When Harry Met Sally -- 1989 -- R

Two romantic comedies in a row? I must be losing my mind. Then again, the last week has afforded me nearly a dozen movies watched, so I probably have lost my mind. January averaged one a day (at least from the perspective of my reviews). This one has Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal as its leads, and what we end up with is something that is a little against the grain while following the tried and true RomCom formula.

Harry and Sally met right out of college as they carpooled from Chicago to New York City. During this trip, Harry was going out with Sally's best friend, and while Sally commented that she and Harry might be friends in New York, Harry dissented, commenting that men and women can't be friends. Five years later, they met again on an airplane ride, and they barely remembered each other until recognition set in. They were both looking to be married to other people and they shared a flight discussing this and other things. Another five years pass and Harry and Sally meet for the third time. She is single, her relationship having crashed, and he is divorced and a little bitter. They decide to be friends (since Harry amends that men and women can be friends as long as he doesn't find her attractive), and so begins the development of their relationship -- finally.

During the course of the next year, they try to hook each other up with their best friends, but only succeed in hooking their best friends up with each other, leaving Harry and Sally still single, but attending the wedding for their friends. We also get one of the most memorable scenes and lines in movie history with Meg Ryan's mock orgasm and the subsequent comment from another patron, "I'll have what she's having." Harry's long-winded tirades about life are never boring, and the increasing tension between Harry and Sally as they refuse to be with each other makes for an air of uniqueness in this genre (as it is usually about the development of a relationship on the part of at least one of the parties, rather than a complete refusal from both).

Discussion about something other than the movie's plot makes for better characters, and this one delivers some characters that are a cut above the norm, thanks to Harry and Sally discussing their lives, opinions, etc., rather than something expositional related to the immediate plot. Of course, it isn't perfect as Harry and Sally are the pivot point for everything, so even their best friends are left out in the development freezer when it comes to getting more than names and a life between the credits.

We get some fair uniqueness when it comes to the plot since we get our pair drawn together while they try to pull apart. They become friends only during the course of the show, and only work to maintain a friendship, but never anything more. The audience knows they should move on, but the characters refuse to. It's a wonderful little give and take on the part of the filmmakers to build that type of tension. We do get the inevitable third act separation before the climactic and satisfying ending, so parts of it are quite standard, but it has enough to stand as one of the better ones in the RomCom category.

So this is a good one. It depends almost 100% on character development and progression instead of a clever outer plot of something big going on that the characters need to handle while dealing with each other. Really nothing happens here except the story of Harry and Sally, and since drama should come from character, this definitely gives this one a leg up on the competition.