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“I’ll Have What She’s Having.” Remembering Nora Ephron


Perhaps you know her as the screenwriter for When Harry Met Sally? Or as the writer who used her messy divorce from Watergate famed reporter, Carl Bernstein as the basis for her novel Heartburn and the subsequent film? Or as the screenwriter whose movie treatment of Julie and Julia was actually better than the book upon which it was based? Or as the happily married wife of the writer of Wise Guy and its screen adaptation Good Fellas? Or, finally, as the writer, who wrote several funny essays and wasn’t ashamed to admit that she hated getting old?
However, you know Nora Ephron (and perhaps you don’t, in which case, it’s your loss), there is no denying that the world has lost a very funny, poignant, and talented writer. Many of her screenplays have produced wonderful one liners that have become as part of our lexicon as Dorothy’s “There’s no place like home” and Rick Blaine’s, “Here’s looking at you, kid.” “I’ll have what she’s having” penned for When Harry Met Sally and famously uttered by director Rob Reiner’s mother, was ranked #33 on the the AFI list of top 100 movie quotes, joining the ranks of such greats as Citizen Kane, The Godfather, and Sunset Boulevard. I saw When Harry Met Sally in a movie theater in Florida with my great aunt and uncle and I remember the two of them laughing hysterically at that scene. (I, being 14, laughed, but truthfully didn’t really get the joke for a few years.) The movie became a favorite of mine (despite not getting some of the humor right away) and as with most of my favorite movies knew every line of dialogue. When I turned 32, I realized with excitement and some horror, that I was now the same age as Sally in the movie because I remembered the following scene line for line:


If you want to remember Nora Ephron, check out one of her movies, novels, or books of essays from our library. I promise that even if you’re melancholy about her passing, you will have a good laugh:
Books: Fiction

Books: Non-Fiction and Essays

Movies (Screenplays)

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