When Harry Met Sally
It's a universal question that continues to elude us: Can men and women really be friends? And that is exactly what Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) and Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) set out to find in When Harry Met Sally (1989). Crisply written by Nora Ephron, who would later pen two more romantic comedies starring (who else?) Ryan, and directed by Rob Reiner (This Is Spinal Tap), the film is a sort of precursor to Ephron's later efforts in Sleepless In Seattle (1993) and You've Got Mail (1998).
The film chronicles the disparate yet strangely interconnected love lives of Harry and Sally, two unlikely "friends" who meet for the first time when Sally's friend arranges for them to drive to New York together after they graduate from the University of Chicago. Within the first few minutes of the trip, it's apparent that their personalities are a world apart. Sally's a meticulous planner, having already mapped out and precisely calculated the trip time along with the various intervals at which they can switch driving duties. Harry's more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kind of guy, and is obviously intrigued by Sally's extreme anal-retentiveness. He soon figures out which buttons to push, and goes about pushing them the entire trip, much to Sally's chagrin. The hotly debated issue up for discussion during the long drive, which is also the central theme of the movie, is whether or not men and women can truly be friends. Sally says yes, they can, while Harry insists no, they cannot, not even if there is no mutual attraction whatsoever. He defends his statement with the reasoning that even if the girl is ugly, "you still pretty much want to nail [her] too." Thus, the stage is set for a rocky (at times) yet enduring friendship.
Over the years, both Harry and Sally fall in and out of love with a number of different people, all the while maintaining their strictly platonic friendship, despite Harry's previous statement.
When Harry Met Sally cements its status as a college classic in a definitive scene that lasts less than five minutes (perhaps like some men Sally knows). If you haven't seen the infamous dinner scene in which Sally "fakes it" to prove an emasculating point to Harry, take note - she's highly convincing. And guess what? That's director Rob Reiner's mother who quips, "I'll have what she's having," upon witnessing Sally's performance.
Meg Ryan is adorable, as always -- in fact, her character seems to bear a striking (if not coincidental) resemblance to Annie and Kathleen, the characters she plays in Sleepless and Mail -- same quirky cuteness and all. Billy Crystal, always the comedian, is his usual sarcastic, hilarious self, never at a loss for witty words and interesting, memorable observations on life and love. Together, they make a strong case for male/female friendships that can truly last, and which sometimes may even evolve into something better.
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Have a brew or two while you enjoy the lively and sometimes heated exchanges between Harry and Sally, but beware: No pounding allowed, lest you miss something important.
This classic romantic comedy is sure to inspire thoughts of affection and amour, or at the very least, pensive contemplation about the nature of men's and women's relationships. This one's a sure thing.
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