.png)
1 week ago
15
When it comes to the world of rom-coms, not many flicks can outclass the classic When Harry Met Sally from the ’80s. While the pieces produced and released today hold a certain charm to themselves that oftentimes fail to garner the expected reaction from the viewers, Meg Ryan’s said film continues to leave an indelible mark on fans even decades after its release.
When Harry Met Sally. | Credits: Columbia Pictures.But as perfect as this movie is, with its ending even being deemed one of the greatest endings in a romance comedy film to date, the truth is that this said film almost went insanely dark. If anything, had it not been for real and true love that the classic masterpiece’s director cum co-writer Rob Reiner experienced, the tear-jerker ending couldn’t have been as epic as it was!
Meg Ryan’s When Harry Met Sally originally had a different end planned
In the history of entertainment, though a lot of films have debuted and made quite a bit of a splash in the romance comedy genre, perhaps none comes as close to delivering the ultimate perfect ending as Meg Ryan‘s When Harry Met Sally. To say the least, it serves as one of the most tear-jerker endings of all time, making it even more iconic than all the others out there.
When Harry Met Sally. | Credits: Columbia Pictures.To jog your memory a bit, the final moments of the film had Harry crashing a New Year’s Eve party that Sally is at, and finally – after years and years of their will-they/won’t-they relationship – delivers one of the most memorable monologues that make everything clear about what he holds in his heart for her, mentioning how he loves even the minor-most details about her.
Finally catching the courage to say it out loud, Harry says to her, “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.” This emotional and swoon-worthy ending was, of course, more than enough to leave viewers bawling their eyes out, making it rank among their favorites.
However, the truth is that this ending was originally planned differently. Talking to CNN‘s Chris Wallace, the film’s director cum co-writer Rob Reiner expressed the same as he shared that the final moments he first wrote were a lot more heartbreaking. “It was going to be the two of them seeing each other after years, talking and then walking away from each other,” Reiner said.
And there was a reason behind this as well: The film was inspired by his own love life, and that’s how he envisioned it all to end. As Reiner continued to share with Wallace, “I had been married for 10 years. I’d been single for 10 years, and I couldn’t figure out how I was ever going to be with anybody, and that gave birth to When Harry Met Sally.”
But little did he know how quickly everything was going to change for him.
Bob Reiner’s wife helped make the ending of When Harry Met Sally as iconic as it is
When Harry Met Sally. | Credits: Columbia Pictures.As it turns out, a major chunk of the credit for such a memorable ending of When Harry Met Sally goes to none other than the director cum co-writer’s second (and current) wife, Michele Singer Reiner. Truth be told, she was the one who came into his life when he least expected it, and ended up being such a major influence in it that she helped change the ending to his epic rom-com.
According to what Rob Reiner went on to confess during the same interview, crediting his wife more than himself for those iconic final moments, he said, “I met my wife Michele, who I’ve been married to now 35 years. I met her while we were making the film, and I changed the ending.” In fact, when asked if she was the one to be thanked for the finale, he said, “That’s right.”
Well, for what it’s worth, as surprising as this turn of events in the life of the Reiners sounds, it’s nothing short of wholesome and heartwarming — just like the epic concluding final scene of the fan-favorite rom-com that featured actress Meg Ryan as the precious Sally Albright and actor Billy Crystal as the fan-beloved Harry Burns.
When Harry Met Sally can currently be watched on Prime Video.
Bengali (BD) · 
English (US) ·