A rom-com classic (When Harry Met Sally (DVD))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	When Harry Met Sally (DVD)
Date:	16/09/09 (5 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Characterisation

Disadvantages: Does concede a bit at the end

note: also appears on Flixster and The Student Room

When Harry Met Sally is a classic of the romantic comedy genre, purely because it's a lot more honest than 99% of the films, and actually looks to examine the interplay between genders rather than adhere to the firmly regimented stereotypes of "men are from Earth, women are from Venus".

The film depicts Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) and Sally Albright (Meg Ryan), two young people who have very different views on the nature of friendships between men and women. Harry believes that men and women can't be friends because sex will always get in the way - it's only if the guy is already taken that this will work. Sally, however, believes that this is entirely wrong, believing that a man and a woman can be friends. Over a long number of years, the film chronicles their various interactions as they meet, debate the dynamic of relationships between men and women, and then depart. It traces their own separate relationships, and then of course posits the idea that Harry and Sally might be compatible, and whilst the film does end in the most arbitrary and predictable way possible, it's a concession that's very much earned by everything before it.

This is a winning romantic comedy because it doesn't talk down to its audience - it highlights gender differences whilst also being a lot more complex than the majority of the films in the genre. Rob Reiner delivers the necessary sensitivity but it's also one of the more honest, and therefore funniest films that the genre has ever seen.

Extremely well written, and there's an undeniable chemistry between Crystal and Ryan, but the ending just seemed like the easy way out, and moreover, seemed to undo the point the film was making. Nevertheless, this film has an enduring legacy and has been an influence on every smart romantic comedy since.

Summary: One for the ages