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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer (WGA):
Woody Allen (written by)
Release Date:
12 December 1997 (USA) more
Tagline:
Harry Block wrote a bestseller about his best friends. Now, his best friends are about to become his worst enemies. more
Plot:
Suffering from writer's block and eagerly awaiting his writing award, Harry Block remembers events from his past and scenes from his best-selling books as characters, real and fictional, come back to haunt him. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(21 articles)
Paul Giamatti: 'I'm clearly not Brad Pitt'
(From The Guardian - Film News. 12 November 2009, 1:27 AM, PST)
2009 Gotham Awards Announce Career Tributes
(From MovieWeb. 23 September 2009, 11:40 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Vulgar, funny, honest, sad, a little bizarre more (117 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Woody Allen | ... | Harry Block | |
| Richard Benjamin | ... | Ken / Harry's Character | |
| Kirstie Alley | ... | Joan | |
| Billy Crystal | ... | Larry / The Devil (Harry's Character) | |
| Judy Davis | ... | Lucy | |
| Bob Balaban | ... | Richard | |
| Elisabeth Shue | ... | Fay | |
| Demi Moore | ... | Helen / Harry's Character | |
| Robin Williams | ... | Mel / Harry's Character | |
| Caroline Aaron | ... | Doris | |
| Eric Bogosian | ... | Burt | |
| Mariel Hemingway | ... | Beth Kramer | |
| Amy Irving | ... | Jane | |
| Julie Kavner | ... | Grace / Harry's Character | |
| Eric Lloyd | ... | Hilly |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
The Meanest Man in the World (USA) (working title)
Woody Allen Fall Project 1996 (USA) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for strong language and some sexuality.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
96 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby SR (Mono)
Certification:
Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Mexico:B | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | UK:18 | USA:R
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Albert Brooks was the last actor to be offered the role of Harry. In an interview with Playboy magazine, he stated that he received a nice letter from Woody Allen offering him the role. Brooks responded, "It was insane that [Allen] didn't do it himself." Apparently, Woody took his advice. more
Quotes:
Harry Block: [after sex] Cookie, you're a definite artist. They should put your lips in the Smithsonian. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Family Guy: Brian's Got a Brand New Bag (#8.4)" (2009) more
Soundtrack:
Miami Beach Rumba more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (117 total)
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Woody bares his soul--again--and if the introspective vision of the sad clown (growing old) isn't what you're expecting, the film is likely to be a disappointment. The film is funny, of course, and vulgar (as most Allen movies are), but it's also bitter and cynical, and rather sad.
The jerky jump-cuts might be a stylized editing cover-up for jumping from take to take to utilise the best performances of a pantheon of actors, or they might be planned...I don't know. I had to see a few of them before I settled into accepting them as "the style", but I decided they work in this film.
Other "user comments" complain about Woody and the sexy young women. That bothers me in some films, but not here. Here it's part of Harry's character--part of Woody's "character"--and is clearly part of his problem.
I think this is an honest film, a sad and revealing film about one of the most clever and creative writers in America. It's funny, it's witty, and it's also depressing. It has moments of pure, laugh-out-loud humour (eg. the elevator going down to the bottom floor of hell; Harry arriving at the honouring ceremony with a dead body, a prostitute, and his "kidnapped" son in the car), but underneath it's the story of a man who cannot function happily in real life, only in the fictions he creates. Although fantasy plays a major role in the story, the story is not a fantasy. The parallels between Allen himself and the character and plot he's created here are obvious.
I enjoyed watching this video, and would recommend it-- selectively--to friends. If you like the Allen sense of humour, want to see a fairly unusual editing style used effectively, want to see some superb acting cameos by some very talented actors, or have an interest in the torments of a neurotic middle-aged genius and how they might be revealed on film, then you'll like this movie. If this doesn't sound like your kind of thing, watch something else.