Whenever I have a bad day, nothing cheers me up more than a Nora Ephron movie. Even on a good day I’m down to watch "When Harry Met Sally." The late 80s, early 90s clothing, the soundtracks, the shots of New York City, and of course, the dialogue. No romcom can beat a Nora Ephron romcom because no movie can match her witty dialogue, dialogue that transforms characters into close friends. I want to watch “An Affair to Remember” with Annie Reed, tour the Met with Harry Burns, and gossip with Marie. These characters have made me laugh and they’ve taught me some pretty important lessons too.
To help you through the week, here are eight life lessons provided to you by some of my favorite characters ever written.
1. If he's not answering your text message...
"The fact that you're not answering leads me to believe you're either (a) not at home, (b) home but don't want to talk to me, or (c) home, desperately want to talk to me, but you're trapped under something heavy." - Harry Burns, "When Harry Met Sally"
2. Don't use Tinder.
"Well, as far as I'm concerned, the Internet is just another way of being rejected by women." - George Pappas, "You've Got Mail"
3. If things aren't going your way, just remember...
"Just remember that in every pothole there is hope. Well, you see, pothole is spelled P-O-T-H-O-L-E. So if you take the P, and add it to the H, the O, and the E, and rearrange the letters... or contrariwise, you remove the O, T, and the L, you get 'hope.' So, just remember, in every pothole there is hope!" - Philip, "Mixed Nuts"
4. Don't wait; act.
"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." - Marie, "When Harry Met Sally"
5. If conversation is slow on the first date...
"Verbal ability is a highly overrated thing in a guy, and it's our pathetic need for it that gets us into so much trouble." - Becky, "Sleepless in Seattle"
6. Mom and Pop Shops > Starbucks
"The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self." - Joe Fox, "You've Got Mail"
7. If you don't feel like cooking, order Chinese.
"You make a million decisions that mean nothing, and then one day you order take-out, and it changes your life." - Annie Reed, "Sleepless in Seattle"
8. The secret to life is butter.
"Is there anything better than butter? Think it over: Every time you taste something that's delicious beyond imaging and you say, 'What is in this?' the answer is always going to be, Butter... You can never have too much butter." - Julie, "Julie & Julia"