WORDS Evan Bailey
When Harry Met Sally. Simple plot: Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) have a chance meeting on their way to New York after graduating college. From there, the film moves in and out of their lives through chance encounters and first starts of a relationship which culminate in (*SPOILER ALERT*) marriage. Central thought, spoken out loud by the characters and made abundantly obvious throughout: sex ruins male/female friendships. Lock a few ADHD-riddled lemurs in a room with typewriters for a long enough time and you could probably get a 30 minute sitcom episode that resembles When Harry Met Sally. But that sitcom would not be close to as loved, revered, and feted as When Harry Met Sally, which is playing on Valentine’s Day at the Capri.
One of the reasons is the setting. This is a movie made by New Yorkers who love New York City - Rob Reiner (director), Nora Ephron (writer), and Billy Crystal (Harry) are all natives, and Meg Ryan (Sally) might as well be, she’s from Fairfield, CT. Think of a typical New York film setting, and chances are you’ll see it in When Harry Met Sally. New York is really just background though - the characters barely seem to notice where they are. The real star here is the back and forth between high-maintenance Sally and depressed Harry.
Harry and Sally talk. They talk about relationships, they talk about themselves, they talk about other people. They talk, and talk, and talk and finally, after they have almost literally run out of breath, they finally decide to act on their feelings more than a decade after their fateful car ride to New York.
You probably know a Harry or Sally (if you don’t you just might be the Harry or Sally in your group). They’re smart, they’re clever, they read books, they are dramatic, they have opinions about art and film and every thing they say they think is interesting (“pot?” “kettle?”). This is not a bad thing. In certain doses, a little bit of Harry or Sally every now and again is good for you. But, over the long term it becomes grating. Always trying to be the most interesting, the most depressed, the most provocative, the best fake orgasm-haver. There’s no room for you at the top, just them.
That’s the only problem I have with this movie. It’s a good romantic comedy that’s not traditional and by the book, but by the end, you are kind of happy that these annoying people found each other. At least they won’t be terrorizing other people with their observations about their sex lives, and their quirky restaurant orders (everything “on the side”). I also have a personal aversion to Billy Crystal, but that has more to do with his later work and his corny Oscar hosting than When Harry Met Sally. He’s not bad here, and that’s a good thing.
Support your local movie theater and support Billy Crystal, his career needs the help (Hi, Parental Guidance), and go see When Harry Met Sally.
Catch this film at The Capri, Friday February 14 at 7:30pm. The Capri is located at Fairview Avenue. Visit www.capritheatre.org for info.