butterworth@a1.mscf.upenn.edu (David N. Butterworth) (07/18/89)
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY...
Reviewed by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 1989 David N. Butterworth/The Summer Pennsylvanian
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Woody Allen should
feel sincerely flattered by WHEN HARRY MET SALLY..., Rob (THE PRINCESS BRIDE)
Reiner's latest romantic comedy. The comparisons between this film and Allen's
ANNIE HALL are inevitable -- Reiner almost seems to be inviting them in fact.
But, whilst it doesn't quite match that film stylistically, it does come
awfully close on occasions.
The film stars Billy (RUNNING SCARED, MEMORIES OF ME) Crystal and Meg
(INNERSPACE, D.O.A.) Ryan in the title roles. They are two mismatched
individuals -- she an aspiring journalist, he a successful political consultant
-- who meet and fall in love, yet don't fully realize it until twelve years
afterwards.
Prior to that revelation, the two of them bump into each other on two
separate occasions and end up discussing love, sex, and marriage. Harry's
philosophy on life is that a man can never be friends with a woman to whom he's
attracted because "the sex thing always gets in the way." Nevertheless he
finds Sally "empirically" attractive. What follows is a love/hate relationship
in which the hate often outweighs the love.
When Harry and Sally meet for the third time in twelve years, it's in a
book store. "There's a man staring at you in Personal Growth," comments
Sally's girlfriend Marie. She's played by Carrie Fisher of Princess Leia fame
and, together with Bruno Kirby as Harry's best friend Jess, provides the two
leads with staunch acting support.
The screenplay, by Nora (HEARTBURN) Ephron -- who also serves as the
film's Associate Producer -- is well-structured but misses some of the insight
and astuteness which garnered ANNIE HALL an Academy Award back in 1977, the
year this new film opens, ironically. Nevertheless, it remains consistently
funny, with writing of the "In a city of 8 million people, I have to run into
my ex-wife!" calibre.
But the nicest surprise is Meg Ryan's performance as Sally. Frankly, it's
a gem. Although not known for her comedic talents, director Reiner certainly
brings them out in this movie. Working shoulder-to-shoulder with Crystal, a
comedian of considerable skill, Ryan is never out of her depth and often
outshines him.
Crystal's rendering of the smug, know-it-all Harry often drifts into some
of the characterizations which populate his stand-up routines, and it's
distracting at times. His character doesn't develop much throughout the course
of the movie. In fact, one of the few things that does change about Harry is
the length of his sideburns.
Sally, on the other hand, develops significantly. The scene in which she
learns that her ex-boyfriend has recently married is a joy to watch. Ryan's
red-eyed, rag doll hysterics are spot on and beautifully realized. And there's
a scene in a sandwich bar which is an absolute riot.
But to return to the parallels between this film and ANNIE HALL...
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY... opens with a bouncy, nostalgic jazz tune
reminiscent of Woody Allen's later films. Reiner also intersperses the action
with documentary-style interviews -- a common Woody Allenism -- between married
couples. Seated against a pastel backdrop, they discuss how they met and how,
after all these years, they're still together. And the film's subject matter
itself -- New Yorker's neuroses about sex, marriage and relationships -- is
prime Woody Allen territory.
Moviegoers who don't particularly like Woody Allen, but enjoy his brand
of humor, might get a big kick out of WHEN HARRY MET SALLY.... At its worst,
the film is simply derivative. But at its best, it holds its own against some
of that director's finest work.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Directed by: Rob Reiner David N. Butterworth - UNIVERSITY OF PA |
| Rating (L. Maltin): *** Internet: butterworth@a1.mscf.upenn.edu |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+leeper@mtgzx.att.com (Mark R. Leeper) (07/29/89)
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY...
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1989 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Rob Reiner's winning streak of
directing only very good films ends with a mediocre romantic
comedy about two people who do not come off nearly as cute as
the film called for them to be. There are some creative
touches, but the main storyline is just okay. Rating: 0.
Rob Reiner is one of the few current major directors that most
Americans can recognize by sight. He has put on a little weight since his
ALL IN THE FAMILY days, but he is still recognizable. But more than just
having visual recognition, he is also recognized as being a major directing
talent. After THIS IS SPINAL TAP, THE SURE THING, STAND BY ME, and THE
PRINCESS BRIDE, one tends to expect a lot from him as a director. One looks
forward to a Rob Reiner film. However, this one was really disappointed by
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY..., a film that seems to assume it has a wonderful warm
and winning story, but somehow just does not have a story to match its
expectations.
The story is punctuated by interview insets, much like Warren Beatty's
REDS, but here we have older couples who love each other and obviously have
had successful marriages, reminiscing about how they first met. And as far
as that goes the film is warm. These insets take up only about six or seven
minutes od the film and unfortunately it is in these insets that we find
most of the characters we end up liking. The main line of the story is
about how Harry got coupled with Sally, but since these people are more
superficially cute than lovable (and not always even cute), there is
something really missing in the connections between the insets and the plot.
Harry and Sally first meet after graduation when Harry was something of a
male chauvinist and Sally was just a little cold. They fail to hit it off.
Flash forward five years. Harry is now something of a male chauvinist and
Sally is now a little cold. They run into each other in an airport and fail
to hit it off. Flash forward another five years to 1987. Harry is now
something of a male chauvinist with a better sense of humor, and Sally is
now a little cold and has self-doubts.
From there we follow the two trying to be platonic friends, wondering
if they should have sex, discussing if sex partners are sincere, discussing
Harry's promiscuity, ad nauseum. Do we care? Sure, there is some
voyeuristic appeal to hearing people talk about their sex lives. Do we care
any further about these people as people? I did not. I had the feeling
that when these people walked off camera they winked out of existence.
Harry is a political consultant. I'm not sure what a political consultant
does, but Harry's friends don't seem to be political consultants, and Harry
never so much as reads a newspaper. This is not creating a character. Nora
Ephron, the script writer, just filled in a blank labeled "Occupation"; she
did not create a character.
Billy Crystal as Harry and Meg Ryan as Sally are attractive, engaging
people, and I was willing to find out about their characters' sex lives
while they were going well. It did not make for great cinema, but it is
watchable. When their relationship starts to sour, both characters are
pretty tiresome. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY... is all right as a piece of
entertainment for a little while, but it is by far reiner's worst film. I
give it a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale.
(One final note: Nora Ephron (a female) has a male character express
the philosophy that a male cannot just be friends with an attractive woman
without wanting sex with her. I can just hear a lot of women saying, "Ah-
ha! I knew it all along!" In fact, the woman who lived next door to me in
my first apartment said pretty much the same thing, eyeing me suspiciously.
I will tell you what I should have told her. It is a paranoid myth and is
false. You can go through life believing the worst of people and nobody
will be able to prove you wrong. But for the record, women, it simply is
not true of all men. If you use myth to rationalize negative behavior
toward men, it is you who are in the wrong.)
Mark R. Leeper
att!mtgzx!leeper
leeper@mtgzx.att.com