“Oh, really? When I get a new book, I read the last page first. That way, if I die before I finish I know how it comes out. That, my friend, is a dark side.”
Harry, When Harry Met Sally
When Harry Met Sally
Starring: Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan
My Rating: ★★★★ 1/2
Before I began When Harry Met Sally I had low expectations. Rom-coms never truly moved me like movies of other genres had. I had also always felt as if I could always sense the general direction the film was heading in, usually about the plot. Because of such things, I told myself that maybe these types of movies just aren’t for me. However, after watching When Harry Met Sally, I was certainly proven wrong.
When Harry Met Sally begins with Sally driving to New York alongside Harry, a fellow University of Chicago graduate. Their trip is filled with contention and constant bickering as their personalities clash relentlessly. Their main point of contention was Harry’s belief that men and women could never be friends because sex would always get in the way. After arriving in New York, Harry and Sally exchanged their final goodbyes and parted ways.
Years later, as Sally’s boyfriend is seeing her off at the airport, Harry notices Sally and they exchange conversations on their shared flight. Sally explains that she is dating someone and Harry shares details of his marriage. But despite the years passed, their conversation revolves back around Harry’s previously stated beliefs before parting ways again.
After another few years, Harry approaches Sally in a New York bookstore and they agree to become friends after both sharing their stories of breakups and divorce. From then on out, Harry and Sally have an idealistic friendship. They spare no details of their lives from each other, while always providing the other with support amidst hardship and never failing to crack jokes. That is… until they sleep with each other.
When Harry Meets Sally is the story of an unlikely friendship and emphasizes how friendship is a necessary ingredient for love. Its charm and wit create the feeling of seeing an old friend upon first viewing. It exudes a sort of familiar warmness much like sipping a warm cup of coffee on a cold autumn morning. The story that Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan created as Harry and Sally felt so tangible and real that I simply delighted in their journey. I relish their love and friendship and long for the opportunity to create relationships of the same sort. Although the ending was inevitable, the journey was so sweet and enjoyable that the film still felt whole for me. The colorful and clever When Harry Met Sally exceeded my expectations and I look forward to rewatching it soon.