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Allen plays Harry Block, a successful novelist who has built his literary career on the perverse misfortunes of those around him. Unfortunately he isn't too subtle about it, which results in Harry being hated and despised by almost everyone he has ever come in contact with, including his ex-wife, his ex-lovers, his ex-friends and himself.

Yes, perhaps it will not surprise you to know that Harry is also tormented by self-loathing and a morbid preoccupation with death - essential Allenesque character traits. Despite his dysfunctional relationships, Harry is still somewhat of an enigma, and Allen has chosen to unpack Harry's psyche by making his fictional characters come alive.

At first we cut between Harry's life and the world of his fictional characters. By the end of the film, however, the characters have invaded his consciousness to the point of offering him advice about the mess his life is in. He eventually comes to a point of rare self-awareness, yet his grasp on sanity is ever so tenuous, set to unravel at the sight of the next woman that comes his way.

Deconstructing Harry is not just about the post-modern conundrums that plague Harry Block, it is also about untangling the influences and inspirations that have shaped Allen's work from the very beginning. For example, Harry's trip to his old college to receive an honorary award has been lifted straight from Bergman's Wild Strawberries, and Fellini is never too far away.

Allen has also mined his own work, resulting in scenes and storylines which recall films like Hannah and Her Sisters, Manhattan and Husbands and Wives .

And here is where Deconstructing Harry feels like Woody Allen's greatest hits, a compilation of loosely structured themes that serve to remind us that he was really, really funny - sometime before.

Unfortunately this is also where Allen doesn't so much deconstruct as self-destruct.

Needless to say, hard core Woody fans will lap this up like manna from Heaven. Others may be too busy dodging the dark and bitter mood that pervades almost every frame to feel safe enough to drop their guard and laugh at Woody - cause it sure feels like he's laughing at us. ---Paul Garcia

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originally posted: 09/13/98 00:35:24
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