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When Harry Met Sally
You realize, of course, that we could never be friends. Why not? What I'm saying - and this is not a come-on in any way, shape, or form - is that men and women can't be friends, because the sex part always gets in the way. That's not true. I have a number of men friends and there's no sex involved. No, you don't. Yes, I do. No, you don't. Yes, I do. You only think you do.
98 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
110 people are currently reading
5881 people want to read
About the author
Nora Ephron
51 books2,865 followersNora Ephron was an American journalist, film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, and blogger.
She was best known for her romantic comedies and is a triple nominee for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay; for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in Seattle. She sometimes wrote with her sister, Delia Ephron.
She was best known for her romantic comedies and is a triple nominee for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay; for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in Seattle. She sometimes wrote with her sister, Delia Ephron.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 196 reviews
January 16, 2016
As much as I enjoyed reading this play, actually watching it come to life on screen was much better, and, as for the sequence about "faking orgasms", well, Meg Ryan's performance will always bring a smile to my face.
The introduction by author, Nora Ephron of how the screenplay came to be is very informative and entertaining as I did not know the character of Harry was in part based on a divorced Rob Reiner and his funny, sarcastic feelings about dating, sex and women in general, much of which went into the script, as well as Nora's chirpy, cheerful optimistic self and her "high maintenance" way of ordering food in a restaurant.
Really enjoyed revisiting this fast-moving and witty super funny story!
September 18, 2016
The book is good, but the movie is better. I'm glad it's a quick and funny read for me because I really enjoy the story. There are tons of hilarious banters between Harry Burns and Sally Albright and I practically can't stop laughing so hard while devouring it. After all, it aims to delight us and at the same time, offering us different perspectives upon various issues. It's definitely a book worth reading and a film worth watching in a lifetime!
January 24, 2022
I could hear the movie playing in my mind as I read this book... which only took about an hour.
July 1, 2018
Đọc xong cuốn này từ hồi tối thứ Tư, cái đêm mà Đức thua Hàn xiểng liểng để rồi bị loại khỏi World Cup á, làm fangirl như mình bần thần luôn. Xong rồi sang hôm sau đi làm thì làm sấp mặt, 2 ngày liền phải ở lại công ty tới gẩn 8h tối mới được về nhà, thành ra tới giờ mình mới có thời gian review cuốn này.
Bộ phim thì quá nổi tiếng trong thể loại rom-com rồi, nhưng mà thú thiệt là mình chưa xem :)) Cuốn sách là dạng kịch bản phim, do chính nhà biên kịch Nora Ephron viết, có kèm thêm những thông tin thú vị trong quá trình lên ý tưởng và làm phim ^^ Mình cực kỳ thích một số câu thoại trong phim, đặc biệt là câu thoại của Harry, cũng như cái cách mà bộ phim mô tả chuyện tình cảm đầy trắc trở của những con người thành thị.
Harry gặp Sally từ khi Sally chỉ mới là sinh viên đại học, đi nhờ xe của Harry - lúc bấy giờ là bạn trai của bạn thân Sally - ra sân bay. Cuộc gặp gỡ giữa một người đàn ông hay bi quan về cuộc sống và một cô gái lạc quan nhưng thơ ngây không để lại ấn tượng gì nhiều. Rồi Harry kết hôn và li hôn, Sally cũng trải qua những mối tình khác nhau và đều kết thúc trong tan vỡ. 10 năm trời họ quen biết nhau, gặp lại nhau, trò chuyện với nhau như hai người bạn, mà không biết rằng người đó chính là nửa kia của mình.
Kịch bản phim thể hiện được rất rõ chuyện tình cảm của những người ở độ tuổi mà xã hội vẫn nhìn nhận họ như là những người đáng lẽ phải lập gia đình rồi, nhưng rốt cuộc vẫn đang cô đơn lẻ bóng, cùng cái cảm giác mệt mỏi của việc hẹn hò rồi chia tay, đặc biệt là với Sally, người ở thời điểm hiện tại đã trên 30 tuổi, và vừa mới chia tay người yêu. Đàn ông thì còn đỡ, chứ phụ nữ thì thời gian đâu chờ đợi được, và Sally cũng đã từng phải thốt lên rằng thời gian đang tích tắc trôi qua từng giây và cô sắp chạm ngưỡng 35 tuổi mà vẫn chưa chồng chưa con. Còn những suy nghĩ của Harry cũng rất thú vị và đặc trưng cho đàn ông khi yêu, những người nghĩ rằng không thể có tình bạn giữa nam và nữ, vì đàn ông thì lúc nào cũng muốn ngủ với người phụ nữ anh ta thấy hấp dẫn (và hầu như người phụ nữ nào anh ta cũng thấy hấp dẫn, theo quan niệm của Harry :D). Và cả cái cảm giác của một người đàn ông, sau khi làm tình với người phụ nữ anh ta cặp kè, thì phải xử lý ra sao để không có cảm giác awkward, khi mà phụ nữ đa phần đòi hỏi nhiều hơn là chỉ một cuộc mây mưa qua đường, còn đàn ông thì lại thích kiểu "ngủ để thăm dò" chứ chưa có gì chắc chắn.
