'I'll have what she's having'

Rating: 8/10 (6 April 2017)

It is a great love story and a great comedy, and the segments with old couples telling the story of how they met (based on the real life stories of the crew's families) are brilliant, and will have you look back on when you met your significant other. The movie world owes Rob Reiner a favour for the fact that his fine film is truly timeless. Part of this is due to the fact that it is set over a fifteen year period. Part of it is due to the fine easy listening score. Most of it is due to a very refined director extracting two brilliant performances from a flawless script and a perfectly cast couple of actors.
Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan are the titular two, and neither have ever been better. The observation of their relationship is utterly convincing and completely engrossing. Beyond this, there are subtleties that neither actor has ever shown before or since. There are moments early in the film where we can see Sally is falling for Harry (for example, her response to Harrty telling her he is pleased she is going on a date with another man) but these moments are never overplayed. The credit for this is due as much to Reiner as it is to Ryan, as it is his pacing of the film that really allows the actors to embrace their characters.
The film is a perfect balance. Its story-line unfolds like real life without seeming thin or dissatisfying, and the viewer never loses interest. Both Billy Crystal as Harry and Meg Ryan as Sally are perfect; in 1989, the former was still funny, the latter was still charming, and both of them were still young. The chemistry between them is flawless. But this would be nothing without the dialogue. The film's razor-sharp, conversational dialogue is the true selling point. Witty, realistic and above all hilarious, it's what makes the film the classic it is. Making legitimate observations about relationships, combined with some laugh-out-loud moments (the white- man overbite, for example), the film draws you in, makes you laugh and then, at the risk of sounding clichÃ©d, makes you think.
Overall rating: 8 out of 10.