When Harry Met Sally 2: The Weird, Gory 'Sequel' You Likely Missed
Most rom-com fans are intimately familiar with the 1989 classic "When Harry Met Sally," which starred Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in the title roles and featured one of the most famous mealtime conversations in movie history. But in 2011, Funny or Die produced a parody sequel short called "Grampires: When Sharon Bit Harry," where Harry's daughter (played by none other than Crystal's actual daughter Jennifer Crystal Foley) sees him off to a retirement home after Sally's death.
There, Harry meets a Grampire named Sharon (Helen Mirren), who bites and transforms him into a fellow bloodthirsty creature of the night. The parody also features a host of other comedic actors in smaller roles, as well as former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson in a quick cameo. It's exceptionally gory, with one scene showing Harry munching on a victim's spleen before tossing it up against a car window, along with several other graphically bloody sequences.
Rob Reiner appears as himself in the opening scene
The parody starts with a pitch meeting featuring Billy Crystal sitting with Rob Reiner, the original film's director. With them are a pair of movie studio executives (Adam Scott and Ali Wong) and "Upright Citizens Brigade" veteran Josh Fadem. Crystal suggests that a sequel to "When Harry Met Sally" could be "everything that the first movie was, but for the baby boomer crowd." Fadem chips in, "The Boomer quadrant is blowing up," with a side-eyed nod to the two members of the Boomer generation sitting to his right.
Scott's character then suggests "one little tweak," which is presumably the vampire angle. The clip then jumps ahead to show Harry sitting in the retirement facility, bored out of his mind by his fellow residents, until he meets the enchanting but decidedly high-maintenance Sharon.
The two move from the dining area to a private room, where she confesses, "Harry, you don't want to be with someone like me, I'm difficult." "Are you kidding," he objects. "I love everything about you." He then stumbles through his next few lines before sheepishly admitting, "I'm getting old," although it's unclear if it is Harry the character or Billy Crystal the actor making that admission. Either way, his flub doesn't at all lessen the appeal of the stomach-churning, yet heartwarming "Grampires."
Who stars in the When Harry Met Sally sequel?
Billy Crystal's Harry and Helen Mirren's Sharon are the unquestioned stars of "Grampires." The biggest supporting roles are played by the aforementioned Rob Reiner as himself, Adam Scott as the studio executive, and Jennifer Crystal Foley as Harry and Sally's daughter.
Jenifer Lewis ("Black-ish") appears briefly as a server in Harry and Sharon's retirement home, and Maya Rudolph plays one of Jennifer's soccer mom friends. Rob Riggle has a brief role as a youth soccer referee, who becomes a meal for Sharon and Harry.
Mike O'Malley ("Glee," "The Good Place") and Mike Tyson appear as law enforcement officers near the end of the short, with O'Malley 's character speculating that bedbugs might be responsible for the bloody corpse in front of them. Tyson's character shakes his head ruefully. "Bedbugs, my a–," he says." We gotta kill us some m———— grampires."
How did audiences react to the parody?
Commenters on the YouTube were enthusiastic in their praise of both the parody and the original film. YouTuber Jesse G had kudos for both projects and the way Funny or Die editors wove them together, writing, "'When Harry Met Sally' is one of my favorite movies of all time, this 'sequel' is great. Amazing how they redid and adapted scenes from the original movie into the Grampire genre."
Several commenters had compliments for Helen Mirren's performance, although some were surprised that Funny or Die was able to land her for the short. Juan Evangelista wrote simply, "love Helen Mirren, ill see anything she's in."
Many commenters said they would happily watch a feature-length production of "Grampires," including ZeksterMesker, who wrote, "I'd actually pay full price to see it. Looks HILARIOUS!"
Mike O'Malley and Mike Tyson both received multiple comments praising their performances in "Grampires." YouTuber UltraVert wrote,"The bit with Tyson sent it over the top... so funny!" User godlycheese was particularly surprised by Tyson's comedic chops, writing,"Wow. Mike Tyson was the funniest in the video. Never thought I'd say that in my life."
Will there ever be a true sequel to When Harry Met Sally?
While "Grampires" serves as an amusing but bloody placeholder for fans of "When Harry Met Sally" looking for a continuation to the famous love story, could there be a more traditional sequel coming soon?
The 1989 original was the brainchild of journalist and screenwriter Nora Ephron, who also wrote the classic films "Silkwood" and "Sleepless in Seattle." Sadly, Ephron died in 2012 from complications of leukemia. Her writing was the true beating heart of the film, so it is nearly impossible to imagine replacing her in that capacity. Director Rob Reiner is still busy, though, and is in fact currently working on a sequel to another one of his famous 1980s projects, "This is Spinal Tap."
At the 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival, Reiner discussed how the passage of more than three decades might affect a potential sequel to or remake of "When Harry Met Sally." During his appearance at the event, Reiner said, "Dating is different, there are dating apps ... but I think when it comes to men and women, you know, there are basic truths that are universal, and they do stand the test of time."
Given the positive reception to the parody sequel and the current popularity of reboots in general, it's probably not out of the question that a new, modernized version of "When Harry Met Sally" might be coming at some point.