Nói chung là cốt truyện không tô vẽ màu hồng chuyện tình duyên trong thực tế, không phải cứ kiểu hai người gặp nhau lần đầu tiên, insta-love bất thình lình các kiểu là yêu nhau tới đầu bạc răng long. Bởi vậy nó hài hước, nó ý nhị, và nó cũng khá buồn ở nhiều đoạn. Cuối cùng Harry và Sally cũng nhận ra chân ái giữa hai người, một kết thúc có hậu đúng kiểu rom-com, nhưng ngoài đời, mấy ai được như thế chứ?... Mấy ai biết dừng lại để cảm nhận đối phương và nhận ra chân tình của mình chính là người ấy, hay họ sẽ cứ đi lướt qua nhau như hai người xa lạ, và để vuột mất hạnh phúc của mình?...
Bộ phim thì quá nổi tiếng trong thể loại rom-com rồi, nhưng mà thú thiệt là mình chưa xem :)) Cuốn sách là dạng kịch bản phim, do chính nhà biên kịch Nora Ephron viết, có kèm thêm những thông tin thú vị trong quá trình lên ý tưởng và làm phim ^^ Mình cực kỳ thích một số câu thoại trong phim, đặc biệt là câu thoại của Harry, cũng như cái cách mà bộ phim mô tả chuyện tình cảm đầy trắc trở của những con người thành thị.
Harry gặp Sally từ khi Sally chỉ mới là sinh viên đại học, đi nhờ xe của Harry - lúc bấy giờ là bạn trai của bạn thân Sally - ra sân bay. Cuộc gặp gỡ giữa một người đàn ông hay bi quan về cuộc sống và một cô gái lạc quan nhưng thơ ngây không để lại ấn tượng gì nhiều. Rồi Harry kết hôn và li hôn, Sally cũng trải qua những mối tình khác nhau và đều kết thúc trong tan vỡ. 10 năm trời họ quen biết nhau, gặp lại nhau, trò chuyện với nhau như hai người bạn, mà không biết rằng người đó chính là nửa kia của mình.
Kịch bản phim thể hiện được rất rõ chuyện tình cảm của những người ở độ tuổi mà xã hội vẫn nhìn nhận họ như là những người đáng lẽ phải lập gia đình rồi, nhưng rốt cuộc vẫn đang cô đơn lẻ bóng, cùng cái cảm giác mệt mỏi của việc hẹn hò rồi chia tay, đặc biệt là với Sally, người ở thời điểm hiện tại đã trên 30 tuổi, và vừa mới chia tay người yêu. Đàn ông thì còn đỡ, chứ phụ nữ thì thời gian đâu chờ đợi được, và Sally cũng đã từng phải thốt lên rằng thời gian đang tích tắc trôi qua từng giây và cô sắp chạm ngưỡng 35 tuổi mà vẫn chưa chồng chưa con. Còn những suy nghĩ của Harry cũng rất thú vị và đặc trưng cho đàn ông khi yêu, những người nghĩ rằng không thể có tình bạn giữa nam và nữ, vì đàn ông thì lúc nào cũng muốn ngủ với người phụ nữ anh ta thấy hấp dẫn (và hầu như người phụ nữ nào anh ta cũng thấy hấp dẫn, theo quan niệm của Harry :D). Và cả cái cảm giác của một người đàn ông, sau khi làm tình với người phụ nữ anh ta cặp kè, thì phải xử lý ra sao để không có cảm giác awkward, khi mà phụ nữ đa phần đòi hỏi nhiều hơn là chỉ một cuộc mây mưa qua đường, còn đàn ông thì lại thích kiểu "ngủ để thăm dò" chứ chưa có gì chắc chắn.
Nói chung là cốt truyện không tô vẽ màu hồng chuyện tình duyên trong thực tế, không phải cứ kiểu hai người gặp nhau lần đầu tiên, insta-love bất thình lình các kiểu là yêu nhau tới đầu bạc răng long. Bởi vậy nó hài hước, nó ý nhị, và nó cũng khá buồn ở nhiều đoạn. Cuối cùng Harry và Sally cũng nhận ra chân ái giữa hai người, một kết thúc có hậu đúng kiểu rom-com, nhưng ngoài đời, mấy ai được như thế chứ?... Mấy ai biết dừng lại để cảm nhận đối phương và nhận ra chân tình của mình chính là người ấy, hay họ sẽ cứ đi lướt qua nhau như hai người xa lạ, và để vuột mất hạnh phúc của mình?...
