Deconstructing Harry

I saw this movie a few days ago, and this is the second time I’ve had to write this review because, for some reason, Geo-Cities decided to not take my first one, so it’s going to be very short. (Yeah, right.)

This is Woody Allen’s latest to video. It centers around Harry Block, a writer who writes what he knows: his ex-wives and friends. This does not please any of them. The thing is that Harry doesn’t really seem to care. He needs to write these stories to keep himself sane, or insane, however he feels at the moment. One ex-wife (Judy Davis) almost shoots him. Another (Kirstie Alley) tries very hard to keep their son away from him because he talks about anything to the kid. Mariel Hemingway is quite shocked one day in school when she hears him talking about sex to his son.

Basically, we meet all of the people in Harry’s life and see a lot of the stories that he wrote. They all seem to come together. Some of the stories end up being the best parts of the movie. The first one with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Richard Benjamin getting caught by her grandmother is hilarious. The one with Robin Williams as an actor out of focus was pretty good, too. It was strange to see Tobey Maguire with an Oriental prostitute, though. Of course, the best one was the one with Billy Crystal as the Devil. “You have air conditioning?” “Of course. It messes up the ozone layer.” Well, that’s the preview version, anyway. The real version had to be edited.

Overall, this movie was pretty good. I know a lot of people who think that it’s one of Woody’s best. I think they just aren’t big fans, so they aren’t used to hearing about the scandals and stories of his life. Since I am a big fan I’ve heard it all. Enough already! It’s pretty much just an overview of his life. I still liked it, but I don’t think it was as good as his last three.

All the cameos were kind of strange, too. It seemed like they were just written in so that all of these people would have a chance to work with Woody. How else would Demi Moore and Robin Williams get in here? I think it would have been more interesting if the people who played the “real” people also played the story characters. It would have driven the point home a little bit more. I don’t know, maybe it would be overkill, but it would have been interesting. Of course, Woody can’t really pass for 20-something, so Tobey would still have to be brought in–he was a pretty good Woody, too.

If you’re a fan, go for it. It’s worth it. If you’re not, avoid it at all costs. Woody is at his least Woody-ness (I’ve never heard him cuss so much!), but he’s more Woody than ever.