Comedy Presentation:

When Harry Met Sally

By: Lillian Blizzard
  Comedy is “a film… intended to arouse laughter and a humorous
Comedy or satirical play in which the characters ultimately triumph over
adversity” (Mortimer 69).
  “A romantic comedy is a film which has its central narrative motor a
quest for love, which portrays this quest in a light-hearted way and
almost always to a successful conclusion (McDonald 9).
 “The romantic comedy is about the celebration of love and
relationships, lifting the central characters out of the tedium and
loneliness of their normality” (Mortimer 70).
 In a romantic comedy, the dominant couple are antagonistic towards
each other, but realize they are compatible because they overcome
difficulties and mutual loathing (Mortimer 4).
 The leading couple may demonstrate conflicting character traits,
Romantic which generates the initial antagonism (Mortimer 6).
 The leading couple remains incomplete until they are together
Comedy (Mortimer 6).
 According to Claire Mortimer, romantic comedies settings may be (9):
 urban
 Attractive apartments, restaurants, and other social spaces
 The couple makes time to be together
 The natural setting has to be one of luxury
 Work can be put off without the fear of losing ones job
 Telephones can also pay a significant role in romantic comedies
(Mortimer 9).
  The story will have a sequence of events such as (Mortimer 5-6):
 Mistaken identity
 Disguise and masquerade
 An intimate conversation (often meals)
 Public humiliation
 Brides running from the alter
 A race against time
 Confiding in friends
 The meet-cute: when the couple first meets each other, usually in a
humorous and predictive situations
Romantic  According to Claire Mortimer, characteristics of a romantic comedy
are(4):
Comedy  Boy meets girl
 Obstacles prevent the boy and girl from being together
 Coincidences and complications ensue
 The couple realizes they were meant to be together
 A happy ending where the couple gets together
 Stock characters are important through out the film (Mortimer 7).
 Other partners who are turned down because the leading characters are
each others true love
 Best friends provide advice and comments on the relationship
  Harry and Sally first meet when they carpool to New York City.
Harry is dating Sally’s friend, Amanda. Sally is going to NY to
attend journalism school to become a reporter. During this drive,
Sally disagrees with Harry, who believes that men and women
cannot be friends, because sex gets in the way of the relationship.
 When Harry and Sally arrive in New York, they go their different
ways.
Summary:  Five years later, Sally and Harry meet again in the airport. Sally is
dating Harry’s neighbor Joe. Sally and Harry are on the same
When Harry flight. Sally learns that Harry is engaged to Helen, which she finds
amusing. Harry still believes that men and women cannot be
Met Sally friends, which Sally disagrees with. They part ways again choosing
not be friends.
 Sally admits to her friends Marie and Alice that she and Joe broke
up.
 Harry admits to his friend, Jess, that he and Helen broke up
because Helen left him for another man.
  Five years after meeting at the airport, Harry and Sally meet in a
bookstore. Harry tells Sally that he is getting a divorce and Sally
tells Harry that she and Joe broke up.
 Sally and Harry sit down and talk about their love life problems.
Harry and Sally admit they did not like each other when they first
met. They agree to be friends.
 Harry and Sally start telephone conversations together discussing
movies and their love life. Harry and Sally also start hanging out in
Summary: person.
When Harry  Harry asks Sally to go to the movies with him but Sally cannot
because she has a date. Harry thinks its great that she has a date.
Met Sally cont. Sally pushes Harry to date too.
 Harry and Sally discuss how their dates went and both revel the
horrific times they had.
 Jess, Harry’s friend, does not believe that Harry actually has a
friendship with Sally that does not involve sex.
Summary: When Harry Met Sally
cont.
 Harry likes having Sally as a friend because he can be honest with her, tell her
things he does not normally tell people, and can obtain a female perspective on
topics.
 Sally believes that it was a good thing she and Harry did not get together because
she would have just been another woman he would leave.
 Harry and Sally dance together at a New Year’s Eve party. They find each other
attractive but still remain friends.
 Harry and Sally set up each other with their best friends on a double date. Marie
and Jess hit it off and become engaged.
 Harry sees his ex-wife, Helen, at a store. Harry and Sally help Jess and Marie move
in together. Harry tells Jess and Marie about his experience of marriage to Helen,
which led to divorce. Sally had to explain to Marie and Jess that Harry had just ran
into Helen at a store.
 Harry yells at Sally because he believes that Sally does not get upset about
anything. Harry does not want to have to explain himself to Sally every time he
experiences feelings. Sally argues back at him. They apologize to each other.
Summary: When Harry Met Sally
cont.
 Marie and Jess have Harry and Sally over with their dates to play Pictionary. Harry and
Sally keep sneaking glances at each other even though they are with other people.

