‘When Harry Met Sally’ Director Rob Reiner Reflects on the Awkwardness of Directing the Fake-Orgasm Scene in Front of His Mother

 Rob Reiner is well-known for casting his mom in a major scene from his 1989 movie *When Harry Met Sally*. But he recently said he might not have realized how uncomfortable it would be to direct that scene.

On a recent episode of *60 Minutes*, Reiner talked about his new movie *Spinal Tap II: The End Continues* and the original *When Harry Met Sally*, which starred Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal.

In the movie, Crystal and Ryan play Harry and Sally.

 There's a key scene where they're having lunch at a busy deli. Sally tries to convince Harry that one of his past girlfriends probably faked an orgasm with him. She fakes it in a loud way, hitting the table, which makes other people stare. The scene ends with a famous line from Reiner’s mom, Estelle: “I’ll have what she’s having.”

Reiner said the scene was awkward for him because he had to show Ryan how to act it out.

 He said at first, she didn’t act very strongly. So he sat across from Billy Crystal and acted out the scene for her. He hit the table and said “Yes! Yes! Yes!” and then realized he was acting out a scene in front of his mother.

The movie ends with Harry and Sally getting married and talking about their wedding.

 Interestingly, the original ending wasn't like that. Reiner changed it to a happy ending after he met his wife, Michele, who now works as a producer on his films, including *Spinal Tap II*.

Reiner said making a sequel was hard because the original film had such high praise.

 He admitted it was crazy to make another one because the bar was so high.

After Harry Shearer won the rights to the original *Spinal Tap*, the sequel became possible.

 Reiner said the group started coming up with ideas after 40 years of waiting.

Both movies rely on ad-libbing, which Reiner calls “schnadeling.”

 The cast, including famous guest stars like Paul McCartney, helped bring the scenes to life.

The original film helped start the mockumentary genre and made fun of rock bands.

 Reiner mentioned a real-life story about Van Halen’s contract that included a rule about not having brown M&Ms. That inspired a scene in the movie where a character complains about the size of the bread.

Michael McKean also returns as David St. Hubbins in the sequel, which came out last month and is available on streaming platforms.