Movie Review: When Harry Met Sally
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this movie, while set against the
background of a strong friendship and filled with great
romantic role models, contains many references to sex. Though
no sex is actually shown, about a quarter of conversation
revolves almost completely around the topic. The most famous
scene in the movie is a simulated orgasm at a New York deli.
Families can talk about friendships and how people can change
over time, premarital sex, and the role sex plays in adult
relationships, both marriage and otherwise. Is Harry correct in
his theory that men and women can't be friends? How realistic
is the outcome of their relationship?
Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) meet for the first time while sharing a ride from Chicago to New York City. Sally is an uptight, optimistic, and intelligent person, while Harry is a thoughtful, sex-crazed chauvinist. Over a period of 10 years, they bicker, become best friends, and eventually fall in love, answering the age-old question, "Can a man and a woman be friends, without sex getting in the way?"
Producer Nora Ephron and director Rob Reiner make delightful, timeless romantic classics, and this is their best-known work. Many have tried, but none has succeeded in capturing the charm, wit, and chemistry between Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan shown onscreen in this classic romantic comedy. Every element of this film possesses strength, including the script that (supposedly based on Rob Reiner and Nora Ephron's true-to-life on again/off again relationship).
Who can forget such memorable lines as, "Oh, but 'baby fish mouth' is sweeping the nation?" and of course Rob Reiner's mother's declaration of, "I'll have what she's having." This film has a timeless quality that transcends decades, meaning that teenagers may not automatically write it off as an "old movie." As relevant and entertaining today as it was in 1989 and probably still in 2039, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY is one movie not to be missed. Suitable for older teens and up.
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