When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writer:

Nora Ephron

Stars:

Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Crystal	...	Harry Burns
Meg Ryan	...	Sally Albright
Carrie Fisher	...	Marie
Bruno Kirby	...	Jess
Steven Ford	...	Joe
Lisa Jane Persky	...	Alice
Michelle Nicastro	...	Amanda
Gretchen Palmer	...	Stewardess
Robert Alan Beuth	...	Man on Aisle
David Burdick	...	9 Year Old Boy
Joe Viviani	...	Judge
Harley Jane Kozak	...	Helen (as Harley Kozak)
Joseph Hunt	...	Waiter at Wedding
Kevin Rooney	...	Ira
Franc Luz	...	Julian

Storyline

Harry and Sally meet when she gives him a ride to New York after they both graduate from the University of Chicago. The film jumps through their lives as they both search for love, but fail, bumping into each other time and time again. Finally a close friendship blooms between them, and they both like having a friend of the opposite sex. But then they are confronted with the problem: "Can a man and a woman be friends, without sex getting in the way?"

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Plot Keywords:

friendship | university of chicago | new york | love | fake orgasm | 

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Taglines:

Can men and women be friends or does sex always get in the way?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

MGM MGM - DVD site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 July 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Harry, This Is Sally

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$92,823,600 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Nelson Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 89 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The quote "I'll have what she's having" was not only voted #33 on the AFI's list of "Best 100 Movie Quotes in American Film", and the ONLY quote on the list to be spoken by a non-professional actor (it was director Rob Reiner's mom who delivered the line). Furthermore, it was the only quote on the list which was the ONLY film dialogue ever uttered by the actor who delivered it.

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Goofs

Near the end, when Sally is typing on her computer, apparently she is typing the longest word in the history of modern language, because her fingers never touch the "space" bar.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Documentary Couple: I was sitting with my friend Arthur Kornblum, in a restaurant, it was a Horn and Hardart cafeteria. And this beautiful girl walked in and I turned to Arthur and I said Arthur, you see that girl? I'm going to marry her. And two weeks later we were married. And it's over fifty years later and we are still married.

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #4.1 (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Where Or When"
Written by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers
Published by Chappell & Co.
Performed by Ella Fitzgerald
Courtesy of PolyGram Special Products, a Division of PolyGram Records, Inc.

User Reviews

"When Harry Met Sally" - Stands the Test of Time

"When Harry Met Sally" may not at first seem to be the kind of film that remains classic and timeless. In this very cute exploration of an age-old question: "Can men and women truly just be friends?," Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan play the kind of characters we have come to love to see them play. No surprises there as they skillfully banter back and forth between adorable, hysterical and morose as the plot rolls on. But upon closer inspection, this film is actually full of nice surprises, including its durability. Watch carefully and you will find one of the best examples of the way an excellent script can propel the plot, character development and pacing of a film perfectly from start to finish. Many lines may seem to be merely entertaining one-liners, but they also serve these other purposes simultaneously. This is a well crafted and well acted script. Even the most dated aspect of the film, the intentional focus on clothing, hair and makeup styles as they change throughout the decades, has taken an unexpected poignancy now that the styles we may remember as current at the time have come to be old-fashioned themselves. The end result is that "When Harry Met Sally" speaks to us if we remember the times portrayed in the film or not. We're still asking questions about men and women and friendship, and films such as this still help us answer them.