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One of the first film papers I ever wrote was about When Harry Met Sally. I remember distinctly that I wrote about the fact that Harry and Sally were the ying and yang of each othere, perfect opposites that fit together perfectly – their names even show it. Harry Burns is dark and brooding, and Sally Albright is bright and chipper – together they complete each other’s outlook on life.

When Harry Met Sally is a perfect commentary on male/female relationships and as I grow older this becomes ever more true. Women are from Venus, men are from Mars and Ephron & Reiner figured out how to capture this long before the mass population put it into pop culture. Harry & Sally are the perfect couple, the only problem is that like as in the case with more perfect couples – they’re the last ones to realize it.

I consider this a New Year’s movie because several of the key scenes take place on New Year’s Ever, so if you get the chance please check this out this New Year.





Harry Burns: And was it worth it? The sacrifice for a friend you don't even keep in touch with?
Sally Albright: Harry, you might not believe this, but I never considered not sleeping with you a sacrifice.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again: When Harry Met Sally = incredible. I could watch this movie any time and find it just as funny as I did the first time I watched it, that is part of why it is so good. This film is incredibly well crafted and because of this it stands the test of time; the film may be set in the 1980’s but it hasn’t aged a day.

I miss Meg Ryan. It’s been far too long since she’s been in a comedy and I want to see her on screen again. Sally Albright might be her trademark role & I have that forever, but I do want to see her onscreen, in good work again. If Sandra Bullock can score an Oscar this year for The Blindside then Meg had a shot at being recognized for her talent someday too.

Harry Burns: Had my dream again where I'm making love, and the Olympic judges are watching. I'd nailed the compulsories, so this is it, the finals. I got a 9.8 from the Canadians, a perfect 10 from the Americans, and my mother, disguised as an East German judge, gave me a 5.6. Must have been the dismount.

Paul Sheldon is a romance writer tired of writing his heroine Misery. Annie Wilkes is a former nurse who is Paul’s number one fan. After finishing up his latest non-Misery manuscript in the country he ends up in a car crash during a blizzard and Annie rescues him; Paul is badly injured and bed-ridden and Annie assures him that once the phones are restored or the roads are plowed she will get him help. However, as time wears on it becomes evident that Annie has a psychotic fixation with Paul and when she discovers that he has killed off Misery in his latest novel she holds him hostage while forcing him to write Misery’s resurrection.

Misery is one of the creepiest films I have ever seen anchored by two of the best performances I’ve ever seen. Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her depiction of Annie Wilkes and I have to say that the award was earned; Kathy reaches a level of insanity that shouldn’t be possible in a sane member of society and I think that it is up there with the performances of Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight or Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - it’s chilling.

James Caan is no slouch either. He has the equally hard task of being the victim in this film and walks between pain, paranoia, gratitude and determination with great aplomb and not a moment feels false. It is incredibly hard to play the straight man to such a irregular character like Annie Wilkes.

One thing I did not expect from Misery was the comedic elements added by the town sheriff and deputy; they are an old married couple who obviously don’t see much action in their area and instead banter like the old couple they are. I feel in love with them immediately and thought they brought a nice relief to the otherwise nail-biting story-line.

I am still in shock that the writer and director behind Misery are the writer and director behind The Princess Bride. While I think that William Goldman and Rob Reiner are immensely talented people there could not be a film more diametrically opposed to The Princess Bride than Misery.

Director: Rob Reiner
Writer: William Goldman
Paul Sheldon: James Caan
Annie Wilkes: Kathy Bates
Buster: Richard Farnsworth
Virginia: Frances Sternhagen
Marcia Sindell: Lauren Bacall

Annie: God came to me last night and told me your purpose for being here. I am going to help you write a new book.
Paul: You think I can just whip one out?
Annie: Oh, but I don't think Paul, I know.

Prince Humperdink plots secretly to start a war against the neighboring kingdom of Gilda by having his fiancée Buttercup kidnapped and killed; however, the Dread Pirate Roberts ends up rescuing his fiancée and turn out to be her long lost love Westley. Buttercup & Westley flee from Humperdink until finally cornered; Wesley is taken prisoner & Buttercup is taken back to the castle to continue with her wedding. Meanwhile, Fezzik & Inigo plot Westley’s escape and Humperdink develops a new plot for Buttercups murder and the framing of Gilda.

