Stuck for something to do this Valentine’s Day? Then stay in. Forget candle-lit restaurants, get a takeaway. Don’t bother getting dressed up, stay in your pyjamas. Cinema? No need. Why not just stay home – it’s a lot warmer and cheaper after all – eat some junk food in your onesies, and watch a rom-com instead? Of all the films to choose to watch on the most romantic day of the year, there’s one in particular which I have to recommend above all others. It has to be the classic When Harry Met Sally…
“I’ll have what she’s having”. This is the punchline to what is, arguably, the biggest and best gag in When Harry Met Sally. It’s a joke that has been parodied time and time again by so many – from The Simpsons to The Muppets – its longevity as a pop culture reference a comment to the writing talents of Nora Ephron. Whilst this is quite clearly the film’s most memorable moment, it barely scratches the surface of the witticisms that are fired off at a remarkable rate.
Great film-making essentially comes down to great writing, and When Harry Met Sally is one of the best examples of this. It isn’t a highly visual film, with most of the action taking place in restaurants or swanky New York apartments, but Nora Ephron’s pinpoint focus on dialogue and character development is something you rarely see in cinema.
Ephron’s script is perfect, pretty much a laugh-a-minute, fully formed, and more importantly, it has relatable characters. What’s wonderful about the film’s narrative is that it breaks away from the usual structure of a rom-com. The action doesn’t take place over one night, or a few days, but rather decades, which allows us to watch the central relationship blossom from immature beginnings to something more ‘grown-up’, or rather something more comfortable.
Sexual politics are central to the film, the plot revolving around the question of whether men and women can truly be friends without sex getting in the way. What’s most impressive is how Ephron manages to explore the subject with so much intelligence and humour. The debate is presented evenly and both sides of the argument, the male and female perspectives, are approached and scrutinised equally.
Generally, I’ve always found that female screenwriters to be the best in their profession. It sounds like a cliché, but women understand us much more than we understand them, or ourselves for that matter. Great female writers such as Nora Ephron seem to cut right down to the truth of their subject and create both female and male characters with real substance, contradictions and flaws.
It might sound like I’m going off on a tangent here, but I think this is absolutely important in recommending the film for Valentine’s viewing. The point is that When Harry Met Sally isn’t a film that only the fairer sex will enjoy, and there’s plenty within it that will keep men, however manly they may be, entertained – Billy Crystal’s performance, for one, is hilarious and one of the best he’s ever given.
The insight that Ephron has to offer is enough to recommend the film in itself, as is the chemistry between Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, but it is, above all else, incredibly romantic. In fact, When Harry Met Sally is a picture that oozes romance from the off. It has a jazz soundtrack featuring the likes of Harry Connick Jr. and Louis Armstrong – a musician whose music will always have special meaning to me as he was one of my grandparent’s favourites – and is set in one of the most romantic cities in the world, New York.
If that wasn’t enough to set the mood, one of the highlights within the film are the sequences which break up the central story where actors recount true life stories of a real people’s romances. These little snapshots of love are sweet, warm-hearted moments that immediately set the tone from the get-go.
The snappy dialogue and jokes, the performances, the music, the setting, the politics and genuinely lovely tone combine to make When Harry Met Sally one of, if not THE greatest romantic comedies of all time. If you’ve never seen it before, then there’s no better time to watch this film than on Valentine’s Day. Even if you’ve seen it before, watch it again; it’s really that great and is all but guaranteed to brighten up your day, regardless of whether you’re in a relationship or not.
words JOE RICHARDS