 Sally calls Harry and tells him that Joe, her ex boyfriend, is getting married.

 Harry rushes over to Sally’s place to comfort her because she is a wreck because she
realizes that Joe did not want to marry her. Every time Sally would say something bad
about herself, Harry would comeback with a different way of phrasing it, not making it
sound bad, so she feels good about herself. They have sex.

 When Harry leaves in the morning, their friendship is tense.

 Harry calls Jess and Sally calls Marie. They tell each of their best friends about what
happened. Sally feels embarrassed about what happened. Harry feels bad that he walked
out.

 Harry and Sally go out to dinner and both admit it was a mistake. Harry and Sally avoid
each other until Jess and Marie’s wedding.
Summary: When Harry Met Sally
cont.
 Harry tries to make amends with Sally, but it does not go well. They part ways with Sally
not wanting to be friends with Harry anymore. Harry keeps calling to let her know that he
is always there as a friend.

 Sally feels like she is just a consolation prize to Harry and breaks off their friendship for
good.

 Sally goes to a New Year’s Eve party while Harry walks around town alone. Harry keeps
remembering memories of Sally while walking around.

 Harry rushes over the party where Sally is at. While Sally is leaving she spots Harry
walking over to her. Harry professes his love to Sally. Sally does not know how to respond,
and she says she is leaving because she believes that he is just feeling lonely.

 Harry lists little things about Sally that proves his love to her.

 Harry and Sally end up together and were married three months later.
  When Harry met Sally classifies as a romantic comedy because of:
 Harry and Sally are the main couple the film is centered around.
 Harry and Sally went through the meet-cute stage when they drove to New York
together
 When Harry and Sally first met, they were antagonistic toward each other because
Sally disagreed with Harry that men and women cannot be friends. Sally also did
How does When not like Harry because he hit on her even though he was dating her friend,
Amanda.

Harry Met Sally  Harry and Sally overcome their dislike for each and become friends who confide in
each other.
fit the romantic  The telephone becomes an important way for Harry and Sally to talk to each
other, resulting in feelings brewing inside each of them.
comedy  After Harry and Sally sleep together, which is an obstacle that prevents them from
being with each other, they confide in their best friends about the experience and
characteristics? their feelings.
 Harry and Sally’s dates were stock characters that got in the way of their
relationship but were ultimately rejected by Harry or Sally.
 Harry and Sally finally realized they belonged together resolving the
incompleteness they felt when they were not together.
 Harry and Sally got married three months later, resulting in a happy ending.
How does
When Harry  When Harry met Sally classifies as a romantic comedy because of:
 The setting was urban, New York City
Met Sally fit the  Harry and Sally made time to hang out with each other

romantic 
Their apartments, restaurants, and parties were luxurious
They put their work off without fear of it being lost
comedy
characteristics?
  McDonald, Tamar Jeffers. Romantic Comedy : Boy Meets Girl Meets
Genre. Wallflower Press, 2007. Short Cuts. EBSCOhost,
ccproxy.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.
aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=490816&site=eds-
live&scope=site.
 Mortimer, Claire. Romantic Comedy. Routledge, 2010. Routledge
Works Citied Film Guidebooks. EBSCOhost,
ccproxy.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.
aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=316449&site=eds-
live&scope=site.
 Scheinman, Andrew, and Nora Ephron. When Harry Met Sally.
Performance by Billy Crystal, and Meg Ryan, Castle Rock
Entertainment, 1989.