Never got the fuss about ‘When Harry Met Sally’

[Monetm]

Just reading a review of Meg Ryan’s new romcom which compares it to When Harry Met Sally as if the latter was some kind of holy grail of filmmaking. AIBU to remember it as a pretty white bread and basic film that has some decent performances and doesn’t actively insult your intelligence, but really isn’t anything special? The speech Billy Crystal gives her at the end about how he loves the little crease in her forehead, or whatever it is, I honestly find really cheesy and cringe. I don’t particularly think they have chemistry. I liked Meg Ryan better in ‘In the Cut’. I would think less of anyone who told me they loved WHMS.

AIBU?

Love it - have watched it many times - would be in my top 5 movie list - DH prefers The Holiday .

YANBU, I love a Meg Ryan romcom but can’t stand WHMS.

I think the issue is romcoms aren’t really being made anymore, studios are in thrall to the superhero franchises.

I have never managed to get through the whole film. It just doesn't hold my interest.

This made me laugh this morning 😂. I loved that line - in fact makes me want to watch WHMS again soon.

Nobody else has mentioned those awesome little interviews with old couples throughout the film.

I love WHMS. As a testament to how great it is we are still discussing it when it's what 40 years old? There's not many films people would still love like that. It's still so watchable and has so much truth in it. Nora ephron pretty much set the template for rom com.

But if you don't like rom com then you won't like WHMS. That doesn't mean your taste is better than mine, just different. I don't just like Rom Coms either.

The reason it is so well regarded is the writing. There’s a reason why so many journalists and authors say that if you want to learn to write well, you need to read Nora Ephron.

I think most romcoms are dull and formulaic with predictable scripts which lack nuance. WHMS is, in my and many others’ views, a paragon of the genre. Not only is WHMS genre defining, you have to consider the time it came out - at that time it was genre defying too.

Saw it a year ago for the first time and thought it was idiotic cringe.

Agree @Monetm I have only watched it once and was bored stiff.

1 hour and 36 minutes of my life I will never get back. Utter drivel. Only famous for 'that' scene! Greatest romcom of all time? LOL don't make me laugh! 😆

For some reason I've never seen WHMS but keep meaning to rectify that. I enjoy that 1980s NYC vibe.

I'm not a massive romcom fan overall but really love While You Were Sleeping because Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman have such great chemistry, and there are lots of great supporting characters.

I really didn't like The Holiday. Felt like a romcom written by a marketing team.

I love it because it’s funny whilst still being touching, appropriate and not full of sexist tropes like many modern romcoms. There were lots of fun bits throughout and very festive.

I loved the clothes in The Holiday

So much smarter and more feminist than love actually despite being made in the 80s!

I thought this was the most common 21st century opinion of "Love Actually".
People queue up now to say how much they've never liked it, even when everyone else did etc

Absolutely. Lol at someone thinking they're going against the grain by disliking Love Actually. Anytime someone on MN says they like it they’re peppered with ‘Well actually’ responses linking them to some article that dissects all the awfulness that apparently lies within that film.

In fairness, that Jezebel article isn’t wrong. The film is a vapid love letter to misogyny wrapped up in Richard Curtis’s trademark cosy schtik.

I have a very clear memory of seeing Love Actually for the first time. It came out on my birthday in my final year of uni and I planned a break from writing my dissertation to take myself to the cinema and see it on my own as a birthday treat. I was really excited about the cast (Alan Rickman! Emma Thompson! Liam Neeson!) and I was so, so disappointed. I couldn’t believe that something could be so much less than the sum of its parts.

I am glad that everyone else has caught up with me twenty years later .

In fairness, that Jezebel article isn’t wrong. The film is a vapid love letter to misogyny wrapped up in Richard Curtis’s trademark cosy schtik.

QED

My only point was that I was surprised that someone had missed all such articles, posts etc about LA and thought people would think their taste weird.

Edit:
I am glad that everyone else has caught up with me twenty years later

Again, you'd be surprised how many people have now said how they spotted all the problems with it when it first came out.

I like Love Actually, but really dislike the scenes where the young couple are making a porn film. It could have done without that and taints the film a bit IMO.

Also, in response to comments from upthread, I have not been 'queuing up' to say I don't like When Harry Met Sally, I literally just came on here just after 9am today and saw this thread. I don't care if anyone thinks I am jumping on some kind of bandwagon, I'm not going to say it's great and I loved it, when I thought it was crap. I love Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, but this was hogwash IMO.

And it's not a case of 'well, everyone else likes it' either. This thread illustrates that many people don't like it,, as many of the comments are from people who dislike it. Also, the poll result (at 9.37am today,) says that 45% of people who have voted don't like it!

No need to be offended and feel slighted, because other people don't like the film you liked. Everyone is entitled to their opinion you know.

Are people not allowed to have different tastes without being accused of feeling superior?

Have different tastes? Absolutely.

Declare that “I would think less of anyone who told me they loved WHMS”?

Not so much. That’s where the superiority comes in.

I don't think it's aged particularly well, but I can't loathe anything with Carrie Fisher in it. I haven't seen Love Actually or Holiday though, so I don't really have a comparison there.

Also, in response to comments from upthread, I have not been 'queuing up' to say I don't like When Harry Met Sally,

I used the phrase "queue up" but about Love Actually.
I've said very little about WHMS (and I should stop posting about LA; I don't want to derail the thread).
Maybe someone else said "people were queueing up" to say they didn't like WHMS?

such a dull film

I love pretty much all rom coms, and WHMS was one of the first and best.
I think it's a mistake to judge films from the viewpoint of where we are now - of course it isn't fresh and new anymore, it's 30+ years old. We are now used to seeing women orgasm on screen but at the time, it was groundbreaking.

I love that the characters aren't perfect people, they are not stunningly beautiful all the time and have personalities that aren't universally appealing. It's very honest and real, while still having the beautiful backdrop. The supporting cast were excellent and interesting in their own right.