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This movie is good for two main reasons: a superb script, and Meg Ryan.
Billy Crystal is fine in his role as Sally's initial nemesis, eventual friend and ultimate lover. But Ryan, with her cute impish grin, sassy self-confidence and smart good humor, practically forces the viewer to fall in love with her along with Harry. Her accommodation of his decision to adopt a wacky third-world accent for a day ("Waiter, there is too much PEPPER in my PAPUSHKA!") and eager karaoke stylings to "Surrey With the Fringe On Top" make Harry's fate inevitable.
The legendary scene is, of course, Sally's histrionic rendition of a female orgasm in a crowded diner, and the classic film line that follows when another customer calmly points to Sally and says, "I'll have what she's having."
But the movie isn't about sex, it's about relationships, and the frustration involved in finding someone you'd like to see by your side, on the porch in a rocker, at age 70. The inter-cut interviews with elderly couples celebrating golden wedding anniversaries reinforce the concept that real, honest-to-god love isn't about age, or beauty, or sex. It's about someone's personality, their soul, their very identity, and their willingness to open that soul to complete vulnerability and acceptance to a trusted life partner.
Rob Reiner's direction of the Nora Ephron script is perfect. I got chills when Harry and Sally are dancing, strictly as friends, on a mutually-dateless New Year's Eve, and as they slowly twirl on the dance floor we see in their eyes a confused incipient recognition that the person in their arms may be substantially more than a brief celebratory diversion. Without a word, we're informed of their sublimated feelings by the film's spot-on directing and acting.
Most of the movies reviewed here leave a viewer feeling worse after watching them -- somewhere along the line we seem to have confused angst with substance. And okay, so it's a "chick film" � it's still nice to find a literate movie that claims true love is possible, and happy endings really do exist.