Movie Quote of the Week – 2/17/17

Answer to MWL 2/15/17: Harry (Billy Crystal) – When Harry Met Sally…

Sally: I’m sorry, Harry. I know it’s New Year’s Eve. I know you’re feeling lonely but you just can’t show up here, tell me you love me and expect that to make everything all right. It doesn’t work this way!
Harry: Well how does it work?
Sally: I don’t know but not this way?
Harry: Then how about this way: I love that you get cold when it’s 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts. I love that after I spend a day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes and I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it’s not because I’m lonely and it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve. 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.
Sally: You see? That is just like you, Harry! You say things like that and you make it impossible for me to hate you.

Thanks for everyone’s submissions and 500 points to the following people for answering correctly:

Charlene (Charlene’s (Mostly) Classic Movie Reviews)
Jackie
Catherine (Thoughts All Sorts)
Rob (Movierob)
That Other Critic (That Other Critic)

Lightning Review: When Harry Met Sally…

Synopsis
Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) have known each other for years and are very close friends. They want to move their relationship forward but fear that sex would ruin their friendship.

Review
When Harry Met Sally… is a widely beloved romantic comedy, and it isn’t hard to see why. Being one who doesn’t watch a lot of romance films, I found myself thoroughly enjoying this movie. A big part of that is the chemistry between the two leads, Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. Their conversations and their back-and-forth feels smooth and natural. It’d be easy to forget you weren’t watching a movie but two actual, long-time friends bantering. Of course, this feeling of comfortability would not be possible without the well-written script by Nora Ephron and crisp directing by Rob Reiner. Together, they have managed to make what is essentially a ninety-minute Seinfeld episode. If you think about it, this movie is about nothing. The simplicity is ingenious, which might be what I like best about it. There is no, conflict. There is no big hurdle Harry and Sally need to overcome. This is a movie about a man and a woman being platonic friends. The whole sex-ruining-the-friendship part is a driving force for the story but it is only brought up sporadically and doesn’t significantly impact it until the end.

I thought When Harry Met Sally… was GREAT 😀 The leads, the directing, and the script dovetail harmoniously to create a simple yet touching story. This truly sets a standard for romantic comedies that many films are still trying to touch today.

Trivia
The stories told by the couples during special segments throughout the film were real stories, collected by Rob Reiner for the film.  Harry and Sally’s segment was completely improvised by Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan.

Favorite Scene

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Rob Reiner – Director
Nora Ephron – Writer

Billy Crystal – Harry Burns
Meg Ryan – Sally Albright
Carrie Fisher – Marie
Bruno Kirby – Jess
Steven Ford – Joe
Lisa Jane Persky – Alice
Michelle Nicastro – Amanda

Monday Movie Fun Fact – 08/11/14

Hey everybody, there was no Monday Movie Fun Fact last week because I was on vacation and ran out of time beforehand to write one up.  Same with Movie Whose Line and Movie Quote of the Week.  Anyway, I’m back on schedule so let’s get started.  This week’s MMFF is similar to the last one about a casting that could have been but was probably better that it didn’t happen.

You know Buzz Lightyear, right? The space ranger action figure from Toy Story voiced by Tim Allen.  Could you imagine Allen not in the iconic role?  Well that was almost the case.  The part of Buzz Lightyear was originally offered to Billy Crystal.  In an interview for his 2012 movie Parental Guidance, Crystal says he turned down the role due to “bad advice from managers and agents” and not following his instincts.  This became one of his biggest regrets, leading him to unquestionably accept the next part Pixar offered to him, which ended up being Mike Wazowski in Monsters, Inc.

I’m actually pretty happy Crystal voiced Mike rather than Buzz.  His voice isn’t suited for the part of Buzz, at least not like Allen’s is.  Allen was spectacular as Buzz, the same way Crystal was perfect for Mike.  So in the end, everything worked out.

Here is Crystal’s Buzz Lightyear screen test:

Monsters University Review

Synopsis
Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) heads off to Monsters University, where he meets James P. Sullivan (John Goodman). These two instantly come into conflict with each other, culminating in an incident that gets them removed from the school’s Scare Program. In order to get back into the program, they join the least respected fraternity on campus, Oozma Kappa, and enter the annual Scare Games. If their fraternity wins the games, they will be excepted back into the program. But if they lose, they must leave the university.

Review
I wasn’t fortunate enough to see Monsters University when it hit theaters earlier this summer, so I was itching to see it when I heard it was returning to theaters this Labor Day weekend. Monster’s, Inc. is one of my favorite Pixar movies, so I was excited see more of my two favorite monsters. This new adventure with Mike and Sulley is almost as exciting as the original, but felt unnecessary.

Monsters University is your stereotypical college flick, but with monsters. Mike is the nerd who studies hard and concentrates on schoolwork, and Sulley is the jock who rides on the coattails of his family legacy. Then you have the fraternity and sorority stereotypes: the jock fraternity, the nerd fraternity, the cheerleader sorority, the goth sorority, and several others for filler. Pretty much all the same parts seen in countless other movies. It is a weird setting for a movie aimed primarily at children, but it does an adequate job of avoiding the more grown-up themes usually seen in movies set in college.

What makes Mike and Sulley such a great pair, like other memorable movie pairs, is their differences, both physically and mentally. Mike’s brains mixed with Sulley’s brawn make for an unstoppable team. But Mike is arrogant and thinks he is the smartest in the group, whereas Sulley is cocky and inpatient. When these vastly different personalities grind against each other, it makes for some fun scenarios. Their friction causes problems during most of their challenges, but my favorite is when their team needs to get their flag in the library without getting caught by the 30-foot librarian.

The script is both witty and insightful. It offers up many laughs, although usually nothing more than a chuckle. Some of the lessons and bits of wisdom dropped throughout should be taken to heart. These messages laced throughout Pixar films is on of the reasons I enjoy them so much.

Despite all the positives about Monsters University, this film feels forced to me. It’s as if Pixar made this movie as filler to tide us over until their next original film. And because of that, the heart that was in Monsters, Inc. isn’t here this time around.

Though not as entertaining as Monsters, Inc., Monsters University has its own unique traits that separate it from its predecessor. Unfortunately, Pixar’s dip in quality movies continues. Though it may be unnecessary, Monsters University is a funny, and surprising insightful, movie that is a good addition to Pixar’s vast variety of stories.

Oh, and be sure to watch until the end of the credits.

Rating
3.5/5