THE SIXTH (YES IT IS SIXTH!) IN AN OCCASIONAL SERIES OF FORGOTTEN FILMS THAT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED AND THIS ONE IS A CHRISTMAS MOVIE (Except that it isn’t . . . Oh, you know me!  You know I’ll explain!  A treat for my regular readers!)

So here we are with number sixth in my increasingly regular series of FORGOTTEN FILMS THAT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED and it’s another comedy from the eighties, a decade that started so well for film comedies but would wind-up increasingly making instantly forgettable films that would go all too quickly to video, but it is criminal that one of the greatest films of all time that shows, in fantastic fashion, the differences between men and women (both the good and the bad) should almost fall into this category.  It’s the film that made Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan into stars, before she went bonkers and plastic and everything.  In a decade where, by the end of it, comedies rarely got bums on seats or an Oscar nomination (Woody Allen had gone more Comedy-Drama at this stage) this got both.  You know what it is, I know what it is, in fact you could say “It had to be you” ladies and gentlemen, I present the case for “WHEN HARRY MET SALLY”.

WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (1989)

So if you’ve been hiding away for the last 20 odd years "WHEN HARRY MET SALLY" is the story of Harry Burns and Sally Albright.  Sally is about to start a new life as a very young woman in New York, Harry is about to do the same.  As the film commences we witness their completely diverging views on the however many mile trip it is, I don’t know.  Anyway, what becomes clear very quickly is Harry wants to sleep with Sally (cause young guys wanna sleep with everyone) and she doesn’t.  Skip forward five years and they meet again this time they’re both in relationships (Harry about to get married) and they go their separate ways.  Skip forward five years and Sally’s separated and Harry is in the process of getting divorced and Harry is forced to face the dilemma that he addresses at the start of the film and that I forgot to mention . . . Can men and women be friends or does sex always get in the way?

For me this was a milestone film as it was the first film I saw three times at the cinema, the last time with a good friend of mine, Phillip Johnstone, (Phil, wherever you might be . . . hope you’re doing okay) and the third viewing was around Christmas time, and that, combined with the fact that there are two Christmas’ and two new years mean I always see this as a Christmas-y film.  Billy Crystal gives the best performance of his career as the secretly optimistic, in-spite-of-himself, Harry Burns, and Meg Ryan is adorable as the hopelessly in-control Sally, who seems to be the model for all retentive in-control women in comedy roles ever since.  The chemistry between the two of them is amazing and it is perhaps this as much as anything that allows us to get so sucked into their budding friendship/romance because in so many films on-screen chemistry is vital, and never more so than in romantic comedies and yet so often it is missing.  I’m sure you’ve seen many a film where you think “As if they would go out with them?” or just plain “What?”  But in this film both characters are able to stand their ground and hold their own without ever taking anything away from their co-star.  The performances are exemplary.

The script (with many shades of Annie Hall) manages to stay on the right side of it without us ever feeling that bits were borrowed.  In fact it is a great compliment that I give to Nora Ephron in saying that she manages to capture the feel of Woody Allen perfectly without ever stealing anything in what is an almost perfect comedy script.  Rob Reiner completes the quartet of stellar turns as the films director (completing a stunning run of films starting with “THIS IS SPINAL TAP” and then onto “THE PRINCESS BRIDE”, “WHEN HARRY MET SALLY”, “MISERY” and “A FEW GOOD MEN”.  What a run!) and he weaves all the elements together so well that it creates one of those rare films that is so honest and so real in its observations that we almost don’t feel like we’re watching a movie.  Bruno Kirby and Carrie Fisher do great jobs as the best friends of Harry and Sally respectively and also provide one of the best touches of the film with Bruno Kirby’s improving wardrobe and style as the film progresses due to the influence of his partner.

The sad thing about this film over time is that it has become known best for that one scene (YOU KNOW!) and it is the one moment that most people know even though within the film there are probably equal or even better moments that are funnier, more touching and better written, but it’s that one that gets the plaudits.  Recently I saw this film on sale in Home Bargains on DVD for a mere £2.99 and I couldn’t help but feel that this was a crime as the movie has so much to say about the relations between men and women and yet now is just another movie, so to finish I’m not gonna have that scene, I’m gonna have what is for me, a better scene.  Dear readers, please enjoy.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCoKZNFftk8