"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." ~Marie, When Harry Met Sally
This Rob Reiner movie is funny, but it also taps into every single person's greatest fear: staying single forever. In fact, this line is coming directly from that place of fear. Isn't that every person's nightmare? Meeting someone, thinking he might be the one, and then having him marry someone else because you didn't act quickly enough? Or be good enough, right enough, or just enough? Whatever that is?
I honestly had a difficult time choosing a Best Line from this movie. The writers Spread the Dialogue Love around. Oftentimes, the writers fall in love with one character and give that character all the Best Lines. Not in this film. Everyone got The Love. Here's another Beauty:
"Right now everything is great, everyone is happy, everyone is in love and that is wonderful. But you gotta know that sooner or later you're gonna be screaming at each other about who's gonna get this dish. This eight dollar dish will cost you a thousand dollars in phone calls to the legal firm of That's Mine, This Is Yours." ~Harry, When Harry Met Sally
Billy Crystal is fabulous in this, if for no other reason than he is an unlikely leading man in a Romantic Comedy. He is not particularly good looking. But, he is funny as all get out. He is horribly un-PC in this movie. And he has just stated out loud THE PROBLEM in most relationships that no one wants to say out loud. People get married because they are hooked on a feeling, and when the feeling goes away, they end up in Divorce Court. So, you better label your stuff and be prepared to spend thousands over an eight dollar dish. Why? Because you RUSHED INTO MARRIAGE YOU IDIOTS. But, you're my friends so I can't call you an idiot, per se, so I am telling you to label your books, so you will know how to divvy them up later...
One of the best things about this movie is that these two characters, Harry and Sally, actually become good friends in this movie. Ironically, they do this in spite of the fact that Harry states at the beginning of the movie that "men and women can't be friends." It turns out that he is wrong about that. They continue to meet up over the years, and after Harry goes through a very painful divorce and Sally is dumped by her long-time boyfriend, they do, in fact, become friends. At that point, they have no interest in a relationship. They just want to put themselves back together, and they discover that they genuinely like one another. Of course, the best "relationships" are grounded in friendship, as they will ultimately discover. But, then anyone who sees the movie knows this... and anyone who hasn't should know it is coming. It is a Romantic Comedy.
I think this is one of the Best Dialogues of the Movie:
Harry Burns: There are two kinds of women: high maintenance and low maintenance.
Sally Albright: Which one am I?
Harry Burns: You're the worst kind; you're high maintenance but you think you're low maintenance.
Sally Albright: I don't see that.
Harry Burns: You don't see that? Waiter, I'll begin with a house salad, but I don't want the regular dressing. I'll have the balsamic vinegar and oil, but on the side. And then the salmon with the mustard sauce, but I want the mustard sauce on the side. "On the side" is a very big thing for you.
Sally Albright: Well, I just want it the way I want it.
Harry Burns: I know; high maintenance.
I think that this conversation might have been the invention of the High Maintenance-Low Maintenance "thing." In fact, it is terminology that I don't hear much anymore. Frankly, I don't think that there is anything wrong with being High Maintenance. Sally is right: she wants it the way she wants it. However, Harry is right, too. She is the worst kind for not recognizing that she is High Maintenance. The great thing is that he feels perfectly free to call her out on it. That is being a good friend.
Another sign that they are moving into the best friend zone, which is the perfect place to launch a relationship from if both people are so inclined... You feel free to show true, genuine emotion in front of that person. In other words, you can "ugly cry" in front of them. Let's take a look:
"Yeah, but he was too old to pick them up." Hahahahaha. This scene reminds me of why I like this movie so much. Loving someone is about more than falling in love with them. It is actually loving them. Those are two very different things. Good to know.
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