When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

People are voting emotionally.

Fresh and Exciting

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

When Harry met Sally was a massive critical and box office success when it was released. This is a witty comedy set in the big apple and both Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan are in fantastic touch. They were both huge stars at the time and the respective king and queen of comedy, unarguably. The reason the film was so successful is because it taps into the omnipresent societal dilemma: Can a man and woman simply be friends and nothing more. Nora Ephron's screenplay is one of the finest examples of a funny screenplay and Rob Reiner is a master filmmaker who is in sublime touch here. If there is one comedy drama I would recommend you watch it is when harry met sally.

This movie has tons of unforgettable quotes and the best writing ever produced to the big screen. Rob Reiner does not dissappont with this masterpiece. When Harry Met Sally has one of the greatest conclusions in the history of cinematography and I encourage any and everyone to watch it.

Can men and women be friends without sexual tension? Well, let me rephrase. Can straight men and straight women be friends without sexual tension? That's what the screenplay of this modern classic asks, pre cell phone era, where relationships of the friendship and romantic kind depended on people having conversations without a gadget in their hand. People had to take the time to really get to know each other, and often, relationships of the romantic kind started off as relationships of the friendship kind. This is two old pros of romantic comedy at their best, although it is obvious that Billy Crystal is simply playing Billy Crystal, not that that's a bad thing.Meeting as travel partners, Crystal and Meg Ryan do not quite hit it off. Although their initial meeting is less than stellar, they don't soon forget each other. Five years go by before they see each other again, and then another few. The third meeting is the charm as what she initially saw him as a freak has turned into something more concrete. It's friendship, not romance however, and being inseparable, certain emotions take over, twisting their initial thoughts about each other into something completely different. As he insisted that women and men can't simply be just friends, will she be proved wrong, or will the romantic bug not bite?Charming and simple, this features some very funny moments and a fantastic supporting cast. Famous for the fake orgasm sequence featuring director Rob Reiner's mother Estelle, this has some allegedly real couples off the street describing their own romantic pasts. Carrie Fisher and Bruno Kirby offer sage advice hysterically as the best friends, while Michelle Nicastro (the very first "Les Miserables") plays Ryan's pal involved in a non ending liplock with Crystal in the opening scene, followed by soap hunk Steven Ford missing Ryan at the beginning of Ryan and Crystal's second meeting. Harley Kozak, rising up from soap heroine to film actress, has a brief appearance as Crystal's ex-wife. (Between these three and soap vet Ryan, this had a bit of soap power in its often comic soapy storyline). While Ryan obviously is not a singer (quite rancid actually singing a showtune), she is funny, and next to Tom Hanks, Crystal is her best on screen partner.

As most people, I saw this film when it came out. Normally, I remember films very well, but except for the well known restaurant scene ("I'll have what she is having!"), I couldn't remember any of it. So I decided to watch it again. The film starts of relatively well - not your typical romcom style, and that's a good thing. But that's also where the list of good things about this film ends. What starts with him being cold and distant and her being "structured" as she puts it, ends with both of them being pretty much the same. (Occasional emotional outbursts do not a character arc make) I could not focus on the film and whatever story there was in it, because dialogues were mostly forced and unnecessarily long. I even stopped the film a few times just to see how it would play with a few sentences taken out here and there, and it played much better. Maybe this is poor writing, maybe poor editing, but in any case, it resulted in a film that is hard to watch and a story that reminds you that it is artificial, quite regularly. The illusion of a relationship between the main characters is the worst part: they are friends, and that only in the second half of the film. I never believed that they were for real; I was also annoyed with both of them too many times to care if they loved each other or died in a freak accident. In the end, the most important question about this film is - how did it get such a fanatical following? I remember that when it first came out, it was pushed and promoted all over the place. The "I will have the same" scene in the restaurant was daring for those times, and it certainly helped, but even that scene plays quite badly: structured characters do not just jump out of their structured world to entertain audiences - more was needed but it was never there. Maybe it was all that advertising and PR, or perhaps everyone wanted to see a (faked) orgasm on the big screen... In any case, the film was never that good to start with, and it really aged badly. If the editing and dialogues were a bit better focused, and if character development was a bit more realistic and deeper, I would consider this for an upgrade. As it is, it gets very generous 3 stars from me.