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October 29, 2012Obligatory GoodReads review musical accompaniment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NboaT3...#
I have mixed feelings about this movie now, even tho I loved it for years and years after it came out. (It's one of the few films I loved as a teenager but do not now own on DVD.) It's sort of like Pretty Woman, in a way -- full of nasty cliches masquerading as "realism" ("No, you pretty much want to nail them too"/"I don't kiss on the mouth either") which then are suddenly transformed into Hollywood cliches masquerading as "romance" (the stretch limo with opera blaring, the run through New York against time to the New Year's Eve party). And I watch entranced every time, hating myself half-an-hour afterwards. (This is also why I do not have a DVD of Pretty Woman and why, when I had a TV, I left not just the room but the house whenever cable or network stations reran it, which was often.) Without the touchingly stiff dignity of Meg Ryan (what happened to her, anyway? To Melanie Griffith? Julia Roberts even? All these sharp pretty young women with intriguing spiky edges who turned into weird soft-focus second-generation Xeroxes of, say, Gwyneth Paltrow....) -- without her, and without the endearing nebbishy charm of Billy Crystal, and the Autumn In New York cinematography, I'm struck by how particular the script is: how Rob-and-Nora it is (which she admits in the introduction -- Sally spoke for her, Harry for him), and how universally it was taken at the time, just as people in the sixties read D.H. Lawrence novels as marriage manuals -- or took Woody Allen films as being about anything other than Woody Allen. The insights which seemed daring and hilarious then -- men think about fucking a lot! women can fake it really well! -- now seem about as dated as that, well, canned perky "You've got mail!" greeting.
My favourite parts were always the interviews in between the romantic comedy bits, altho apparently those were a lot less off-the-cuff (and used actual actors) than I always imagined. Blending Harry and Sally into them at the end makes good dramatic sense, but not emotionally -- their story of meeting up bears so little resemblance to what we've been watching it accidentally casts a pall back over all those other cute little soundbites. The script originally ended with Harry and Sally remaining "just friends," just like the original ending of Pretty Woman was two hookers going off on the bus to Disneyland, another factory of fantasies.
(I have to say I have known personally at least three couples who thought they were "Harry and Sally" -- or at least where the female half declared to me, "We are Harry and Sally." Those relationships went about as disastrously wrong as you can imagine, and nobody wound up getting married, with sauce on the side.)
(And don't even talk to me about that horrible horrible Sleepless in Seattle movie. People from Seattle hate it the way Iowans hate Field of Dreams. Gahhh.)
I have mixed feelings about this movie now, even tho I loved it for years and years after it came out. (It's one of the few films I loved as a teenager but do not now own on DVD.) It's sort of like Pretty Woman, in a way -- full of nasty cliches masquerading as "realism" ("No, you pretty much want to nail them too"/"I don't kiss on the mouth either") which then are suddenly transformed into Hollywood cliches masquerading as "romance" (the stretch limo with opera blaring, the run through New York against time to the New Year's Eve party). And I watch entranced every time, hating myself half-an-hour afterwards. (This is also why I do not have a DVD of Pretty Woman and why, when I had a TV, I left not just the room but the house whenever cable or network stations reran it, which was often.) Without the touchingly stiff dignity of Meg Ryan (what happened to her, anyway? To Melanie Griffith? Julia Roberts even? All these sharp pretty young women with intriguing spiky edges who turned into weird soft-focus second-generation Xeroxes of, say, Gwyneth Paltrow....) -- without her, and without the endearing nebbishy charm of Billy Crystal, and the Autumn In New York cinematography, I'm struck by how particular the script is: how Rob-and-Nora it is (which she admits in the introduction -- Sally spoke for her, Harry for him), and how universally it was taken at the time, just as people in the sixties read D.H. Lawrence novels as marriage manuals -- or took Woody Allen films as being about anything other than Woody Allen. The insights which seemed daring and hilarious then -- men think about fucking a lot! women can fake it really well! -- now seem about as dated as that, well, canned perky "You've got mail!" greeting.
My favourite parts were always the interviews in between the romantic comedy bits, altho apparently those were a lot less off-the-cuff (and used actual actors) than I always imagined. Blending Harry and Sally into them at the end makes good dramatic sense, but not emotionally -- their story of meeting up bears so little resemblance to what we've been watching it accidentally casts a pall back over all those other cute little soundbites. The script originally ended with Harry and Sally remaining "just friends," just like the original ending of Pretty Woman was two hookers going off on the bus to Disneyland, another factory of fantasies.
(I have to say I have known personally at least three couples who thought they were "Harry and Sally" -- or at least where the female half declared to me, "We are Harry and Sally." Those relationships went about as disastrously wrong as you can imagine, and nobody wound up getting married, with sauce on the side.)
(And don't even talk to me about that horrible horrible Sleepless in Seattle movie. People from Seattle hate it the way Iowans hate Field of Dreams. Gahhh.)
