When Harry Met Sally . . . (film)
"When Harry Met Sally . . ." is a romantic comedy film written by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner, released in 1989. The narrative follows college classmates Harry Burns, portrayed by Billy Crystal, and Sally Albright, played by Meg Ryan, as they navigate their evolving relationship over the years. Initially meeting on a drive to New York, the two characters harbor a mutual disdain for each other, leading them to part ways. However, fate brings them back together multiple times, ultimately culminating in a deep friendship forged through shared experiences of heartbreak. The film explores the complexities of male-female friendships and questions whether such relationships can remain platonic.
As the story unfolds, Harry and Sally confront their feelings for each other, which complicates their friendship after a night together leads to conflict. Their journey highlights themes of love, intimacy, and the challenges of understanding romantic relationships. Notable for its iconic scenes, including a famous diner moment, the film's soundtrack, featuring Harry Connick, Jr., contributed to its cultural impact. "When Harry Met Sally . . ." remains a significant work in romantic comedy cinema, resonating with audiences through its humorous yet poignant examination of love and friendship.
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When Harry Met Sally . . . (film)
Identification Romantic comedy film
Director Rob Reiner
Date Released July 12, 1989
When Harry Met Sally . . . was one of the most critically and popularly successful romantic comedies of the 1980’s. Clever scripting, memorable performances, and a sound track made up of vocal standards drove the film’s popularity, and many of its lines and ideas entered the cultural vocabulary of 1980’s America.
Key Figures
Rob Reiner (1947- ), film director
Nora Ephron, the accomplished screenwriter and director, wrote the Oscar-nominated script for When Harry Met Sally . . ., directed by Rob Reiner. It tells a story about college classmates Harry Burns and Sally Albright, who after graduation periodically run into each other during their early adulthood. The neurotic, depressed, Jewish Burns, played by comic actorBilly Crystal , and the optimistic, sweet, Protestant Albright, played by Meg Ryan, first meet through a friend on a shared drive from college to New York, where both are moving. They dislike each other and decide not to keep in touch once they arrive at their destination. They meet again five years later on an airplane and then again five years after that, this time in a bookstore. After this meeting they become friends. Harry is going through a divorce and Sally through a breakup, and they find comfort in what is, for both of them, their first honest friendship with a member of the opposite sex. Ultimately, however, they sleep together, after which they fight bitterly. It is not until some months pass that Harry realizes that he is in love with Sally, and they become a couple.
When Harry Met Sally . . . raises the question of whether men and women can ever really be platonic friends—a question that particularly preoccupied young adults during the 1980’s. Harry argues “no” from the beginning, then agrees with Sally that it is possible, only to discover that sex and love replace the friendship, proving his original theory correct: Men and women cannot be friends. The supporting actors, Bruno Kirby and Carrie Fisher, also play important roles both in creating the comedy of the film and in providing an example of a successful marriage.
Impact
Many of the scenes in the picture have become iconic, including one in which Sally pretends to be having an orgasm loudly in a diner, only to have a nearby patron say to her waiter, “I’ll have what she’s having.” The film featured vocal standards, such as “It Had to Be You” and “Our Love Is Here to Stay,” performed by various artists, but the sound track album was recorded entirely by Harry Connick, Jr., and rose high on the Billboard charts.
Bibliography
Krutnik, Frank. “Love Lies: Romantic Fabrication in Contemporary Romantic Comedy.” In Fatal Attractions: Rescripting Romance in Contemporary Literature and Film, edited by Lynne Pearse and Gina Wisker. London: Pluto Press, 1998.
Pio, Ramón. “Gender and Genre Conventions in When Harry Met Sally . . . ” In Gender, I-Deology: Essays on Theory, Fiction, and Film, edited by Chantal Cornut-Gentille D’Arcy and José Angel García Landa. Atlanta: Rodopi, 1996.