Billy Crystal is hot in ‘When Harry Met Sally’! Why is this a discussion?
We’ve lost all sense of reality. I am, of course, referring to the latest outrage to take over the internet: Someone thinking Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally wasn’t hot. This is truly the most upsetting of developments.
Crystal brought Harry Burns to life and changed us all. For the better, I might add. There is a reason that many of us still turn to When Harry Met Sally and refer to it as one of the best romantic comedies of all time. Part of that magic comes from Crystal’s performance. Meg Ryan played Sally Albright and while Ryan has always been a staple of the genre, Crystal really made us all believe we can find our own Harry.
Which is probably why everyone online reacted very STRONGLY to one user’s take on the film. When an account named “Rom Com Gifs” posted the following prompt “quote with a romcom scene that literally changed the trajectory of your life”, writer Zoë Rose Bryant shared a scene from the film. She wrote “You simply can’t beat the blueprint.”
But apparently the film isn’t for everyone. “Could never get in to this because she’s SO much prettier than him and he looks like the concept of a guy,” one user wrote and it has really and truly broken us all.
The reactions range from anger to upset over this opinion, many wanting to stop seeing the take on their timeline.
Others, like screenwriter Caroline Renard, shared opinions that showed the problem with modern rom-com audiences.
The reality is that Crystal is incredibly charming in When Harry Met Sally and is very attractive as Harry! That’s the entire point of the film that he is just a regular guy but he is someone we can all look for!
We are losing the art of the romantic comedy lead
I am someone who loves romantic comedies and I think modern ones are great! But if we are looking at Crystal as Harry and saying he’s not attractive, we’re losing something in our movies. The reason why Anyone But You works for me is because of Glen Powell’s charm. It is why I love Sleeping With Other People too because Jason Sudeikis as Jake really makes me want to fall in love.
Rye Lane had David Jonsson as a perfect romantic comedy lead. They’re all attractive men who makes you want to fall in love but, as Bryant pointed out, the blue print are men like Crystal. They taught us all what a good romantic comedy lead could do. It is why people like me go back to When Harry Met Sally every year. We love watching Ryan and Crystal together.
I don’t want to discount someone who isn’t into Harry. That’s fine. But to act as if it is shocking that decades of people have watched this movie and fallen in love with Crystal is odd. So everyone’s upset reaction just shows how much we love will always love Harry Burns.
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