November 13, 2016
Nora Ephron is the screenwriter I want to be when I grow up. Of all her attributes, I most envy her eye for the awkward situation and her ear for snappy dialogue, all of which, ALL of which, always reveals character. There are no freebies in this screenplay; this is a mathematical equation.
I still remember when I heard she died. I was shocked. Somehow, in my mind wonderful writers like her are impervious to such banalities as disease and death.
I still remember when I heard she died. I was shocked. Somehow, in my mind wonderful writers like her are impervious to such banalities as disease and death.
July 3, 2020
Took me 3 hours to first read this screenplay and then watch the movie and I really enjoyed both of them..
I liked how Harry and Sally wouldn’t enter the relationship, altough it took them years, unless they’re sure about their feelings so that this relationship won’t be temporary.
Fascinating story plus romantic and funny dialogue, directed this wonderful work.
I liked how Harry and Sally wouldn’t enter the relationship, altough it took them years, unless they’re sure about their feelings so that this relationship won’t be temporary.
Fascinating story plus romantic and funny dialogue, directed this wonderful work.
December 26, 2025
Review soon!
August 30, 2025
I’ve never read a screenplay before. It was fun. But of course the movie is the point.
December 15, 2025
revisiting this iconic screenplay in the wake of the tragic loss of rob reiner and his wife michele. nora writes in the introduction about how sally was her character, while harry was rob’s. harry borrowed rob’s neuroses, sarcasm, depressive outlook, and his defiance to surrender to love. what ultimately reshaped his cynicism and inspired the ending of the film was rob’s own love story with his wife. the kind of love story that makes you believe in true, hard-earned intimacy which is messy and honest, yet ultimately resilient. eternally grateful for this timeless classic made possible by the brilliant minds of nora ephron, rob reiner, andy scheinman, and the authentic conversations between friends that inspired it
June 20, 2020
When I buy a new book, I read the last page first. That way, in case I die before I finish, I know how it ends. That, my friend, is a dark side.
This is so funny read 😂😍, I enjoy it and love it.
This is so funny read 😂😍, I enjoy it and love it.
July 4, 2024
It’s fun reading the screenplays of my favorite movies of all time because then the movie plays inside my head exactly like it’s written on the page and I don’t even have to get the blu-ray out or turn my TV on or any of that hassle!
October 19, 2014
God i love this movie to pieces and i'm THAT obsessed about it that i know the screeplay inside out xD You can ask my any line,any punch line, any-thing. So yeah,i just read the screenplay too,because WHY NOT? I already know it by heart. ♥
September 1, 2007
The movie is like Mary Poppins (the nanny) - "practically perfect in every way."
Read
January 6, 2025When Harry Met Sally is one of my absolute favorite movies, so I wanted to finally read it. Despite seeing the film numerous times, reading it still managed to make me cry! While I prefer the film, it was interesting getting more insight into what goes on in the characters’ heads and reading how they feel and react to one another described in text. Perfect companion read to my annual holiday rewatch.
December 19, 2022
i would read nora ephron's grocery list and still give it five stars.
April 29, 2015
This was a light-hearted comedy based on the well known movie. It's basically standard chick-lit -- It's all about getting together and breaking up and misunderstandings and getting upset over your previous relationship and having sex and then regretting it and finding your true love at long last. It would have been nice of the author had expanded on some of the scenes in this book. It's very short, the introduction took up about 40% of the book so the actual story was only around 50 pages long. It only took half an hour to read this book.
November 11, 2019
*4.5 stars
I didn't realize when I bought this that it was the screenplay for the movie, I thought it was a novelization of the movie. That doesn't mean I don't love this, I do. I was just expecting it to be a novel, lol. I love the movie as well so it was nice to read the screenplay. I wear hearing aids and sometimes it's nice to see what they're saying in a movie or play.
I didn't realize when I bought this that it was the screenplay for the movie, I thought it was a novelization of the movie. That doesn't mean I don't love this, I do. I was just expecting it to be a novel, lol. I love the movie as well so it was nice to read the screenplay. I wear hearing aids and sometimes it's nice to see what they're saying in a movie or play.
April 20, 2024
It was so fun to read the script of one of my all-time favorite movies! Included is an introduction with some fun tidbits… Harry and Sally are based on the personalities and experiences of the screenwriter (Nora Ephron) and director (Rob Reiner), although the specific Harry/Sally romance is fictitious. I highly recommend this to fans of the movie!
November 20, 2025
“Sally loved control — and i’m sorry to say that i do too.” obviously this is a beyond perfect screenplay but reading Nora’s notes on the process in the foreword was so bittersweet. once in a lifetime talent!
June 15, 2025
Oh this one was so good. Beautiful sweet story, awesome dialogue, scene directions to die for. Made me feel like I understood screenwriting more and loved the introduction by the author. I haven’t actually seen the movie yet but now I’m so excited.
