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

Labyrinth (1986)

You wouldn’t normally expect much from a film that features David Bowie as a stretch pants-clad antagonist, but winning charm abounds in Labyrinth. The combination of Jim Henson’s endless puppet creations, some entertaining musical numbers and a decent story add up to create a whimsical fantasy tale that can be described only as unique.

Labyrinth is about a girl named Sarah (a young Jennifer Connelly) who is in love with literature and fantasy. She desperately wishes to get away from her life, particularly her fussy half-brother whom she has to babysit. Thinking the fantasy tales she reads are not real, she accidentally banishes the tike into another world, where he is being held captive by the Goblin King (Bowie).

The Goblin King lives at the center of a giant labyrinth, a maze of stone walls covering countless acres stretching in all directions. Sarah is given 13 hours to work her way to the Goblin King’s castle at the center of the labyrinth. If she makes it to the center, she and her half-brother can go back to their world. If she fails in her quest, the boy will be the Goblin King’s forever.

During her journey, Sarah meets many interesting characters, ranging from a tiny little caterpillar to a gigantic hairy beast. Some of the creatures want to help her find the castle while others are out to prevent any possibility of success. Still others are just there to add a dash of spice and color to the otherwise dreary labyrinth. Each character has different features and are different sizes, creating any number of logistical issues for the puppeteers and the actors alike.

Some of the creatures are large enough to have a person inside them to move them around, but for the most part, Bowie is left with only an infant to interact with, a testament to his acting chops. It can’t be easy projecting and evoking emotion while dealing with lifeless puppets and people buried underneath bizarre costumes.

Perhaps that difficulty does show through in the final product. Jennifer Connelly was young when she made this film and it is possible that her inexperience hindered her character at times. I would be more likely to attribute any weakness to the slightly silly concept of the story and several instances of visual effects and blue screen trickery that aged quite poorly (if it even looked good back in the day).

For me, Labyrinth is somewhat of a guilty pleasure. It’s not a bad film at all, but it’s not exactly something people would normally jump out of their seats to see. It’s got a solid cult following and I can understand why. Labyrinth showcases Jim Henson’s mastery and imagination with dozens of fantastical creature creations ranging from cute and cuddly to downright grotesque. The music is fun and catchy and the film never overstays its welcome.

Then again, it does feature David Bowie as a stretch pants-clad antagonist. :-P

RATING: 3.25 out of 5

Oklahoma! (1955)

One of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s first movie-musicals, Oklahoma! paints a love story over the backdrop of the Old West. There is luscious scenery and delightful songs, but it comes up a tad short as a total package. That isn’t to say that it’s not enjoyable.

Laurey (Shirley Jones- aka Mrs. Partridge) and Curly (Gordon MacRae) are a stubborn pair who gradually realize they love each other. Both like the other’s attention initially and enjoy flirting and teasing each other and over time they realize that they mean more to each other than they had ever let themselves accept. The antagonist to all this is Jud (Rod Steiger), the surly farmhand who has had his eye on Laurey for some time, exhibiting stalker-like tendencies even.

Determined to have Laurey for his own, Jud takes advantage of Laurey and Curly’s flirty feuding and asks her to the box social. She agrees to spite Curly, but immediately regrets the decision because she has always been a little creeped out by Jud. At the box social there is a bidding war between Jud and Curly for Laurey’s picnic basket (really a feud over Laurey herself). Tension invariably gives way to a happy ending and a raucously good song.

Most of the acting is pretty good. The Ado Annie character, despite her admitted wild behavior, is actually quite bland and uninteresting. Because all the men are dressed up like cowboys and farmers, it is a little difficult to keep some of the supporting characters straight, but that’s all fairly amenable.

Good music and good songs abound in this classic film. The songs reflect the lifestyles and mindsets of a simpler time and the people struggling to make ends meet as farmers and ranchers. The music seems to flow right out of the grain, through the wind and into our ears. Rodgers & Hammerstein really have their songwriting polished at even their earliest stages of the movie-musical game.

The one thing I had trouble with was how long some of the songs and musical numbers went on because of randomly-placed dance pieces. I can understand that girls get excited while dressing up for the big social event of the year, but do we really need a couple minutes of ballet from the youngest of the farm girls? The dancing is good, but it slows down the pace of the film and I did get a little bored with it.

Another very bizarre segment is during a dream Laurey has about what it would be like to be married to Jud. It’s trippy and dark. I couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be some kind of stylistic artsy expressionism or just something weird enough to contrast against the light fluffy farm life. It involved lots of red lighting, a little burlesque dancing and some interesting set designs.

On the whole, Oklahoma! is a pretty good little film. It’s got a decent story and lots of fun music. The use of on location filming in addition to the soundstage work was a nice touch and really helped me feel like I was in a real world. It’s the first collaboration for Rodgers and Hammerstein and I think that shows through in places. The excessive amount of dance numbers and mishmash of styles here and there show a creative team in the early stages of refining their talents and searching for something new, exciting and entertaining. For the most part, they found it and it translates well onto the screen.

RATING: 3.25 out of 5