When Harry Met Sally Synopsis: During their travel from Chicago to New York, Harry and Sally debate whether or not sex ruins a friendship between a man and a woman. Eleven years later, and they’re still no closer to finding the answer.
In 1977, college graduates Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) and Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) share a car ride from Chicago to New York, arguing about whether men and women can ever be strictly platonic friends. They part ways in New York, but over the next ten years, their paths continue to cross until a friendship finally blossoms, and they attempt to maintain the most satisfying “non”-relationship either has ever had without sex getting in the way.
I absolutely adored When Harry Met Sally from beginning to end. The writing, the directing, the acting. Autumn and Christmas in New York. More than once!
Ryan takes what could have been an annoyingly tightly wound character in Sally and creates a remarkably endearing tightly wound character instead. Initially, her eternal optimism and quirks get under Harry’s skin, but over time, he comes to love them, just as we do.
Where Sally is sunshine, Harry himself is a darker, hyper, and pessimistic individual. He’s the one who is convinced that men and women cannot be friends without sex getting in the way, whereas Sally believes otherwise. Throughout most of the movie, you cannot help but wonder who is right. Because Sally and Harry essentially become best friends. They date other people, but they’re always there for each other. Their relationship remains strictly platonic in a sense, and yet… aren’t they really in love? Maybe they don’t seem to know it yet. Or perhaps they do, but they’re not willing to accept that life-changing fact.
When Harry Met Sally’s ‘opposites attract’ trope is successful, but boy, do you need the right characters and actors to pull it off. Ryan and Crystal’s chemistry is insanely strong. It helps that Harry and Sally are fully fleshed out as characters. They are flawed. They are both charming, confident, frustrating, and insecure with others. Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal help bring these characters to life. They feel real, and that’s the mark of an excellent romantic comedy.
I rooted for the ending I received, but honest to god truth, I would have been okay with it if they had remained friends. It was just that good. As a bonus, along the way, we get to see their best friends, Marie (Carrie Fisher) and Jess (Bruno Kirby), fall in love and deal with their own relationship problems, which provides its brand of comic relief amid Sally and Harry’s angst.
One of my favorite parts of When Harry Met Sally is the occasional break when older couples are interviewed and tell us how they met and knew they had found the one. Actors may portray the couples, but the stories are true, and I am not ashamed to admit I cried through all of them.
When Harry Met Sally‘s enduring popularity showcases the lasting impact this film has had on how audiences perceive and appreciate romantic comedies. I can see how the film’s exploration of whether men and women can truly be friends without romantic entanglements has resonated with audiences over the years. It continues to be the standard by which so many modern rom-coms are graded. It’s disappointing how few even come close.
Watched: 10/18/2018
Notable Song: It Had to Be You by Harry Connick Jr.
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