(R rating)
(R rating)
July 25, 2025
Positively BITCHING
October 2, 2023
3.5 rounding up
August 26, 2015
Facts
-La autora decidió publicar el script después del éxito de la película.
-No he visto la película.
La historia de dos personas con opiniones opuestas que pese a todo, logran entenderse como amigos a través de los años. Pero que, consientes de sus diferencias, coinciden en rechazarse sentimentalmente para no dañar su atesorada amistad.
Lo de pinches siempre, pero más épico.
Me encontré con esto que no es la prosa novelística que suelo frecuentar, pero cuya historia me es tan conocida, que realmente me ha sorprendido lo mucho que me gustó y lo poco predecible que me pareció.
Vamos, que yo nunca me he llevado bien con las obras de teatro, pero leer esto que a fin de cuentas es un guión, me ha dejado viendo estrellitas de satisfacción. Seguro le sigo la pista a la autora.
La cosa es que tenemos por acá meros diálogos y no necesitamos más. REALMENTE NO HACE FALTA NADA MÁS. Por eso las 5 estrellas. El libro cumplió.
Ya sabemos que el ser una persona de “alto mantenimiento” también tuvo que ver en la puntuación, pero me voy a hacer la loca y voy a ignorar ese punto.
Hablemos de
Bitácora Fangirl: Harry
Supongo que ya es un patrón mío quedar prendada con ese personaje masculino que nos hace la vida de cuadritos por idiota, rogón, arrogante, llorón y sí, que a la hora de mandarlo a la chingada resulta imposible porque va sacar su repertorio masculino que incluye una variedad de frases, acciones y asdfñlfdkksjlasf. Pues eso.
El resto
Es un librito muy corto, fácil, sin pretensiones… y sin embargo, deja mucho. La autora tiene un conflicto de opiniones y dejó ambas no solo muy bien desarrolladas, SINO QUE ENCONTRÓ LA MANERA DE ENLAZARLAS Y GANAR A FAVOR DE AMBAS EN UNA SÓLA LINEA DE HISTORIA.
MAGIA.
To Be Read?
Porque es corto, porque critica, opina y propone.
Porque es atemporal, siempre tenemos esas dudas, esas opiniones, los mismos errores. Necesitamos exposiciones como estas.
Porque tal vez, las ideas se quedan más asentadas si están escritas.
-La autora decidió publicar el script después del éxito de la película.
-No he visto la película.
La historia de dos personas con opiniones opuestas que pese a todo, logran entenderse como amigos a través de los años. Pero que, consientes de sus diferencias, coinciden en rechazarse sentimentalmente para no dañar su atesorada amistad.
Me encontré con esto que no es la prosa novelística que suelo frecuentar, pero cuya historia me es tan conocida, que realmente me ha sorprendido lo mucho que me gustó y lo poco predecible que me pareció.
Vamos, que yo nunca me he llevado bien con las obras de teatro, pero leer esto que a fin de cuentas es un guión, me ha dejado viendo estrellitas de satisfacción. Seguro le sigo la pista a la autora.
La cosa es que tenemos por acá meros diálogos y no necesitamos más. REALMENTE NO HACE FALTA NADA MÁS. Por eso las 5 estrellas. El libro cumplió.
Ya sabemos que el ser una persona de “alto mantenimiento” también tuvo que ver en la puntuación, pero me voy a hacer la loca y voy a ignorar ese punto.
You’re the worst kind. You’re high maintenance, but you think you’re low maintenance.
Hablemos de
Bitácora Fangirl: Harry
Supongo que ya es un patrón mío quedar prendada con ese personaje masculino que nos hace la vida de cuadritos por idiota, rogón, arrogante, llorón y sí, que a la hora de mandarlo a la chingada resulta imposible porque va sacar su repertorio masculino que incluye una variedad de frases, acciones y asdfñlfdkksjlasf. Pues eso.
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.
El resto
Es un librito muy corto, fácil, sin pretensiones… y sin embargo, deja mucho. La autora tiene un conflicto de opiniones y dejó ambas no solo muy bien desarrolladas, SINO QUE ENCONTRÓ LA MANERA DE ENLAZARLAS Y GANAR A FAVOR DE AMBAS EN UNA SÓLA LINEA DE HISTORIA.
MAGIA.
To Be Read?
Porque es corto, porque critica, opina y propone.
Porque es atemporal, siempre tenemos esas dudas, esas opiniones, los mismos errores. Necesitamos exposiciones como estas.
Porque tal vez, las ideas se quedan más asentadas si están escritas.
HARRY Are you finished now?
SALLY Yes.
HARRY Can I say something?
SALLY Yes.
HARRY I’m sorry.
December 21, 2024
Okay, so When Harry Met Sally by Nora Ephron is one of those books that’s kind of hard not to enjoy.
