There are so many reasons why When Harry Met Sally… is one of the best rom-coms of all time. Not only do you get to see the A+ chemistry of Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, but it’s a perfect movie to see best friends becoming lovers and an excuse to visit Katz’s Deli, which is a famous place due to the movie’s popular fake orgasm scene. Crystal admits that fans of the Bob Reiner-directed flick still throw the film’s quotes at him, but there’s one line he’s still surprised to get and it’s not what you think.
Written by the late Nora Ephron, the Meg Ryan rom-com had some of the funniest quotes that were both witty and natural. You can’t forget lines like “They don’t make Sunday [days-of-the-week underpants]…because of God,” or “I drove him away. And I'm gonna be forty...someday!” Apparently, the male lead of When Harry Met Sally…, Billy Crystal, can’t forget either as he told People fans love to send the film’s quotes his way after 35 years. But, there’s one particular quote the New York City native still gets. And no, it’s not from the iconic Katz Deli scene. It’s “Baby fish mouth:”
There's a T-shirt. It's sweeping the nation. Yeah, I hear them talking.
While everyone loves to point out the well-known fake orgasm scene, it’s a delight to know that fans love When Harry Met Sally...’s Pictionary scene. In this hilarious moment, the entire group gets together to play the charades-inspired word-guessing game. As Sally tries to draw “Baby talk,” Harry’s friend, Jess, shouts, “Baby fish mouth!” which humorously makes absolutely no sense. But that’s what was so memorable about this scene because it’s very relatable to desperately shoot nonsensical answers to ensure a win even if your guess is a long shot. With a T-shirt out in the open “sweeping the nation,” maybe this underrated phrase can go viral in today’s generation.
But of course, Billy Crystal’s much-quoted line that’s sent his way is “I’ll have what she’s having.” This was when Harry and Sally were having lunch at Katz Deli and Sally was trying to prove that women can fake an orgasm with an uproarious demonstration out in the open. This leads to an older woman listening in the background, played by Rob Reiner’s mother, to deliver the quotable line we all know. While Crystal admitted that particular line isn’t his favorite to hear when he’s having a bad day, he still told People how touched he was that fans still resonate with that scene:
When people want to have what I'm having and the wink I get from strangers, it's just so sweet. It's just so sweet that there's this affection for that scene.
You better believe that fans are all over “I’ll have what she’s having.” Back in 2013, a flashmob recreated the Katz Deli scene on location with twenty other improv actors added to the mix to create fake sex sounds. Keira Knightley also did a parody of the When Harry Met Sally… scene for Vanity Fair’s montage of classic movie recreations. Most recently, Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan reunited to fake another orgasm for a Super Bowl LIX commercial to advertise how good Hellman’s mayonnaise is. A surprise cameo of Sydney Sweeney had the lucky actress be the one to deliver the legendary line. It proves the impact of the New York-set rom-com still hasn’t escaped the minds and hearts of fans and its cast.
It may be surprising to Billy Crystal that fans quote "baby fish mouth" to him, but it goes to show that "I'll have what she's having" isn't the only unforgettable line of When Harry Met Sally... As the Oscar-nominated movie was funny from beginning to end, scenes other than the Katz Deli moment deserve to be shown some love too. You can watch every funny quotable line in the 1989 rom-com available on your Paramount+ subscription.
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