“I’ll have what she’s having.” Meg RyanAnd Billy CrystalInstilled romance-comedy perfection When Harry Met Sally — and viewers are still falling in love with their performances today.
The Rob ReinerThis film is directed by Harry Burns (Crystal) & Sally Albright, (Ryan). It follows their friendship through more than a decade and miss connections, starting in Chicago. The movie was written by Nora Ephron. It grossed more that $92.8 million in the U.S. in its first theater release in July 1989. The movie’s box office success came as a surprise to Crystal, who figured summer blockbusters such as Indiana Jones and The Last CrusadeAnd BatmanThey would be hard to beat.
When Harry Met Sally wasn’t just a fan favorite. Critics loved the movie and Ephron was nominated for an Academy Award nomination. Ephron also received a Golden Globe nomination for her outstanding screenplay. Crystal said that the script underwent major changes to reach its iconic final version.
“The script totally changed from what we had agreed to do,” the Emmy winner said at the TCM Classic film festival in April 2019 in honor of the flick’s 30th anniversary. “It kept growing and growing and growing. You had the guy point of view, and then you had Nora and Meg, throwing everything in it together, and that’s why I think it’s such a powerful screenplay.”
Working on the ‘80s comedy was a collaborative process and the finishing touches weren’t put on the production until the very last minute. Crystal recalled that one of the movie’s most memorable scenes — Sally’s fake orgasm at Katz’s Delicatessen — wasn’t written until two weeks before filming began.
“We were in a meeting, and Nora said, ‘I need something. There’s something missing,’” the City SlickersActor told The Hollywood ReporterApril 2019. “There’s the moment where Harry’s now been screwing around. He’s in revenge mode, and he’s this cocky little stud. … Meg said, ‘I should have an orgasm! That would be hilarious.’ And I went, ‘In a public place, like a restaurant.’ Nora goes wild.”
The infamous scene still sends viewers into stitches — but Ryan’s son, Jack QuaidI was hesitant to see what all of the hype was about.
“I saw When Harry Met Sally for the first time recently,” Jack, whose father is Dennis Quaid?, told Entertainment WeeklyOctober 2018. “When your mother has one of the most famous orgasm scenes of all time, you do not jump to the film, OK?”
The movie became a favorite of his once he had finally seen it. “Afterwards I cried for so long because I was so proud of her,” he gushed. “I immediately called her, and I’m like, ‘I’m so sorry I missed this movie.’ She’s like, ‘I’ve seen it like one time.’”
Scroll down to see the cast. When Harry Met SallyDoing now.
