“When Larry's around, I smell burning sulfur.”
Why it's great
Harry turns jealousy into a smell, and the devil joke lands without naming Larry.
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Informal
Use it yourself
When that manager is around, I can smell a meeting coming.
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Harry Begs Her Not to Marry Larry, Explained
Deconstructing Harry · 1997
Chapter 7 of 17 · 5'02"
Harry's former pupil tells him she is marrying his friend Larry, and he drops the pretense: he loves her and refuses to bless it. "When Larry's around, I smell burning sulfur," he says, turning a friend into the devil. What he cannot say out loud is the plainer line: he should never have introduced them.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:32–1:11
Harry Calls Larry the Devil
40s
Harry Begs Her Not to Marry Larry, explained
What happens
At a bar, Harry tells a former student he has something important to say, but she beats him to it: she is getting married tomorrow, to his friend Larry. Harry admits he loves her, refuses to give his blessing, and spends the day trying to talk her out of it, even asking her to come with him to his old university.
What's really going on
Harry frames the whole scene as a devil story: "When Larry's around, I smell burning sulfur," he says, and later narrates a tale about the devil abducting his lover to hell. The joke is a dodge. What he really wants is to stop time, because the woman he still loves is about to become unavailable, and the one thing he cannot claim is innocence — "I should never have introduced you." He calls Larry a friend and a devil in the same breath, which is how the film keeps its hero likable while exposing him: a man who wants to possess what he cannot hold, and who turns his own bad choices into other people's evil.
Key lines & what they mean
- “When Larry's around, I smell burning sulfur.”
- Harry calls his friend Larry the devil in a single line: sulfur is the traditional smell of hell, so being near him feels like evil.
- “I didn't think I could. I thought I was too damaged.”
- She explains why she never expected to marry: she believed she was too hurt to fall in love, until it happened anyway.
- “I should never have introduced you.”
- Harry's regret in one sentence: he blames himself for bringing the two of them together, and now he wants to undo it.
- “But I wasn't in love with you.”
- Her verdict on their past: she admired him and loved him, but the feeling was never the romantic kind he assumed.
Theme
- Heartbreak — Harry learns the woman he still loves is marrying his friend tomorrow, and he cannot hide how much it hurts.
- Dark humor — He turns his rival into the devil and narrates a hell story, joking to avoid his own regret.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level2/5
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“I didn't think I could. I thought I was too damaged.”
Why it's great
Two short confessions of self-doubt make the fear of love feel ordinary and real.
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Neutral
Use it yourself
I didn't think I could trust anyone again.
“I should never have introduced you.”
Why it's great
It takes the blame on itself, which stings more than any insult aimed at Larry.
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Neutral
Use it yourself
I should never have recommended him for the job.
“But I wasn't in love with you.”
Why it's great
One negation separates loving someone from being in love, and it cuts both ways.
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Neutral
Use it yourself
I wasn't in love with him, and I had to say it.
Up next · 08on the houseThe scene: Harry Asks Cookie to Come AlongTakeaways
What you walk away with- Jealousy arrives here as a smell, not a speech.
- Harry regrets the introduction more than the wedding.
- The call girl talks plainer than the writer does.
- Self-doubt is the quietest confession in the scene.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy does Harry say Larry smells of sulfur?
Sulfur is the old symbol of hell and the devil. Harry uses it to call Larry evil and to make himself laugh at a situation that genuinely hurts him.
Does she agree not to marry Larry?
No. She has planned it for months and tells Harry the wedding is tomorrow. He refuses to bless the marriage and tries to talk her out of it, but she goes through with it.
Who is Cookie?
Cookie is a sex worker Harry books later in the scene. The two negotiate what she will do, and then talk about depression, work, and what she takes medicine for.
What does 'beat the hell out of' mean?
It means to be far better than something. Cookie says her work beats the hell out of waitressing, meaning it is much better than waiting tables.