, ‘The Purple Rose of Cairo’ and ‘Radio Days’, we also see it in ‘Deconstructing Harry’. Not only is the idea behind the film strong, the execution is also above average. In this case, it makes for a wonderful film, with great dialogues, strong jokes and a nicely rounded story. Plus a fascinating subject (the artist who tries to create order in the daily chaos through his art), although it is a pity that we get it literally spelled out at the end.

That is the only downside of this film, which every Woody Allen lover should see. But fans of Billy Crystal, Robin Williams (as a blurred figure), Elisabeth Shue, Demi Moore and many other famous actors will also get their money’s worth here. And even fans of John Lanting can still have some fun with this, although the cake is gone for them after the first scenes.