When Harry Met Sally (1989)

Without fail, this film finds itself onto virtually every list of the best romantic comedies or chick flicks that gets written. Needless to say, I was leery of watching it, me being the chick flick detractor that I am. But I was on my honeymoon and I gave my wife full freedom in selecting a film to watch. While it is a so-called “chick flick,” it also gets listed on many top comedy lists, so I had some hope. What I got was the best of both worlds.

Let’s face it- chick flicks are inferior by nature. They are typically paint-by-numbers stories of unrealistic love in unrealistic situations. When Harry Met Sally eschews all of that and makes something of itself. For starters, it’s an R-rated romantic comedy. This means it is willing to go the extra mile to be bold in its story telling and its content. It is also tremendously funny while also being brutally honest and shows the side of love that makes us terribly vulnerable and fragile creatures.

The story begins, as the title proclaims, when Harry met Sally. After the last day of college, Sally is headed off to New York City to make something of herself. One of her friends has a boyfriend named Harry who lives in NYC so she agrees to give him a ride home. Sally is almost immediately turned off by Harry’s view of male-female relationships, which is basically that men and women cannot be ‘just friends.’

Throughout the rest of the film, Harry and Sally are continually crossing paths a few years after their past encounter and their love lives are examined each step of the way. The tension between them eventually gives way to friendship. They awkwardly try to avoid expressing any interest in each other, but it is incredibly obvious to us viewers that each is developing feelings for the other like a snowball rolling down a hill.

Without spoiling too much, Harry and Sally end up realizing that they are in love with each other, but both have been hurt before by love and try to rationalize and dismiss their feelings to prevent such vulnerability again. This is one of the reasons that the film is so unique. It forces the viewer into confronting their own vulnerability in regards to love, which sometimes has the unique side-effect of making the film a tad uncomfortable to watch because it’s so darn realistic.

A lot of the relationship humor is dead on and wildly funny. Billy Crystal’s deadpan delivery serves the material well and Meg Ryan adeptly plays a woman who takes the notion of love very seriously and thinks that most of the mushy gushy stuff is possible, if not plausible. Both have their worlds shattered by different situations and circumstances and they learn valuable lessons from each other. The audience can pick up a few tips from this film as well. While it is a romantic comedy, there is plenty to take away from it as an examination of romance in America.

When Harry Met Sally is anything but typical. Putting two comedic forces like Rob Reiner and Billy Crystal together yields tremendous results. The leads are on the top of their respective games and the supporting cast hits their mark wonderfully. Being a romantic comedy though, the film does make a few stretches and presents a love story that is almost too remarkable to believe, but it still is head and shoulders above virtually all of its peers in the genre.

RATING: 3.75 out of 5