30 years after When Harry Met Sally, Katz’s Deli in New York invites contestants to imitate Meg Ryan’s fake climax scene
- Participants will record their performance then post videos online to be judged by panel of social media influencers
- Family-run business specialising in enormous corned beef and pastrami sandwiches became an international tourist spot after the film
It was the moan heard around the world.
In the 1989 movie When Harry Met Sally, actor Meg Ryan’s loud rendition of a woman faking an orgasm while seated at a New York deli stands as one of the most memorable moments in film history.
Katz’s, the deli where the scene took place, ran a contest on Friday to mark the 30th anniversary of the movie’s release, inviting anyone who wants to “have what she’s having” to sit at the same table in the Lower East Side landmark and imitate Ryan’s famously feigned frenzy.
Popular with New Yorkers since it opened in 1888, the family-run business specialising in enormous corned beef and pastrami sandwiches became an international tourist spot after the film.
Competitors in Katz’s contest, whatever their gender identity, will have to record their performances, post the videos online, and wait for a panel of social media influencers to pick a winner who will be announced next week, the deli said.
Among the contenders on Friday was Shauna Mogan, 31, a high schoolteacher from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who nibbled a pickle and moaned in a mounting crescendo that culminated in screams and drew applause from the crowded restaurant.