Harry Met Sally: Wedding Cake Scene Explained

The final scene of When Harry Met Sally sees the two protagonists, Harry and Sally, finally getting married. The film ends with an interview of the couple, mirroring the interviews of older couples interspersed throughout the film. The wedding cake is a large coconut cake with rich chocolate sauce on the side, as Sally prefers.

The film's writer, Nora Ephron, sued Newsweek for gender discrimination

In 1970, 46 women researchers, reporters, and writers at Newsweek magazine sued the publication for gender discrimination. Among them was Nora Ephron, who would go on to write the screenplay for the film When Harry Met Sally. The women complained to the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that they were "systematically discriminated against in both hiring and promotion and are forced to assume a subsidiary role simply because they are women."

The women were particularly incensed because the magazine had commissioned a freelance woman writer to write a cover story on the Women's Liberation movement. Newsweek's editor-in-chief, Osborn Elliott, defended the publication's hiring practices, saying that most of the magazine's researchers were women due to a "newsmagazine tradition going back almost 50 years." However, he added that he was not unwilling to alter this tradition.

The women at Newsweek were inspired to take action by the very movement they were covering. They began gathering in the women's bathroom to avoid detection and solicited advice from Eleanor Holmes Norton, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney who would go on to become a long-serving member of Congress.

In 1972, Newsweek promised that by the end of 1974, one-third of the magazine's writers would be women, and by the end of 1975, one-third of those hired for or transferred into foreign correspondent positions would be women.

The lawsuit had a significant impact on the industry, with a cascade of female workers at various organizations suing their bosses for years of unequal treatment in the years that followed.

The film's original ending didn't see Harry and Sally get together

The 1989 romantic comedy "When Harry Met Sally" could have ended very differently. In the original script, Harry and Sally don't get together. Instead, the two characters meet after years apart, talk, and then walk away from each other.

The film's director, Rob Reiner, revealed that he changed the ending after meeting his wife, Michele Singer, during filming. Reiner had been single for ten years and couldn't imagine finding love again. But his real-life romance inspired him to give Harry and Sally a happy ending.

In the final version, Harry (played by Billy Crystal) goes to see Sally (Meg Ryan) at a New Year's Eve party, where he declares his love. They kiss, and the film reveals that they marry three months later.

Princess Diana attended the film's premiere

The final scene of *When Harry Met Sally* has become iconic, with the film premiering in 1989 to great success. This romantic comedy has endured as a classic, and the final wedding scene is a large part of that. The scene features the two lead characters, Harry and Sally, finally admitting their love for each other, and the film ends with a beautiful wedding scene, complete with a stunning, traditional wedding cake. The cake is a towering, elegant, all-white creation, with multiple tiers, and a simple, classic design. It is a symbol of the traditional wedding, and the happy ending that the film delivers. This famous scene has been recreated and referenced many times since, with the cake often taking centre stage.

Now, imagine the excitement and glamour when Princess Diana attended the film's premiere. It was an event that drew huge attention and interest, with the presence of the Princess adding a whole new level of excitement to the evening. Princess Diana was a huge fan of the film and its stars, and her attendance at the premiere was a great honour for all involved. Her presence added a touch of royalty and elegance to the event, and it is surely a night that those in attendance will never forget.

The premiere took place in London, and it is safe to say that the presence of Princess Diana made it a truly memorable occasion. The event was a charity gala, and the film's ending, with its beautiful wedding scene, was the perfect fit for a night centred around love and happiness. The Princess was known for her love of fashion and style, and her choice of outfit for this event did not disappoint. She wore a stunning, elegant, floor-length gown, which was a beautiful shade of deep blue. The dress had a simple, classic design, with a fitted bodice and a full, flowing skirt, and it is said that she looked absolutely breathtaking.

The Princess's attendance at the premiere created a huge amount of interest and excitement, with the event being covered by the media and followed by fans around the world. It is easy to imagine that her presence added a whole new level of magic to the film's ending, with the wedding cake taking on an even more romantic and enchanting quality. The cake, with its traditional beauty, would have been a perfect fit for the Princess's own fairytale image, and it is a detail that surely added to the charm of the evening. The event was a huge success, and the film's ending, with its message of love and happiness, was the perfect way to celebrate the presence of such an iconic and beloved figure as Princess Diana.

Billy Crystal and Rob Reiner were real-life best friends

Billy Crystal and Rob Reiner's 50-year friendship began in 1975 when Crystal was cast as Reiner's best friend in an episode of *All in the Family*. The two hit it off immediately, with Crystal later recalling:

> It worked really well, and we said, 'It feels right onstage, why don't we just continue this in our lives?' We became the closest of friends. And when I moved out here, we just spent all kinds of time together.

Crystal and Reiner's real-life friendship formed the basis for the characters of Harry and Sally in the 1989 film *When Harry Met Sally...*, which Reiner directed and Crystal starred in. The film's writer, Nora Ephron, based much of the dialogue on the pair's real-life friendship. For example, the scene in which Harry and Sally talk on the phone while simultaneously watching TV and channel surfing was inspired by Crystal and Reiner's nightly routine.

Crystal and Reiner's friendship has extended beyond *When Harry Met Sally...*, with the pair also collaborating on the 1987 film *The Princess Bride*.

The infamous orgasm scene was Meg Ryan's idea

The infamous orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally was indeed Meg Ryan's idea. The scene, which takes place in Katz's Delicatessen, sees Ryan's character Sally fake an orgasm in front of a packed restaurant to prove a point about Harry's (Billy Crystal) cluelessness about women's satisfaction in the bedroom.

The idea for the scene came about during a script meeting, in which the "concept of women faking orgasms" was discussed. It was producer's girlfriend's sister, Dani Minnick, who proposed that Harry and Sally have a conversation about female orgasms. Ryan was immediately on board with the idea and even suggested acting out the fake orgasm in a public restaurant, with the location being the real Katz's Delicatessen.

Ryan's performance was said to be extremely nerve-wracking for the actress, who didn't know how her then-boyfriend, Dennis Quaid, would respond to the scandalous scene. She was also nervous about performing in front of so many extras. With guidance from director Rob Reiner, who even acted out the scene himself to show Ryan what he wanted, she was eventually able to nail the performance after 30 takes.

The scene has since become one of the most iconic in rom-com history, with Ryan's commitment to the bit and Crystal's shocked reaction delivering on the promise of the premise.

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