This selection may look a little familiar to those of you that have been with me from the beginning. Okay..so I did choose it as a Vault Pick a while back when it was then known as "One to Add to Your Collection". But this joint has been on my mind a lot lately for some reason. It caused me to go back and read my original synopsis and realize that I didn't really do this one justice.
"When Harry Met Sally" would probably be classified as a chick flick in some circles. Probably because of Meg Ryan's inclusion who was the "it" girl of the day back then. However, Billy Crystal makes sure to do plenty so that that "chick flick" stigma doesn't stick. He infuses just the right amount of sarcasm and wit all throughout the film to appeal to us guys so we can appreciate it as a great comedy. Don't get it twisted though, the underlying theme of the story is a romantic comedy so it definitely draws the ladies in.
By now the scene in the diner has become movie lore. Even folks that haven't seen it are familiar with Meg doing the whole fake orgasm thing. So much so that the line that follows it-- "I'll have what she's having" (uttered by the late Estelle Reiner) -- has become one of the most famous lines in cinema history. But for me, it wasn't even the best line in the movie. That distinction belongs to something that Harry (Crystal) told Sally (Ryan).
During one of their several conversations, Harry told Sally that no man can be friends with a woman that he finds attractive because he always wants to have sex with her. It ends up becoming the central theme of the film. More than that, it resonated with me because it's something that I have been saying for years. I may be breaking a guy code by revealing this, but it's absolutely true. Although that shouldn't be revealing anything new to anyone from my generation and/or older. You should all know this by now. I just loved that at the time I first saw this movie that I received confirmation that I wasn't the only one who knew this.
The other thing that stood out about this classic was the little vignettes sprinkled all throughout the movie. They interview several elder couples who reveal to us how they met and how they fell in love. I didn't realize until just recently that those weren't actual interviews. Those folks were so good that you would swear those stories were genuine. It turns out the stories were authentic and it's just that the people telling them were actors. At any rate, each one is like an extra gem in what was already an amazing movie.
"When Harry Met Sally" was one of the very first movies I added to my dvd collection once I switched formats from videotapes to dvds. Even though I own it, I continue to watch it even when it's on regular television. It still kills me that Harry thought it was odd that Sally alphabetizes and critiques her movie collection. What's wrong with that?