It's a sweet, funny exploration of love, friendship, and everything in between. The story follows Harry and Sally over years of running into each other and becoming unlikely friends, with the big question hanging over them: can men and women really just be friends? The back-and-forth between them is sharp, witty, and just real enough to make you nod your head like, “Yep, that’s how life goes.”
What I loved: The chemistry between the two leads is spot on. You feel every awkward moment and sweet realization. The dialogue is sharp and full of humor that doesn’t feel forced. The themes are universal—friendship, love, timing—and it’s relatable no matter who you are.
Plus, the story’s perfect for when you’re in the mood for something light but meaningful.
The book makes you believe in love, but the kind of love that feels like it sneaks up on you.
It's a sweet, funny exploration of love, friendship, and everything in between. The story follows Harry and Sally over years of running into each other and becoming unlikely friends, with the big question hanging over them: can men and women really just be friends? The back-and-forth between them is sharp, witty, and just real enough to make you nod your head like, “Yep, that’s how life goes.”
What I loved: The chemistry between the two leads is spot on. You feel every awkward moment and sweet realization. The dialogue is sharp and full of humor that doesn’t feel forced. The themes are universal—friendship, love, timing—and it’s relatable no matter who you are.
Plus, the story’s perfect for when you’re in the mood for something light but meaningful.
The book makes you believe in love, but the kind of love that feels like it sneaks up on you.
March 20, 2024
The greatest screenplay ever written. Really glad I finally found a physical copy; Nora’s introduction before the script is one of the funniest things I’ve read in a while.
January 24, 2020
I watched When Harry Met Sally for the first time very recently and was surprised by how good it was. I had trouble seeing Billy Crystal as a romantic lead, trouble believing a romance between him and the likes of Meg Ryan, and don't exactly value romantic comedies where 'she was right in front of your face this entire time' (I often put such an ending down to lazy writing).
I've read plenty of plays, but never a straight script before, and I found the differences in style really interesting. You get a clearer sense from reading the script of the character's motivations; it gives certain scenes more depth, and other scenes a totally different meaning. For instance, I did not realise that Sally was trying to ask out Harry when first she asked him to dinner, due to my own interpretation that Harry was still fairly repugnant until about a year into their friendship, wherein he finally started to grow and be less hard in his opinions.
A lot of juicy titbits can be found in Nora's foreword about the inception of this classic.
In Nora's retelling of Rob Reiner's conversations with her, which laid the groundwork for Harry's dialogue, I find myself a little, er, appalled (?) I guess by the fact that he comes across as an adolescent at times trying to shock you with his depressive take on the world, which he puts down to realism.
In the first draft, I was shocked to find out, Harry and Sally weren't meant to be together. They were supposed to be each other's transitional people, from the end of one major relationship to the beginning of the other. I know about this concept, first and foremost, from the movie Elizabethtown, where absurdly trite Manic Pixie Dream Girl Kirsten Dunst tells vaguely suicidal Orlando Bloom that they are each other's 'in between people.' I've always hated this concept - to get dark about it, just call them your comfort wife or your stop gap then, it's so transactional, purgatorial - and I'm betting I would've hated this movie if that had been the end.
But in between Stand By Me and The Princess Bride, it seems Reiner and Ephron came to their senses and realised the movie should end with Harry and Sally realising they should be together.
Another thing I didn't realise: Harry is supposed to begin the movie as a 26 year old, placing him at roughly 38 when he finally gets it all together. May I just say: Yikes at the latent adolescence. It also makes his skirmish with a 9 year old at the batting cages a lot less endearing, but also hey, 9 year olds are annoying, so who am I to hate?
It was fascinating reading the proxy war that occurs between a writer and a director, and how difficult it is as a screenwriter to preserve your original script generally when the director gets their hands on it. Because Rob Reiner was Harry, and Nora was Sally, the integrity of the character couldn't be completely bulldozed over by a director's 'pet' character. How many romantic comedies have we watched now where the character with the most plot armour is either 1 - a sensitive director-hopeful (cough Dawson's Creek) or 2 - a pontificating culture (either movie/music) nerd (coughHigh Fidelity)?
After reading Nora Ephron's work, I still feel a lot of the full-bodied personality that comes with her somehow still got lost in the wash, but I am unsure this is Rob Reiner's fault, as the same happened in movies she directed, such as Sleepless In Seattle and You've Got Mail (Meg Ryan trilogy!).
Ephron's Heartburn (which I have just read) has little references peppered throughout the script, similarities that feel like a nod to her own character. "Amanda Reece/Rice", "pesto is the quiche of the 80s", Joe marries a Kimberly ("The first Jewish Kimberly" - she has it out for that name!), "Thin. Pretty. Big tits. Your basic nightmare."
I do love that practical considerations in matters of the heart is a large part of Sally's character, and I'm glad that was able to be crystallised against the impulsive, abrasive Harry. There own neuroses get in the way of their courtship: why should Sally get with someone like Harry, who is depressive and rude and dismissive, when she is so cheerful? Why should Harry have to be with someone so rigid and practically minded when he lives life in manic bursts?
