January 1, 2010

So, this is to be a blog where I talk about a different movie every day. The point of this blog is twofold: A) I watch a lot of movies; and 2) the movies that I watch tend to shape the way that I look at the world around me. Thankfully, I don't watch horror movies because that would certainly mess things up. Basically, each day, I will talk about a movie that seems appropriate for that particular day and how that movie has affected my life. We will start out with a simple one: When Harry Met Sally

I have no recollection of when I first saw this movie. It seems as though it's been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I know that's not true because it was released in 1989, so it's only been about half of my life. Regardless, it is one of the movies that I quote the most. I think we all know the plot: Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal drive from Chicago to NYC together--the first time they had met--and hate each other. Years later, they meet again and become very good friends. Then they sleep together, freak out and stop being friends for a while. Finally on New Year's Eve, Billy Crystal has the eureka moment that Meg Ryan is the woman that he's meant to be with and runs across town to the party she's at, arriving just in time to kiss her for New Year's. The speech he gives is one of my favorites:

"I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

In reality, the quote I use most often is when Harry and Sally are fighting and Harry calls and leaves a message on Sally's answering machine and says: "The fact that you're not picking up leads me to believe that a) you're not home, b) you're home and don't want to talk to me, or c) you're home, desperately want to talk to me but are trapped by something heavy. If it's a or c, please call me back."

I guess I love this movie because the dialogue is snappy, the characters have conversations that I can relate to and because true love wins in the end. Deep down, I'm a hopeless romantic. I wish it weren't true, but it is. I used to believe the concept that you could fall in love with someone you've been friends with for a long time. I don't anymore. However, I still believe that you should be in a relationship with someone that you can talk to easily, who understands the way you think, who can make you laugh with just an offhand comment. I'm still looking for that person. And until I do, I'll keep watching this movie and hoping that someone will run across the city on New Year's Eve to profess their love for me.