New Rom-Com Star Crashes Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal Reunion

Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal reunite in a new ad for Hellmann’s that features a recreation of When Harry Met Sally’s famous fake orgasm scene—and a new rom-com star.

Back at New York’s Katz’ Delicatessen, Ryan and Crystal chat over sandwiches until Ryan adds Hellmann’s mayo to hers, prompting an orgasmic outburst that turns heads the way it did in the Nora Ephron-penned 1989 film.

Actress Sydney Sweeney just happens to be one of those observers, appearing at the end to tell a server, “I’ll have what she’s having,” reprising the iconic line that director Rob Reiner’s mom delivered in the original scene.

When Harry Met Sally recently reached its 35th anniversary and was inducted into the National Film Registry. It was a box office hit when it was released, as was Sweeney’s Anyone But You alongside Glen Powell in 2023, which grossed over $200 million globally and solidified Sweeney as a full-blown movie star.

Sweeney told Cosmopolitan in an interview timed to coincide with the ad’s release that working with Ryan and Crystal for the ad was “really, really cool.”

“Honestly, it’s been such a surreal experience because I really feel like they are part of the films that paved the way for the rom-com genre,” she continued, so “being able to be in this moment with them and especially recreating such an iconic moment...I don’t know what life is right now.”

Rob Reiner reflected on the classic scene in an interview with the Daily Beast for the film’s 25th anniversary, revealing that it took Ryan “two or three” takes before getting the performance he’d been looking for.

“She did it kind of weakly [at first],” Reiner said. “It was very tepid. I think she was nervous about having to do it in front of the cast, crew, and everybody.”

Ultimately he had to act it out himself to get things going: “I sat down opposite Billy and I acted it out! I pounded the table again and again going, ‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ and when we were done, I turned to Billy and said, ‘Uh-oh… I just realized I had a huge orgasm in front of my mother!’”

“And then Meg sat down and did it, and she did it way better than anyone could have done,” he added of the scene that remains iconic enough for a Super Bowl ad 35 years later.