The Princess Bride is one of the single most unique films I’ve ever seen, and definitely one of my favorites. This movie sustained me in my childhood. Next to the Star Wars trilogy I think I’ve seen this film more than any other movie. I can quote most of it line for line.

What is perhaps most memorable of The Princess Bride is perhaps part of what makes it so unique – the grandfather reading the story to his grandson. I think that perhaps this storytelling device is one of the most unique devices in history and Fred Savage & Peter Falk’s banter are the perfect amount of levity to add to a very over-the-top story that help put some reality in the craziness. William Goldman’s decision to use the grandfather and grandson to move the story forward is brilliant.

I know that everyone is in love with Inigo Montoya but I think that perhaps my favorite character in the film is Miracle Max. Amongst a cast of extraordinary characters Billy Crystal managed to create a character and performance that stands out from the pack as the bitter magician who wants to crush Humperdink for firing him. Miracle Max is a character to be remembered.

I genuinely think that anyone that has never seen The Princess Bride needs to give it a chance. I really think you’ll like it.

Director: Rob Reiner
Writer: William Goldman
Westley: Cary Elwes
Inigo Montoya: Mandy Patinkin
Prince Humperdink: Chris Sarandon
Count Tyrone: Christopher Guest
Vizzini: Wallace Shawn
Fezzik: Andre the Giant
The Grandson: Fred Savage
Buttercup: Robin Wright Penn
The Grandfather: Peter Falk
Miracle Max: Billy Crystal

Westley: I told you I would always come for you. Why didn't you wait for me?
Buttercup: Well... you were dead.
Westley: Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.

If all romantic comedies were as good as When Harry Met Sally I would not hold the disdain for the genre as I do. However, very few movies – romantic comedy or not – can grasp the level of quality and comedy that When Harry Met Sally has.

Harry Burns and Sally Albright meet right after college when Sally’s friend Amanda gets Sally to agree to let her boyfriend Harry drive to New York with Sally. The two dislike each other because Harry has a very dark view of life that Sally cannot appreciate and Harry cannot understand the rose colored view that Sally has. A few years later the two meet again on a flight and butt heads when Harry again reminds Sally of his initial theory that women and men can’t be friends, he also announces to a very shocked Sally that he is about to be married. They to part ways after departing the plane and don’t meet again until a few years later when Harry is getting divorced and Sally had just broken up with her long term boyfriend. This time Harry and Sally recognize the unique spirit in each other and forge a strong friendship that has all of their friends pushing for the two of them to get together, but Harry and Sally insist that they are the only members of the opposite sex that do not see each other in a sexual way. This of course is eventually what changes, altering their relationship and their lives forever.

The star of this movie for me is the writing of Nora Ephron. These characters so perfectly represent a natural character arch for their genders that you can believe they’ve aged eleven years in the two hour time span that the movie takes place in. I know that When Harry Met Sally was a partnership between the lead actors, Rob Reiner and Ephron but her track record proves that she again and again writes great films that people want to see. Her dialogue is simply so good that you will be quoting lines like “you made a woman meow” for years to come.

As a testimony of Ephron’s great writing is the scene at the deli in this movie. Even if you haven’t seen When Harry Met Sally you have seen the clip somewhere of Sally performing a fake orgasm for Harry at lunch, followed by an older woman telling the waiter “I’ll have what she’s having”.

I also adore the faux documentary sections that are used as a device between sections of the film. In these documentary clips an old couple sits and tells their love story – the story of how they met and got married. What is most fun about these clips is that they are real love stories – just not told by the actual couple. Evidently, Reiner and Ephron wanted to have the stories told by the real couples but as couples do they just couldn’t be concise or stay on topic, and so they decided to take the stories but get actors to tell them. The device is charming and one of the funniest things about the movie.

This is one of my favorite movies and it brought me into awareness that you can have an “odd” pairing of actors, or crazy situations and as long as you have the right actors in the part and the right people behind the scenes it will all work. This movie is timeless because the people making it took every opportunity to take the effort and craft When Harry Met Sally into a complete and perfect movie.

Director: Rob Reiner
Writer: Nora Ephron
Harry Burns: Billy Crystal
Sally Albright: Meg Ryan
Marie: Carrie Fisher
Jess: Bruno Kirby

Marie: All I'm saying is that somewhere out there is the man you are supposed to marry. And if you don't get him first, somebody else will, and you'll have to spend the rest of your life knowing that somebody else is married to your husband.