Deconstructing Harry (1997)
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Kirstie Alley, (more)
- Director(s):
- Woody Allen
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
- Category:
- Comedy
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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, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 96 mins
Complete Cast:
- Woody Allen - Harry Block
- Bob Balaban - Richard
- Billy Crystal - Larry
- Judy Davis - Lucy
- Caroline Aaron - Doris
- Amy Irving - Jane
- Eric Lloyd - Hilly Block
- Tobey Maguire - Harvey Stern
- Elisabeth Shue - Fay
- Robin Williams - Mel
- Philip Bosco - Professor Clark
- Gene Saks - Harry's Father
- Robert Harper - Harry's Doctor
- Kirstie Alley - Joan
- Richard Benjamin - Ken
- Eric Bogosian - Burt
- Hazelle Goodman - Cookie
- Mariel Hemingway - Beth Kramer
- Julie Kavner - Grace
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Leslie
- Demi Moore - Helen
- Stanley Tucci - Paul Epstein
- Annette Arnold - Rosalee
- Stephanie Roth - Janet
- Jennifer Garner - Woman in Elevator
- Viola Harris - Elsie
- Director(s):
- Woody Allen
- Writer(s):
- Woody Allen
- Producer(s):
- Jean Doumanian
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Not For Children, Adult Humor, Brief Nudity, Sexual Situations, Adult Situations, Profanity)
- Categories:
- Comedy
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
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