Their practical negotiation of a relationship through the compromises and respect a bedrock of friendship gives them is very sweet. It makes their squabbles and differences of opinion seem like one big courtship, and the interspersion of other (older) couples' winding and realistic narratives reminds the reader (/viewer) constantly that life isn't like a romantic comedy - which is quite meta, ey?
Speaking of meta, there's even a scene (that was, in Nora Ephron's judgement, too self conscious and broke the fourth wall) where Harry and Sally talk about making a movie about their relationship. I like that they found a way to make the friendship visually stunning through the use of often autumnal colours, to suggest that these two, in their 30s, may be heading into their autumnal years. A transitional season, too, between two extremes. I wonder if cuffing season existed in the 80s?
I also enjoyed the flourish of the two characters often being at big events but somehow not enjoying their participation or missing their timing. Harry is in a crowd doing the Mexican wave as he tells Jess that Helen is leaving him, and he participates glumly, offbeat. Harry and Sally finally get together as the music has already swelled, Auld Lang Syne has already begun playing, the confetti is raining down as they continue negotiating their ending. There's a sense that, in real life, as is bracketed by the older couples, the timing will never be quite right, and nothing will ever be quite perfect. Again, life is not a movie, and specifically, life is not a romantic comedy.
I've read plenty of plays, but never a straight script before, and I found the differences in style really interesting. You get a clearer sense from reading the script of the character's motivations; it gives certain scenes more depth, and other scenes a totally different meaning. For instance, I did not realise that Sally was trying to ask out Harry when first she asked him to dinner, due to my own interpretation that Harry was still fairly repugnant until about a year into their friendship, wherein he finally started to grow and be less hard in his opinions.
A lot of juicy titbits can be found in Nora's foreword about the inception of this classic.
I think I’m not ready for a relationship. When you’re as depressed as I am … If the
depression was lifted, I would be able to be with someone on my level. But it’s like playing tennis on a windy day with someone who’s worse than you are. They can do all right against you, they can win a couple of games, but there’s too much wind. You know what I mean? - Rob Reiner
In Nora's retelling of Rob Reiner's conversations with her, which laid the groundwork for Harry's dialogue, I find myself a little, er, appalled (?) I guess by the fact that he comes across as an adolescent at times trying to shock you with his depressive take on the world, which he puts down to realism.
He is thrilled to be the prince of darkness, the master of the worst-case scenario, the man who is happy to tell you, as you find yourself in the beginning of a love affair, that what follows lust, inevitably, is post-lust.
In the first draft, I was shocked to find out, Harry and Sally weren't meant to be together. They were supposed to be each other's transitional people, from the end of one major relationship to the beginning of the other. I know about this concept, first and foremost, from the movie Elizabethtown, where absurdly trite Manic Pixie Dream Girl Kirsten Dunst tells vaguely suicidal Orlando Bloom that they are each other's 'in between people.' I've always hated this concept - to get dark about it, just call them your comfort wife or your stop gap then, it's so transactional, purgatorial - and I'm betting I would've hated this movie if that had been the end.
But in between Stand By Me and The Princess Bride, it seems Reiner and Ephron came to their senses and realised the movie should end with Harry and Sally realising they should be together.
Another thing I didn't realise: Harry is supposed to begin the movie as a 26 year old, placing him at roughly 38 when he finally gets it all together. May I just say: Yikes at the latent adolescence. It also makes his skirmish with a 9 year old at the batting cages a lot less endearing, but also hey, 9 year olds are annoying, so who am I to hate?
It was fascinating reading the proxy war that occurs between a writer and a director, and how difficult it is as a screenwriter to preserve your original script generally when the director gets their hands on it. Because Rob Reiner was Harry, and Nora was Sally, the integrity of the character couldn't be completely bulldozed over by a director's 'pet' character. How many romantic comedies have we watched now where the character with the most plot armour is either 1 - a sensitive director-hopeful (cough Dawson's Creek) or 2 - a pontificating culture (either movie/music) nerd (coughHigh Fidelity)?
After reading Nora Ephron's work, I still feel a lot of the full-bodied personality that comes with her somehow still got lost in the wash, but I am unsure this is Rob Reiner's fault, as the same happened in movies she directed, such as Sleepless In Seattle and You've Got Mail (Meg Ryan trilogy!).
Ephron's Heartburn (which I have just read) has little references peppered throughout the script, similarities that feel like a nod to her own character. "Amanda Reece/Rice", "pesto is the quiche of the 80s", Joe marries a Kimberly ("The first Jewish Kimberly" - she has it out for that name!), "Thin. Pretty. Big tits. Your basic nightmare."
The movie instead was a way for me to write about being single—about the difficult, frustrating, awful, funny search for happiness in an American city where the primary emotion is unrequited love.
