Last year, advertisers gave us a Friends reunion. And it did our nostalgic hearts some good.
This year, they’re giving us When Harry Met Sally. And we’re ready to throw on a cable-knit sweater, order some pecan pie and hope that if we belt out The Surrey with a Fringe on Top with enough chutzpah that it will magically transport us back to 1989.
The annual Super Bowl commercials are back. And amid the onslaught of ads that will appear during breaks in the action at Super Bowl 59 on Feb. 9, one for mayonnaise is already spreading joy.
WATCH | The Hellmann’s ad that reunites Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal:
Hellmann’s new commercial brings Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal back together for a reprise of the famous Katz’s Deli scene in the beloved 1989 rom-com When Harry Met Sally.
You know the scene. Harry, played by Crystal, says he doesn’t believe any of the women he’s slept with have ever faked an orgasm. So, Sally, played by Ryan, gives a convincing demonstration in the middle of the diner.
The scene ends with one of the most quotable film lines of all time as a woman at the next table pipes up, “I’ll have what she’s having.”
Now, 36 years later, Ryan and Crystal return to New York City’s bustling Katz’s Deli.
“I can’t believe they let us back in this place,” Crystal, wearing Harry’s signature white cable-knit sweater, tells Ryan.
“Why?” asks Ryan. “Um, hello,” Crystal replies, a nod to the infamous scene.
“No one remembers that,” Ryan insists, before taking a bite of her sandwich and grimacing.
The two of them discuss how the underwhelming sandwich isn’t doing it for her, so she squirts some mayo on it (and if this sounds scripted, well, remember that it is a mayonnaise commercial).
And then, Ryan starts moaning. “It’s happening,” Crystal says. “Here we go.” The scene continues almost exactly like the original, complete with table slapping, other than Crystal smiling and saying, “This one’s real.”
“I’ll have what she’s having,” mutters actor Sydney Sweeney, seated at another table.
Billy Crystal-core, nostalgia, is in
When Harry Met Sally, Rob Reiner’s much-loved film written by Nora Ephron, is considered one of the greatest rom-coms ever, with lines and truths that have stood the test of time.
Meanwhile, ‘90s nostalgia is certainly having its moment — if wide-legged jeans, Lisa Frank’s Crocs collaboration, Joshua Jackson’s glow-up and the original Gap fragrances selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay are any indication. Experts have pointed out this particular nostalgia allows millennials, who are generally approaching middle age and no longer the main focus of pop culture, to relive a time in our lives that we long for and feel sentimental about.
And apparently, people are feeling sentimental for Sally’s habit of taking an hour and a half to order a sandwich and Harry’s firm belief that men and women can never be friends. On top of the commercial, the New York Post reports that “Billy Crystal-core” is dominating the internet, with people taking style inspiration from Harry’s outfit in the movie.
Indeed, Harry’s chunky white sweater is the topic of many TikTok videos, and Pinterest reports that searches for cable-knit sweaters have increased 110 per cent — part of what they call the fisherman aesthetic.
And Katz’s Delicatessen is now offering a “What She’s Having” turkey sandwich package that feeds four to six people for $120 US.
Katz’s, which was well-known at the time, became an international destination after the film. In the film, a sign in the deli reads, “Send a salami to your boy in the Army.” (The family deli prides itself on its more than 100-year history, which included sending food to young men fighting in the Second World War.)
According to the New York Times, that sign is still there, but there’s another over the infamous table that reads, “Where Harry met Sally… Hope you have what she had!”
Crystal, however, recently told Delish that his favourite Katz’s order is not in fact what she had: it’s a kosher hot dog with sauerkraut.
“I actually order them sometimes like Sally would order them,” he told Delish Wednesday. “Like, ‘Don’t assemble. Have the sauerkraut there, because I don’t want it to make it soggy. Keep that on the side. Spicy brown mustard on the side.’ That’s my thing. I love that.”
