Feature Movie of the Week: When Harry Met Sally...

 

Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you was beyond my control.

When Harry Met Sally... is the romantic comedy to beat all romantic comedies. It is set in New York City, written by the phenomenal Nora Ephron, directed by Rob Reiner and stars Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, who have more chemistry than a science classroom, and as you can imagine all of these elements make for one excellent film.

Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) meet in the late seventies just before sharing a cross-country drive from Chicago to New York City. During the 18 hour trip the two share their differing philosophies on love, sex, relationships and what they believe men and women want. 

 

Harry
You realise of course that we can never be friends. 
Sally
Why not?

Harry

What I'm saying is - and this is 

not a come-on in any way, shape or form - 

is that men and women can't be friends 

because the sex part always gets in the way.

After parting on unfriendly terms in New York and a chance meeting five years later, the two conclude that they cannot be friends.

But it is not until they run into each other another five years later in a New York bookstore, Harry recently divorced and Sally going through a breakup, that they realise that perhaps, despite Harry's rule, they could give this friendship thing a shot.

And I guess you could say that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Ultimately the two grow feelings for one another and this is a romcom so I don't need to tell you how it ends, but let's just say if any guy ever ran through the streets of New York City to come and find me and profess his love to me on New Years Eve, he'd be a keeper. 

 

Harry

I came here tonight because when you 

realize you want to spend the rest of your 

life with somebody, you want the rest of your 

life to start as soon as possible. 

Standout Performances

• Billy Crystal- Obviously Crystal plays the funny moments of this film perfectly, but he also brings such a warmth and charm to Harry outside of the comedic elements. From the very beginning of the film you can tell by the way he looks at Sally that there may be some underlying feelings there, but he doesn't overdo it so that you immediately think he's in love with her. Finding this balance is a real skill and I think Crystal did it perfectly. I especially love the moment when he is dancing with Sally cheek to cheek and he shuts his eyes momentarily and you can see the emotions on his face change, almost as if that was the moment he truly realised his feelings for Sally.

• Meg Ryan- On paper, Sally reads as an uptight, anal, high-maintenance power woman, which she is, but what makes Ryan's performance so spectacular is that she manages to play this flawed, occasionally frustrating character but still make the audience root for her and want her to be happy and find love. This is of course a testament to the way Ephron wrote female characters but Ryan does a wonderful job bringing Ephron's writing to life. It is also worth nothing that apparently in the famous fake orgasm scene at Katz's Deli, it was Ryan's idea to just fake the orgasm rather than using more dialogue. As if that wasn't the best decision in film history.

Memorable Scenes

• When Harry and Sally and their group of mutual friends are playing Pictionary and Sally is drawing what is eventually revealed to be "baby talk", it is just hilarious watching her draw and especially everyone trying to guess. 

• When the two are visiting a museum and Harry puts on a funny voice and gets Sally to repeat everything he says, it is incredibly natural to watch. What I particularly love is something I read about after, that when Crystal says, "But I would be proud to partake of your pecan pie" and Ryan laughs and looks off camera, apparently Reiner silently prompts her to go with it. 

• When Sally finds out that her ex is getting married and she asks Harry to come over to comfort her. She is a crying, blubbering mess and it is hilarious and heartbreaking and a little bit pitiful at the same time, but the way Harry takes care of her and manages to make her laugh is beautiful.

   And of course who could forget, this scene... 

Music Moments

• Let's Call the Whole Thing Off- Louis Armstrong 

• It Had to be You- Harry Connick Jr.

Also one of the most memorable scenes in the whole film, the ending is simply gorgeous.