I do love that practical considerations in matters of the heart is a large part of Sally's character, and I'm glad that was able to be crystallised against the impulsive, abrasive Harry. There own neuroses get in the way of their courtship: why should Sally get with someone like Harry, who is depressive and rude and dismissive, when she is so cheerful? Why should Harry have to be with someone so rigid and practically minded when he lives life in manic bursts?
Their practical negotiation of a relationship through the compromises and respect a bedrock of friendship gives them is very sweet. It makes their squabbles and differences of opinion seem like one big courtship, and the interspersion of other (older) couples' winding and realistic narratives reminds the reader (/viewer) constantly that life isn't like a romantic comedy - which is quite meta, ey?
HARRY —but it seems to me that movies are supposed to be visual.
We don’t do anything visual. We just sit in restaurants and talk, or
we sit on the phone and talk, or we sit in your apartment or my
apartment and talk.
- from a cut scene
Speaking of meta, there's even a scene (that was, in Nora Ephron's judgement, too self conscious and broke the fourth wall) where Harry and Sally talk about making a movie about their relationship. I like that they found a way to make the friendship visually stunning through the use of often autumnal colours, to suggest that these two, in their 30s, may be heading into their autumnal years. A transitional season, too, between two extremes. I wonder if cuffing season existed in the 80s?
I also enjoyed the flourish of the two characters often being at big events but somehow not enjoying their participation or missing their timing. Harry is in a crowd doing the Mexican wave as he tells Jess that Helen is leaving him, and he participates glumly, offbeat. Harry and Sally finally get together as the music has already swelled, Auld Lang Syne has already begun playing, the confetti is raining down as they continue negotiating their ending. There's a sense that, in real life, as is bracketed by the older couples, the timing will never be quite right, and nothing will ever be quite perfect. Again, life is not a movie, and specifically, life is not a romantic comedy.
November 10, 2020
When Harry Met Sally - Nora Ephron - 4/5!
Enormously funny and charming, When Harry Met Sally is one of the few rom-coms that clicked for me without being characterised as cliched! A romantic comedy about the difficult, frustrating and funny search for happiness in an American city where the primary emotion is unrequited love.
The Screenplay is a little short of magic on paper. Although romantic comedies are not my genre, I gotta admit, I couldn’t help resist this endearing and deliciously funny tale about a man and a woman who become friends - as against lovers. They make a deliberate decision to not have sex as it ruins everything, then they do end up having sex and ruining it all. Duh!
Filled with witty and intelligent lines, this screenplay is a runner hit! The lines are very real, don’t feel placed for effect and are brimming with all kinds of emotions. The scene building up to the line - I’ll have what she’s having, is equally funny on paper and the story behind it is quite amusing too!
The movie (released in 1989) is considered a classic, for the right reasons. With Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan bringing alive the characters so aptly written by Nora, I would highly recommend the movie too!
Enormously funny and charming, When Harry Met Sally is one of the few rom-coms that clicked for me without being characterised as cliched! A romantic comedy about the difficult, frustrating and funny search for happiness in an American city where the primary emotion is unrequited love.
The Screenplay is a little short of magic on paper. Although romantic comedies are not my genre, I gotta admit, I couldn’t help resist this endearing and deliciously funny tale about a man and a woman who become friends - as against lovers. They make a deliberate decision to not have sex as it ruins everything, then they do end up having sex and ruining it all. Duh!
Filled with witty and intelligent lines, this screenplay is a runner hit! The lines are very real, don’t feel placed for effect and are brimming with all kinds of emotions. The scene building up to the line - I’ll have what she’s having, is equally funny on paper and the story behind it is quite amusing too!
The movie (released in 1989) is considered a classic, for the right reasons. With Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan bringing alive the characters so aptly written by Nora, I would highly recommend the movie too!
April 30, 2019
I mean, I really enjoy this film every time I watch. It's a classic men and women can't be friends story in which they end up together. And it's realistic for its time; I think they would be texting each other instead of talking on the phone! What makes the dialogue of this published screenplay, for me, is imagining the actors reciting the lines - Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, and the late Carrie Fisher. "You're right, you're right. I know you're right." It was as entertaining reading the dialogue as it is watching this little rom-com that still beats most of the romantic comedies trying to make a comeback in 2019. After reading this, I'm going to re-watch this because it's absolutely delightful.
September 9, 2017
Of course I can give this nothing but 5 stars. This is my second favorite movie of all time, and this short little book is the full film screenplay, plus a charming introduction by Nora Ephron herself. I stand by the fact that this is the most quotable, best written movie of all time, and flying through the screenplay of it, laughing along all the way, was continued proof. I loved that in addition to the script, which I can almost quote entirely by myself at this point, it also includes all the settings, intended emotions and body language subtext. Some of the comments about non verbal cues that Ephron included in the screenplay were actually wholly enlightening. I love Harry and Sally and I always will
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