Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?

Sometimes I am just sooooooo out of step with conventional movie wisdom. This is one of those movies that gets trounced every time it is mentioned by a critic or reviewer. But why??? It is funny, well-acted, moving, bizarre and the music kicks ass. Dustin Hoffman plays Georgie Solloway, a super-successful Bob Dylan-ish rock star who is going thru something of a mid-life crisis. A mysterious figure known as Harry Kellerman is spreading false rumours about him, sabotaging his personal and professional life. Solloway has no friends to talk to... just a shrink and, when he gets really desperate, his accountant (great scene with Dom DeLuise!) Okay, so maybe you hate Dustin Hoffman... or Bob Dylan... or movies about the problems of rich, successful people in general... how can you not love the heartbreaking performance by Barbara Harris? She was nominated for an Oscar for crying out loud (and it was a crime she didn't win, I tell ya). Don't listen to the nay-sayers... check out this wild and wonderful film!

This is a difficult movie, but worth staying with it if you like fully developed characters, emotional depth and you don't mind something outside the normal linear Hollywood story telling format. Dustin Hoffman gives a fine nuanced performance and Barbara Harris is wonderful as a vulnerable woman all too aware that she has lost her youth. Her performance is touching and every moment she is on screen shines with her unique brilliance.

Despite its nudging, rambling title and Dustin Hoffman's mildly hippie appearance, "Who Is Harry Kellerman..." is a rather old-fashioned quest for one man seeking the Meaning of Life, which screenwriter Herb Gardner sees as being undermined by the inevitability of death. There are no pretenses here towards embracing a pseudo-hip scenario, and the lack of modish overtones keeps the film relevant and fresh. Hoffman plays an East Coast songwriter, currently being hailed by Time magazine as a prophet, who sees nothing meaningful in his existence, harkening back on his ordinary boyhood in order to make peace with the present. Accentuated by bursts of rock music, and defined by little bits of mordant truth, the film blessedly isn't a silly phantasmagoria, although some may see all this as a con--written by somebody who is out of step with the times (Gardner wrote the coy "A Thousand Clowns" after all). Yet, the movie manages a melancholic, sobering, almost disenfranchised tone, with director Ulu Grosbard mostly interested in revealing something tangible through his characters. Hoffman's Georgie Soloway can't enjoy living without relating it to dying, and so has suicidal flights-of-fancy, paranoiac personal dramas, and surreal sessions with a Viennese analyst. It's a good role for the star, while Oscar-nominated Barbara Harris is wonderful in the small part of a struggling actress who's still in love with 1957. It takes a while to get into the movie's groove, but there are worthwhile thoughts here, helped immeasurably by Victor Kemper's non-fussy cinematography and Grosbard's deep connection with the material. **1/2 from ****

Labeling this movie as ahead of its time would be a bit too generous. In truth, it was ahead of its time but missed the mark. With lots of cuts between fantasy and what is probably reality, the movie does take you into the head of a disconnected music star. The only trouble is that once we're there, ... then what? In this case, nothing much, and that's a shame. At one point Hoffman's character meets a woman more screwed up than he is, and he sets about to help her a bit. Their interaction is poignant, but the movie is mostly devoid of emotion. It's nice enough to watch Hoffman walk through this movie, but i really can't recommend it for much else.

I just watched this last night. I bought it because Barbara Harris received an Oscar nomination for it. I happen to think that she is a very underrated actress.....and was I right!

This movie started out very strange. From the opening scene where Hoffman falls of the top of a building, it just got stranger. I realize that this is one of those independent films that try to make a point about life in a different way than we're use to in mainstream films, but please! I knew this film was bad when I kept thinking to myself, "When does Barbara Harris come into this?!"

My husband had come home, watched a little and said, "What is this? Turn it off!" Just then Barbara Harris came on. We both sat there in awe. She made that audition scene into brilliant showcase of her talent. When Dustin Hoffman left her, you really missed her. The film really missed her. SHE is what makes this film worth seeing, well the last half at least. Dustin gives his typical performance here, nothing special. Barbara Harris is fantastic and deserved an Oscar for making it worth the torture of watching the first half of this @$%#^%, so you can see HER in the second half.