Can Men and Woman Be Friends?¿the Answer Lies Within
Fifteen years later, this movie still holds up well despite all the rehashes and knock-offs that came afterward including those starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan themselves. In particular, I¿m thinking of ¿Forget Paris¿, ¿Sleepless in Seattle¿, ¿French Kiss¿, ¿You¿ve Got Mail¿ and the list goes on. These subsequent and in my opinion, inferior films only reinforce how good this one truly is. The simple concept of believing (or not) that men and women can be friends without facing some sexual tension is definitely worth building a comedy around, and director Rob Reiner and screenwriter Nora Ephron have done a fine job capturing the male/female perspectives in the movie. Some of the observations are priceless. A great example is when in the midst of explaining Ingrid Bergman¿s appeal in ¿Casablanca¿, Harry explains that Sally is the worst kind of female, a high maintenance woman who thinks she is low maintenance. Another one is when Sally describes quite realistically why she broke up with her long-time boyfriend over the freedom they thought they had but could never capitalize on. In between these scenes, Reiner uses a technique that Warren Beatty similarly used in ¿Reds¿ ¿ interspersing the story with ¿real¿ people illuminating the themes of the story in a documentary-style fashion. It¿s a nice touch, though they are somewhat hit-and-miss and seem to belabor the same message over and over again. As for the two stars themselves, this is a textbook example of how the sum truly is more than the individual parts, as above all else, the natural rapport between Crystal and Ryan works nicely for a movie like this. It¿s a shame they have yet to team up again. Personally, I find Crystal very likeable but not an actor of any real gravity. He has a tendency to deliver lines as if they were part of a stand-up routine, which works fine during the comedy parts. I loved the ¿¿but I will partake of your pecan pie¿ interchange at the Metropolitan Museum, which sounds very much like one of his bits, or how he reacts and kibitzes during a frustrating game of Pictionary. As Harry, he is one funny guy. However, in the more serious moments, such as his heated frustration over the wagon wheel table or especially when he realizes the errors of his ways at the end, he seems considerably less comfortable. On the other hand, Ryan seems to get what makes her character tick, showing the growth in her oft-frustrated character in an unforced way. This was her first starring role, and she is certainly on full twinkle here. But this time, it works since she exhibits a freshness that makes Sally captivating despite her anal-retentive, perfect-world-aspiring ways. In fact, she inhabits the role so well that she seems to have been doing variations on Sally in her subsequent romantic comedies. And yes, the overly discussed ¿fake orgasm¿ scene is still funny after repeated viewings. Bruno Kirby and an especially acerbic Carrie Fisher provide able support in the best friend roles, as they find a much more direct route to their own characters¿ romance. The extras on the DVD are not terribly exciting. The making-of documentary seems patched together and doesn¿t provide much more insight except to make the admission that Reiner was the inspiration for Harry and Ephron for Sally. The deleted scenes, for the most part, are plain awful and just illustrate the wise decision to cut them, and the Harry Connick Jr. video of the old standard ¿It Had to be You¿ already seems quite dated. Regardless, this is a film to enjoy for its battery-operated comic banter and its shrewd observations of the male-female psyches. It¿s a movie you want to visit every once in a while like an old friend.
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Overview
Rob Reiner's romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally stars Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan as the title pair. The film opens with the two strangers, both newly graduated from the University of Chicago, share a car trip from Chicago to New York, where they are both going to make their way. During the trip, they discuss aspects of their characters and their lives, eventually deciding it is impossible for men and women to be "just friends." They arrive in New York and go their separate ways. They meet a few years later on an airplane and Harry reveals he is married. They meet again at a bookstore a few years after that where Harry reveals he is now divorced. From that point on, the two form a friendship. Eventually their closeness