Tuesday 9 November 2010

When Harry met Sally...

This was one of those films that we put on our Love Film list because I had never seen it, but thought that I probably should. Now I guess I’m not generally a Rom Com kinda guy (are any guys really?), but Four Wedding and a Funeral is funny, (particularly Andie MacDowell’s acting), and So I Married an Axe Murderer is hilarious. However, I just felt that there was far too much of the Rom and not enough Com in WHMS. I’m not saying I didn’t laugh, just not that often.

OK, so my impression of the film wasn’t helped by the fact that the DVD we had from Love Film was scratched somewhere near the beginning, and so after the first 10 min, the DVD then didn’t settle until about 25 min. So the film felt quite disjointed at the start. I thought it was a nice idea to intersperse the film occasionally with some couples talking about how they met, but it was, ultimately, pointless; especially when at the end it is Harry and Sally talking about how they met (giving a synopsis of the film you’ve just seen!) and they’re half the age of all the other couples.

Billy Crystal is good, he’s the kind of character that has an answer/explanation for everything (well, to do with relationships) and often goes off on a mini monologue (I suppose not too dissimilar to Jesse Eisenberg being Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, just not as geeky). This seems to be the trait that Sally hates most. Meg Ryan is mostly, well, Meg Ryan, not very interesting or outstanding. Carrie Fisher is fine as Sally’s friend, trying to convince herself that the married guy she’s seeing may one day leave his wife; but she then falls in love with the young Clemenza from The Godfather part II (Bruno Kirby). There’s not really much point dwelling on the plot, it’s a Rom Com; the only difference is that Harry and Sally naturally drift in and out of each others lives for a while before they get together a bit more regularly.

I did like the other well known bit from this film. Even though I haven’t seen this before I felt that this line was familiar:

“I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

Yes, it does read like a slice of ripe cheddar, but, again, Billy Crystal to the rescue, he makes it sound very genuine, and I guess maybe I did want Sally to fall into his arms (vomits quietly into a bucket)!

Overall impression: Meh. Yoda: A fake orgasm a good film does not make.

1 comment:

  1. Sorry Russ I don't agree.
    I loathed Billy Crystal and adored Meg Ryan, but that's the great thing about movies, we all have different taste's.
    Good luck with your blog in the future :)

    ReplyDelete