Amazon.com Essentials:
Woody Allen roared back at his detractors with
Deconstructing Harry, a bitterly funny treatise about the
creative process. Known to mine his often tumultuous personal life for
his movies, the embattled writer-director-star didn't bother to make
his alter ego likable in this movie: Harry Block (Allen) pops pills,
frequents prostitutes, and cheats on the women in his life, then
writes about their foibles in thinly disguised fiction. No wonder
they're all furious with him. As Harry journeys to his alma mater with
a hooker, ill pal, and kidnapped son, a series of flashbacks unravel,
juxtaposing Harry's relationships with their "slightly exaggerated"
fictional counterparts. There are amusing cameos throughout, including
a humorous turn by Demi Moore as a fictitious ex-wife who "became
Jewish with a vengeance," and Billy Crystal as the devil who found
Hollywood too nasty for his liking. The humor is dark and caustic, but
well worth it; Deconstructing Harry is a near-brilliant
mediation on the sometimes queasy relationship between art, creator,
and critic. On DVD, the film is presented in both widescreen and pan
and scan; the disc includes cast bios. --Diane Garrett
