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How others will see it. They say Woody Allen stopped making funny movies somewhere along the line (Interiors, perhaps). This isn't actually true, since Deconstructing Harry is at times amusing. Take note, however, this film's loaded with sexual situations and language, so don't invite the kids unless they are in need of sex education credits.
In fact, this film invokes a certain vulgar sexual term and act so often that prudes may be turned off. Others will simply wonder why Allen is so obsessed with this particular act.
This is also a movie in which people have intense private conversations that fail to resolve their differences. In other words, it's a step toward Jerry Springer, albeit with a college-level vocabulary. Some may prefer more sedate fare.
Deconstructing Harry is unconventional in that there are two sets of characters, real and invented. The invented characters are "thinly disguised" versions of the younger Woody Allen and the women he used, paid for, married, dated, or simply fantasized over. Sometimes, the invented characters appear in real life to help explain matters to Allen, who must have an involved conversation to decide what toothpaste to use (okay, I made that part up.) The blend of fantasy and reality can be mildly confusing, but pleasantly so.
The cast is stocked with favorite character actors. The most familiar names include Billy Crystal, Amy Irving, Tobey Maguire, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Judy Davis, Kirstie Alley, Elisabeth Shue, Demi Moore, Robin Williams, Mariel Hemingway, Richard Benjamin. Most of these noted thespians appear briefly and ineffectively, but playing Spot The Actor is always fun for the veteran movie fan.
How I felt about it. There are some clever moments here. Robin Williams is out of focus. Tobey Maguire assumes another's identity, which is no problem until the Grim Reaper comes to the door (no fun deed goes unpunished). Allen is sent to the depths of Hell, where he has an engaging conversation about sexual triumphs with the Devil himself, Billy Crystal. Allen brings an obvious prostitute to his honorary degree ceremony.
But more often, the comedy doesn't work. Part of the reason is that an intense marital confrontation that provokes a divorce is a nearly impossible subject to make entertaining. The intent, I believe, is for us to identify with Allen and his stand-ins and see how ridiculous their rationalizations are for their selfish behavior. But Allen remains selfish and wrong, more pathetic than funny. Bailed out of jail, Allen can't recognize his sins, but adds to them by trying to talk his former girlfriend out of marriage. So he can have her instead.
Here's what the movie should be about. Woody Allen is like Alfie in his various incarnations, going through his relationships with more explicit selfishness and less psychoanalysis. Like Alfie, he ends up with nothing but a trail of wasted years, aside from his offspring of (mostly unfunny) "thinly disguised" characters. In other words, Allen as a sexual grifter instead of the schmuck that he actually plays. But then he'd be too old for the role. Then again, he's too old for the role he plays anyway.