Things Don't Always Turn Out Like You Expect..."When Harry Met Sally"

Would you like to have what she's having?

The Story:

Two college graduates, Sally (Meg Ryan) and Harry (Billy Crystal) carpool to New York together.  Harry is the boyfriend of Sally's best friend, what'sername... and the two share a ride and a conversation across country.  The movie catches up with them a few years later as they bump into each other again, and the seeds of friendship begin to grow.  However, as Harry points out early, a man and a woman cannot be friends because sex will always get in the way.

Let's see if he's right.

Written by the late, great Nora Ephron, this was probably her big break which helped move her out of the writer's seat and into the director's chair.  Her strength was in writing, and while giving her females a great part, she didn't treat the guys as losers or anything.

Conceivably, Meg Ryan owes her career to Ephron, with this plus Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail cementing her as *the* leading lady of romantic comedies from the late eighties/early nineties.  Naturally, this film is remembered mostly for her climactic (pun fully intended) demonstration of Sally showing Harry just how in control of relationships the women really are. 

To credit the movie for that alone though, would seriously undermine the comic relationship that Harry and Sally endure throughout the course of the movie.

But really, for a movie written by a woman, she gives Billy Crystal all of the great lines and wonderful insight into relationships.  Whether he assisted with his lines or it was all Ephron's doing, his delivery is pitch perfect whether he's sending off a verbal zinger or waxing philosophic.

Billy Crystal is not the first actor you think of when you role into a romantic comedy, but between this and Forget Paris, I think he was woefully underused in the genre.

Thankfully, at least he made City Slickers. :)

Then of course there is the sure, steady hand of one of the best,  most underrated directors of all time, Rob Reiner.  As with much of his filmography, he simply crafted another gem that has become a classic.

While not a family friendly film, it is a great blueprint for how to have your romantic comedy characters act, interact, behave and misbehave.

Totally recommended.

I finally caught this film for the first time within the last 5 years.  It was as good as advertised.  If you've never seen it, don't wait for the 25th anniversary...

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Really funny movie, and was picked up after the first viewing and added to the DVD library.

Once You See It, You'll Never "Forget Paris"

We'll always have Paris.

The Story:

Andy (Joe Mantegna) is getting married to Liz (Cynthia Stevenson).  So they are having a pre-wedding dinner with their friends (Richard Masur, Julie Kavner, John Spencer, Cathy Moriarty), and they begin telling the tale of Mickey (Billy Crystal) and Ellen (Debra Winger) and how those two met and fell in love.  However, theirs is not a typical romance, and by way of flashbacks and adding to the story by different people, Liz gets brought up to speed on these two.  However, the cliffhanger of the story with which Liz (and the audience) is held captive with is...

Are Mickey and Ellen together, or not?

I don't think I've ever made any secret of my love for Billy Crystal movies.  Even his bad ones are good enough, and his good ones are great.

I pile this one on his good list, made better by the material and the attention that Crystal gave to the title not only as the star, but also as the writer and the director.

It's a funny romantic comedy, often made all the funnier by the fact that people are telling this tale over dinner, and the arguments and corrections that take place to a story, just as if it were being told by real people, about real people.

So that really, by the time we actually get to see Mickey and Ellen in the movie, we're already well versed in who they are, what makes them tick and why they are where they are in life.

How else can you introduce the stars of the film with less than 5 minutes to go in the film if you don't use the narrative flashback?

It's clever, and the movie is a lot of fun.  It's simply overshadowed by Billy Crystal's only other real romantic comedy... but that's a review for another time. : )

So if you've never seen this one, or haven't seen it in almost 20 years...

Give it a whirl.  You should have a good time.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I own it, and it usually gets a spin every 2-3 years.