When Harry Met Sally follows several of the clichés of the romantic comedy genre. Harry is the carefree guy who befriends Sally, the friend of his girlfriend who lets him tag along on her drive to New York City, the most common setting for romantic films. In the beginning, Sally hates Harry and is glad when they make it to the city and part ways. After meeting up a few brief times throughout the span of about 10 years the two become closer and grow to be great friends, one of the most popular clichés in romantic films. Harry and Sally become best friends, there for each other in good times and bad, going out to eat and talking on the phone on numerous occasions.
At one point in the film, Sally is at a low point in her life and with the convincing of her best girlfriend, Marie, she complies with her subtle feelings for Harry and the two end up sleeping together. They view it as a mistake and go on with their lives as friends; another cliché, in that the two friends are almost about to get in to the relationship the audience is expecting and rooting for, and they don’t. It isn’t until the conclusion of the film that they become more than friends and actually have a romantic relationship, the classic happy ending.
In comparison to all the other romantic comedies out there, When Harry Met Sally can most definitely stand the test of time as something to be judges as artistic in the distant future. Despite the implementation of several romantic comedy clichés, it is ultimately a great story that uses these clichés in a not so obvious and monotonous way. These clichés make the genre what it is, and a great romantic comedy wouldn’t be successful without applying some of these techniques, it is just the way that they are incorporated in the film that will make or break its success.
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