I don't want to be in love... I want to be in love in a movie

I’ve oftentimes been told that I am very similar to Annie in Sleepless in Seattle. Becky (Rosie O’Donnell) yells at Annie, her best friend, when Annie is describing what she wants out of her love life after watching a chick flick, “that's your problem! You don't want to be in love. You want to be in love in a movie.” This could not be more accurate for me. But then again, who doesn’t want a head-over-heels-can’t-live-without-you romance in their life?

Nora Ephron sadly passed away at the young age of 71 due to leukemia.  For those of you who may not know her films, she is responsible for Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally, and a multitude of the romantic movies that I have grown up vicariously living my life through. These movies depict messy, intense, heart-wrenching relationships that somehow seem to always pull on my heartstrings and get me to cry.

Whether its Annie and Sam’s relationship fate, or Harry and Sally’s insane friendship which turns into an intense love, or Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly’s internet relationship which turns into a great love, these movies taught me about romance and fairytales in even the most dysfunctional relationships. I aspire to be those old couples at the end of When Harry Met Sally arguing about how me and my hubby met, who asked who out, etc (but I’d prefer to marry Joe Fox… he has a golden retriever he brings to the park in You’ve Got Mail.)

So, to show appreciation to Nora Ephron and the amazing love stories she created which helped shape my love for love, here are some of my favorite Nora Ephron movie quotes:

Right now everything is great, everyone is happy, everyone is in love and that is wonderful. But you gotta know that sooner or later you're gonna be screaming at each other about who's gonna get this dish. This eight dollar dish will cost you a thousand dollars in phone calls to the legal firm of That's Mine, This Is Yours. – 'When Harry Met Sally

Harry Burns: No man can be friends with a woman that he finds attractive. He always wants to have sex with her.
Sally Albright: So, you're saying that a man can be friends with a woman he finds unattractive?
Harry Burns: No. You pretty much want to nail 'em too. 

– 'When Harry Met Sally'

All I'm saying is that somewhere out there is the man you are supposed to marry. And if you don't get him first, somebody else will, and you'll have to spend the rest of your life knowing that somebody else is married to your husband.

– 'When Harry Met Sally'

"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."  - "When Harry Met Sally"

 

Harry: "Would you like to have dinner? Just friends."

Sally:  "I thought you didn't believe men and women could be friends."

Harry: "When did I say that?"

Sally:  "On the ride to New York."

Harry: "No, no, no, I never said that... Yes, that's right, they can't be friends. Unless both of them are involved with other people, then they can... This is an amendment to the earlier rule. If the two people are in relationships, the pressure of possible involvement is lifted... That doesn't work either, because what happens then is, the person you're involved with can't understand why you need to be friends with the person you're just friends with. Like it means something is missing from the relationship and why do you have to go outside to get it? And when you say "No, no, no it's not true, nothing is missing from the relationship," the person you're involved with then accuses you of being secretly attracted to the person you're just friends with, which you probably are. I mean, come on, who the hell are we kidding, let's face it. Which brings us back to the earlier rule before the amendment, which is men and women can't be friends." -- "When Harry Met Sally"

And once again, my all time favorite…

Annie: "Now that was when people KNEW how to be in love. They knew it! Time, distance... nothing could separate them because they knew. It was right. It was real. It was..." Beckie:  "A movie! That's your problem! You don't want to be in love. You want to be in love in a movie." – “Sleepless in Seattle"

in love, in a movie.

M