Movies from the Heart—When Harry Met Sally

Every film magazine and website lists the best films in various genres. When it comes to romantic comedies, When Harry Met Sally [1989] by Nora Ephron is always toward the top of the list. Why is that? What is it about this film that everyone —viewers and critics alike—loves? Is this film different from others in the genre? Not sure. But I am sure that the film is really, really good.

Is it another triangle love story? Well, yes. But it’s a triangle love story on different levels, PLUS it’s a story about what it means to have a friendship versus what it means to be in a relationship.

The film also shows us a relationship developing over several years, rather than the more usual matter of months. And the film also lets us view the relationship of a couple of secondary characters.

Take a look at a trailer for the film.

But do me a favor, and just watch the movie. The trailer pulls together some high points from the film—some of the funnier high points—but the way the relationship evolves is really what the movie is about.

Harry and Sally meet when college ends and he becomes her passenger as they drive cross country to New York. His girlfriend found out Sally was going, and Harry needed a ride, so…

One of the first things we see is him kissing his girlfriend goodbye before getting into Sally’s car. The second thing we see is how incompatible Sally and Harry are. She’s very organized and matter-of-fact and he’s a rougher, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of guy. This is where the fun begins because they argue about everything

As the screenwriter of the film, Nora Ephron, said, the film was born out of the question of whether or not men and women can be “just friends” without the desire for sex being a part of the relationship. In the film, Sally assures Harry that they can, but he’s adamant that she’s wrong and proceeds to argue a pretty good case—but she sticks to her guns. And by the time their cross-country drive is finished, it doesn’t seem like they’ll ever be hanging out together again.

A few years pass and they meet again—she’s dating someone and he’s married. She’s shocked because he SO didn’t seem the marrying kind. A few more years pass and he’s getting divorced and is shook up about it. So they befriend each other. But when they finally sleep together, he panics and that pulls them apart.

If you’re thinking about writing a film in the romantic genre, you need to watch this one—because how they come together at the end is both fun and emotionally satisfying. And the couple THEY match up gets married and becomes confidants for Harry and Sally—so that B story is just as much fun.

Next week, a romantic film that, like When Harry Met Sally, is set in New York—You’ve Got Mail.

Copyright © Diane Lake

10Nov24

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