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edies in general , starting with 1989 ’ s “ When Harry Met Sally ” ( one of the best of its kind in the modern era ). Why are these movies consistently juggling the same old routines with consistently fewer and fewer variations ? “ When Harry Met Sally ” was an adult romantic comedy with more than a few whiffs of inspiration , including the terrific chemistry between Billy Crystal ’ s loquacious man who has precious luck with women and Meg Ryan ’ s OCD twitches such as making sure that the mail is in the mailbox ! What makes that film thrive above the usual is that it is about two people communicating to each other about sex and love and getting to know each other while accidentally running into each other every five years , until they make the commitment to become friends . Meg Ryan in particular shows just enough shades through each encounter with Billy Crystal to give the film the dimension it needs – we notice that they are both falling in love with each other long before either one really knows it . More importantly , we want them to be together . That is when you know these films are working . And , yes , Virginia , this all takes place in New York City .
Ever since “ When Harry Met Sally ,” romantic comedies lost their way . Many of them , including the extremely slight young adult version titled “ Boys and Girls ” ( 2001 ), paid homage to the Nora Ephron / Rob Reiner classic without a hint of a personality of their own . At least three rom coms stood out in the 1990 ’ s somewhat , “ Pretty Woman ,” “ Sleepless in Seattle ” and “ You Got Mail .” Incidentally , the last two starred Meg Ryan . 1990 ’ s “ Pretty Woman ” had the star wattage of Julia Roberts , the hooker with a heart of gold ( how often have we seen that type of character ), and Richard Gere as a Wall Street corporate raider ( not unlike Gordon Gekko ) who hires her to be his escort . Again , what makes “ Pretty Woman ” stand out is the relationship that develops between the two – they are not just interested in sex and they both carry more than two dimensions to their characters which gives them depth of character and personality . Nora Ephron ’ s “ Sleepless in Seattle ” ( 1993 ) was essentially a modern take on “ An Affair to Remember ” and it had Tom Hanks as a Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in 1998 ’ s “ You Got Mail ” single dad living with his young son who has just lost his wife to cancer . After Hanks reluctantly tells his story on a radio call-in show , many women are touched by his story including , you got it , Meg Ryan as a lovestruck reporter who agrees to meet him at the top of the Empire State Building . Just as perceptive and just as sharply funny is Nora Ephron , once again , as writer and director of “ You Got Mail ” ( 1998 ) also starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and also a rekindling of a past Hollywood romance , 1940 ’ s “ The Shop Around the Corner .” In “ You Got Mail ,” Hanks and Ryan already know each other ( one owns a corporate bookstore not unlike Barnes and Noble , the other owns a small little bookshop ) and dislike each other yet they do not realize they are emailing each other anonymously . The ending truly works because once they meet up , the realization comes through that love is simply around the corner , when we least expect it .
There are other exceptions since “ When Harry Met Sally ” but far too few . Usually , the formula was as generic as they come : meet , fall in love , break up , meet someone else and find they are all wrong for each other , and then meet the one they should ’ ve stayed with from the beginning . That gets old real quick , as it did for Julia Roberts who tried it with Nick Nolte in “ I Love Trouble ” and Richard Gere again in the atrocious “ Runaway Bride .” Meg Ryan did not disassociate herself from the genre , making a seemingly adventurous character actress in the beginning into a former shell of herself stuck in rom-com hell . At least Julia broadened her horizons in other roles that strayed from the
Cameron Diaz , Dermot Mulroney ( center ) and Julia Roberts in 1997 ’ s “ My Best Friend ’ s Wedding ”
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