Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Telzey Amberdon This film is in the tradition of absurdist cinema, and suffers from some of the defects of that genre. Particularly in the first half it is very mannered and seems to revel in quirkiness for its own sake. But as the movie progresses it becomes much more relateable and, in many cases, quite affecting. Barbara Harris' performance marks this transition very obviously.But what I think is important about this movie is that its narrative style and devices clearly were big influences on Woody Allen (particularly the integration of childhood memories with adult experience) and Charlie Kaufman (the use of absurdist devices to drive personal narrative). So in that sense it was quite groundbreaking.

JasparLamarCrabb An existential comedy starring Dustin Hoffman as a phenomenally successful songwriter haunted by a man named Harry Kellerman, who seems bent on ruining him. Hoffman is free-falling through life despite having all the trappings of success, hallucinating scenes from his past while floating from one bad relationship to another. A great, unheralded movie from writer Herb Gardner and director Ulu Grosbard, this features one of Hoffman's best performances. It's melancholy but also very funny, surreal but also grounded very much in reality. The large supporting cast includes the excellent Barbara Harris, Jack Warden, David Burns and Dom DeLuise. Shel Silverstein, who plays Bernie, did the music. Harris earned an Oscar nomination for her stunning work, but the entire cast is first rate.

moonspinner55 Despite the nudging, rambling title and Dustin Hoffman's mildly hippie appearance, "Who Is Harry Kellerman..." is rather old-fashioned in its quest to find substantial meaning in life, which screenwriter Herb Gardner sees as always being undermined by the inevitability of death. There are no pretenses here towards embracing a pseudo-hip scenario, and the lack of mod-ish 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, hearkening 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, somehow, the movie strikes a melancholic, sobering, almost disenfranchised chord, and smart director Ulu Grosbard is actually 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 Dustin, while Barbara Harris is wonderful in the small role 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 some worthwhile thoughts here, helped immeasurably by Victor Kemper's non-fussy cinematography and Grosbard's deep connection with the material. It's a near-triumph. **1/2 from ****

DrHook1020 From the first five minutes of the movie I knew it was going to be a long one. I was right. The plot seemed to drag on on for 3 hours and not enough coffee could help the matter. Although Mr. Hoffman does give an all-out performance (doesn't he always?) as Georgie Soloway, he just barely shines through the long-winded plot. Three things about this movie lend me the ability to give it a 10. Seeing Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show (I own their fan club) on stage with the genius of Shel Silverstein and Mr. Hoffman. The 3 of them together permit me to vote this movie a 10 no matter how much it needs the help of a decent writer. Hoffman gives a wonderful show as the highly intelligent, highly proficient, but obviously insane Georgie Soloway. Dr. Hook sing the opening and closing tracks and a song done onstage with Shel and Dustin named, "One More Round" amongst other tracks. Keep your mind open and concentrate on the performances of Hoffman, Silverstein, Dr. Hook, & Dom Deluise...and you'll be fine.