The one that broke the seal for her was the Rob Reiner-directed When Harry Met Sally..., which, like Die Hard, had so many repercussions on its genre that it now gives off the weird vibe of self-imitation. The story was original enough at the time: fate repeatedly unites opposites Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Ryan) until they become the best of friends. Then, proving Harry's maxim that casual companionship among the genders cannot exist "because the sex part gets in the way," a night of indiscretion turns them back into strangers.
The film came out of discussions Reiner was having with screenwriter Nora Ephron about the core differences between men and women; this is a Woody Allen comedy minus the singular observational stance. As much as I enjoy Allen's Annie Hall, it's not for one second about Diane Keaton's Annie Hall, while When Harry Met Sally... entitles its heroine to a point-of-view and doesn't intellectualize the hero's eventual (and typically male) transgressions against her. The only drawback to this is a serious third act nearly as puzzling as The Graduate's, with Harry's actions really requiring us to have once done the same in order to comprehend them.
At least by the time they've run out of jokes Crystal and Ryan have taken on the gritty shape of real people in love. I really admire Ryan's sturdy work in When Harry Met Sally...--there's a charming, unrefined quality to her performance that diverts our attention from Crystal's rat-tat-tat showcase. Reiner dabbles in split-screen here and I've always considered that metaphorically apropos: the movie divides our attention down the middle throughout, and it's hard to imagine that being the case with Crystal playing off a different leading lady.
Ryan's charisma is equally strong in Prelude to a Kiss, which utilizes her chirpy image to ironic effect. She stars as Rita, an alcoholic insomniac on the verge of conquering one of her many phobias by settling down with Peter (Baldwin, looking an awful lot like Rocky Horror-era Barry Bostwick thanks to square's specs). On her wedding day, drunken Rita kisses an uninvited guest (Sidney Walker), an old man who is ushered off the premises quickly thereafter. But there was magic in the air, and Rita has exchanged personalities with the senior. For all intents and purposes, Peter winds up honeymooning with someone he's never met in a sly sequence that chimes in on marriage and Ryan's familiar persona.
The youth and femininity of his new body invigorate the elderly spirit, but this Rita also resembles the Ryan we know and occasionally adore: zany, fussy, and asexual. Peter can't accept this person, of course, and when the pseudo-couple returns home, he tracks down the alter ego of his true bride. As they devise a plan to restore order to their lives, Peter discovers that love supersedes physicality (fear not, homophobes: Baldwin and Walker share a peck at best); the dual identities Ryan has built up are so strong by this point that we feel her presence emanating from the likeable Walker.
Prelude to a Kiss was the second cinematic effort from theatre director Norman René. AIDS cut his career short four years later, an event foreshadowed in his first film, the acclaimed Longtime Companion. The obvious gay subtext in Prelude to a Kiss sends a message of tolerance, but its fantastical aspect keeps the preachiness in check, save for a soliloquy from 'Rita II' on love and death that's forgivable for being so moving. The scene is also jarringly intimate, given René's stagy propensity for cramming a lot of actors into the frame--there's nary a reaction shot of Baldwin as Walker expounds. Ryan and said monologue are worth a viewing, though the film is more resonant than that recommendation suggests. Beware, however, of a big, dumb ending.
Rarely is it that MGM puts out a superior DVD product, but in comparing their When Harry Met Sally... disc to Fox's Prelude to a Kiss, the latter studio comes up short, even empty-handed. Prelude contains a soft anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) transfer with serviceable Dolby Surround soundtracks in discrete 4.0 and matrixed 2.0, plus a selection of "Fox Flix" trailers: A Walk in the Clouds , Ever After, French Kiss, Courage Under Fire, and Picture Perfect, all the better to cross-promote Meg Ryan- and Valentine's Day-themed stuff.
The older When Harry Met Sally...'s 1.85:1 anamorphic x-fer shines like a new penny, although its matting can be a hair severe. The Dolby 2.0 Surround mix is average--there's limited fidelity in those golden oldies. The disc matters in bonus material, starting with Jeffrey Schwartz's half-hour looking-back "How Harry Met Sally", an assemblage of new interviews with Reiner, Crystal, Ephron, music arranger Marc Shaiman, and co-star Carrie Fisher, alongside Q&A footage dated 1988 and featuring Ryan and Fisher's on-screen beau Bruno Kirby (still distancing himself from Crystal after a much-publicized falling-out). If nothing else, the doc affirms that laughter is born from misery (Reiner's depression, caused by his divorce, fuelled a desire to do the film), as well as production factoids (the screenplay was initially called "Harry, This is Sally"). Ephron is also more bearable than usual.
Seven letterboxed omissions, most the heads or tails of existing moments, offer a glimpse of the cutting room floor that puts Reiner in a good light--he really knew what he was gunning for. I feel that, at 96 minutes, When Harry Met Sally... should be longer, but not if it means restoring these extraneous bits. Also collectible: good commentary from Reiner that nevertheless ought to come with the disclaimer "mind the gap"; Harry Connick, Jr.'s silly "It Had to Be You" video; and trailers for three Reiner hits all recently acquired by MGM: When Harry Met Sally..., The Princess Bride, and This is Spinal Tap.
If Our Meg doesn't tickle your fancy after indulging in either DVD, she never will.-Bill Chambers
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