MYST #5: When Harry Met Sally

I love 80s movies. I haven't seen them all, but the ones I have-The Breakfast Club, Back to the Future, Dirty Dancing to name just a few-I adore. I actually have Three Men and a Baby on as I type.  I do not know why I love that decade of films. Maybe its just the way that my curly hair makes me feel like I belong in the 80s or the happy endings to the stories that make my day.

When Harry Met Sally (1989) was on the other day and with it being an 80s film and somewhat of a Rom-Com classic, I decided to watch it. Billy Crystal & Meg Ryan star as Harry Burns and Sally Albright, respectively. Other actors include Carrie Fisher (Marie) and Bruno Kirby (Jess).

The film starts when Harry meets Sally, or course. Harry's girlfriend at the time set them up to drive halfway across the country to New York City. They do not get along well during the 18 hours drive as they both view the world very differently, including the idea that men and women can or cannot be just friends. They end their trip with a simple goodbye.
Five years later, they run into each other at the airport. Sally is in a relationship with Joe, who Harry actually knows, and Harry is engaged. They end up chatting on the plane about their road-trip years ago and their current lives. It does not lead to anything significant.
Another five years later, Harry is getting divorced and Sally is newly single. They run into each other again at a bookstore and grab lunch. That lunch turns into a great friendship where they help each other get over their ruined relationships and just really enjoy each others company.
One night after Sally finds out that her ex, Joe, is getting married, Harry comforts her. That same night they end up sleeping together. Their friendship is almost completely ruined because Sally loved it and wanted to start a real relationship with Harry, while Harry wanted to pretend it never happened.  This goes back to Harry's initial opinion that men and women cannot be friends due to sex. Harry eventually realized that he loves Sally, resulting in him frantically running to confess that love for her. She rejects him at first, but she cannot help but forgive him and let their true love relationship begin.

With it being that 80s movies are not known for necessarily being cinematographic pieces of art, I did not noticed many scenes with something special. I actually found myself thinking that a continuos shot would have been good for some shots, but that might have been because we had just talked about Children of Men in class. I will point out that it did a good job of making the characters grow through their wardrobe and hair. Although it was no Citizen Kane for how many years the story covered, the almost twelve years were made more realistic with mostly Sally's head hair and Harry's facial hair. It was a simple touch that I appreciated. 

There are also the true love stories that break of the film. Other than being completely adorable, the way that the story ends with Harry and Sally in position talking about themselves makes the rom-com just that much more romantic.

I really enjoyed this movie. Crystal and Ryan both did a great job with their characters and I felt like their chemistry was great for the story. It met my expectations and really made me laugh. For that I give it 4/5 stars!