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When Harry Met Sally (1989)
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Movie Review by Zara 
February 3rd, 2007
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One down, 5 to go
I once started to write a script. The opening scene was a group of friends sitting around, being lazy and bullsh*tting. The opening line was:
"WHEN HARRY MET SALLY was a farce!"
There are two aspects when giving your review for a movie. Once is usually to judge just how entertaining a flick was and the other is to question its plausibility. Let's start with the latter.
I first watched this movie when I was 14. At that point I wasn't the seasoned (read: embittered) female that I have since become. My best friend was a guy, my buddy Jason, and we frequently went to the movies together on a regular basis as - you guessed it - "just friends."
I really liked the concept of the movie back then because I adored my buddy. The idea of eventually being able to have us fall in love sounded peachy keen to me, jelly bean. I wasn't all about being romantic with him at the time because that just wasn't what he represented to me. But I was still a young and impressionable girl, willing to believe the bullsh*t that movies feed me.
See, as I got older, the fact that my friends were male didn't change. But how we interacted did. I eventually learned that it was possible to be friends with guys, have them thought about f*cking you (face it, they usually think about f*cking every female that comes into their lives) and still have that be ok. There's nothing wrong with thinking about f*cking your friend. It's only when you act on it that there's an issue.
Well, that or if one of you has stronger romantic notions than the other one. This is where the movie falls flat. Harry and Sally really had no romantic interests (or sexual for that matter) in one another prior to falling into bed. They could have very easily carried on as being just friends. Well, if Ryan's character hadn't been such an uptight ass, they could have.
CHASING AMY at least got the friends thing right. One person had stronger feelings for the other and was honest and upfront about them before sex occurred. They convinced the other person to have a go, the two did, the romantic relationship didn't work out and then afterward they weren't friends anymore.
That's how these things plausibly work out. If you can separate the sex, the friendship and the romance, having a friend of the opposite sex isn't a difficult thing to pull off. We don't have to believe that just because we're different genders means we're unable to control our urges. Or to even suggest that there would be any urges in the first place.
The concept totally negates the fact that people very much have "types." You can have a friend of the opposite sex who isn't your type and never be attracted to them, never want to f*ck or date them. Just because you get along doesn't mean that you'll end up together.
So... given all of that, I find the movie realistically to be a huge f*cking farce. These two people could have been really great friends and never had any feelings of romance towards each other. It is completely possible for that to happen between two people who are so different. And honestly? The sex wouldn't have happened. I don't care how much Crystal's character is played off to act as if he doesn't care who he f*cks, I know men. He knew how she was and he wouldn't have taken advantage of his friend. That's the most implausible part of the flick. After knowing all he did about her and caring about her as a buddy, he would have wanted the best for her and would have known that f*cking her in that moment wouldn't have been the best thing.
All of that aside, let's look at the first portion. Is this an entertaining movie?
Yes. Crystal and Ryan are likeable and have good chemistry (as friends) together. This was at the peak of Ryan's cuteness, so for anyone who hates what her fishy-lipped face looks like now, I say watch this movie. Personally, my favorite parts of the movie include Bruno Kirby and Carrie Fisher. Highly amusing as side characters that are friends to the leads, their relationship made me giggle more.
It's supposed to be a romantic comedy and it is. It's not a believable one in my personal experience, but as far as being entertaining for the sake of being entertaining, it gets the job done.
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 | Lisa
Feb 3, 2007 10:16 AM
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| This was one of the few films I actually like Meg Ryan in. |
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