DECONSTRUCTING HARRY (1997)

30 from the 90's (Post 28 of 30)

Deconstructing Harry

I grew up watching Woody Allen films in the 70’s and throughout the 80’s. I’ve seen them all through Take the Money and Run in 1969 until Crimes and Misdemeanors in 1989. His films in the years since have not connected with me nearly as well. I say that admittedly not having seen a majority of them. Deconstructing Harry from 1997 is an exception. Allen goes way beyond playing the neurotic nebbish he once defined and is a full-blown unlikeable narcissist here. He’s a foul mouthed writer who treats women like cattle and everyone else he meets like someone to twist into a character in his book. Deconstructing Harry’s best moments for me are the sections where little skits show the characters from his book interacting with each other before and later we see samples from his real life where his family/friends/acquaintances are seen as they actually are and most are not too happy about the way Harry portrays them. The best of his strong cast is Judy Davis, who is wonderful as one of Harry’s ex-girl friends.