Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan forever changed the way I think about New Year's Eve or, more specifically, about the song Auld Lang Syne. There's a great bit in a crucial moment in the movie When Harry Met Sally -- one of my top 5 movies of all time -- regarding this song. Harry: What does this song mean? My whole life, I don't know what this song means. I mean, 'Should old acquaintance be forgot'? Does that mean that we should forget old acquaintances, or does it mean if we happened to forget them, we should remember them, which is not possible because we already forgot?
Sally: Well, maybe it just means that we should remember that we forgot them or something. Anyway, it's about old friends.
This movie is like an old friend to me. I found a great Wiki site that has all of my favorite quotes from the movie. I could just sit here and recite the dialogue word-for-word for you; instead, I'll give you this link. Peruse at your leisure. I had to stop reading it at work because I started laughing out loud.
We all remember the classic, "I'll have what she's having" line. But I'd suggest paying particular attention to such gems as "who is the dog in this scenario?" and "you are a human affront to all women" and "days of the week underpants" and (truly a bit of cinematic magic) "baby fish mouth is sweeping the nation."
Oh, and to end with the NYE theme, there's the beautiful climatic moment where Harry professes his true feelings:
Harry: I've been doing a lot of thinking, and the thing is, I love you.
Sally: What?
Harry: I love you.
Sally: How do you expect me to respond to this?
Harry: How about, you love me too.
Sally: How about, I'm leaving.
Harry: Doesn't what I said mean anything to you?
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: 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 the 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, and I hate you, Harry. I really hate you. I hate you.
But I did say I wasn't going to quote the whole movie. So I'm going to shut up now...
Have a Happy New Year!
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