Thursday, May 19, 2011

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

Tagline: Can men and women be friends or does always sex get in the way?

So I knew who Meg Ryan was and I had a vague idea of who Billy Crystal was (Miracle Max from The Princess Bride!). I had heard the title When Harry Met Sally tossed around a few times, so I thought – perfect film to watch for a blog. And I must tell you that I loved it.

We enter in on Sally (Meg Ryan) and Harry (Billy Crystal) on an 18-hour drive from University of Chicago to New York City after graduation in 1977. With a flourish, Harry explains to Sally that men can never have women friends because they always want to have sex (whether the woman is attractive or not). Between scoffs and eye rolling, we see uptight, feather-haired Sally who looks down on Harry’s matter-of-fact attitude.

Fast-forward 11 years. We find that —after two chance encounters in New York— Harry and Sally are best friends. It’s when they have sex that their friendship skyrockets to the next level and neither know what they want. Yet, in the end, they get kiss on New Year’s and they tell us they get married 3-months later.

I think the real treasure in this movie is not the actual storyline—because, let’s face it, we’ve watched way too many romantic comedies to be surprised by anything—but in the presentation and witty dialogue. For example, Harry says this little gem as Harry and Sally’s friendship blossoms:

Harry Burns: Had my dream again where I'm making love, and the Olympic judges are watching. I'd nailed the compulsories, so this is it, the finals. I got a 9.8 from the Canadians, a perfect 10 from the Americans, and my mother, disguised as an East German judge, gave me a 5.6. Must have been the dismount.

YES, I know you laughed, or at least chuckled, like I did when I heard it. Of course, Billy Crystal is a great comedic actor and his way of saying punchline after punchline without breaking his poker face just makes the lines that much more humorous. I definitely would recommend this film for those who haven’t seen it because…I’m pretty sure it’s a romantic comedy classic. And I would concur.

If anything, the progression of Meg Ryan’s hairstyles and Billy Crystal’s receding hairline throughout the movie will thrill you right to the very end.

SALLY'S FAKE ORGASM

1 comment:

Vladigogo said...

I could quote almost the entire movie when in grad school.

It was a rom-com that guys could enjoy.