Play It Again, Sam

Perhaps Woody's best effort in his 'neurotic schlep' persona. The script is a comic whirlwind, with too many brilliant scenes to enumerate (I can't resist mentioning the blind date's arrival - the desperate preparations and the pathetic introduction are funny but painful, in that we have all been in that position; his demonstration of authentic Chinese rice-eating technique is another classic). The device of the imaginary Bogart alter ego works well, especially in the climactic scene with Diane Keaton. In my book this ranks with Sleeper, Manhattan, and Annie Hall as Woody's best films.

Acclaimed and funny movie for Allen, adapted from his stage hit, ¨Play it again, Sam¨, but directed for once not by Allen but by Herbert Ross. This Woody Allen comedy deals with Allan Felix (Woody Allen), a San Francisco film critic, watches the final scenes of the 1942 film 'Casablanca' and finds himself inspired by the manliness and selflessness of the character of Rick Blaine, played by Humphrey Bogart. Soon, however, he reverts to his typical neuroses and insecurity, and recalls the recent departure of his wife Nancy (Susan Anspach) who has walked out and while his two best friends try to encourage him to score with somebody else. Meantime, Allan goes on mostly at home watching old Bogart , and the only advice he heeds is from a fantasised Bogey. Wondering how to be more self-confident, Allan imagines Bogart (Jerry Lacy) sitting in his room, advising him to treat women like dames. Later, Allan is visited by his best friends, overworked businessman Dick Christie (Tony Roberts) and his wife Linda (Diane Keaton), a model. Here's laughing at you, kid !. By day he is Woody Allen !. But When Night Falls And The Moon Rises, Humphrey Bogart Strikes Again !. It's still the same old story, a fight for love and glory !. If you're going to take advice - take it from the best !.

Although Woody Allen does not direct the film, but rather the late Herbert Ross, everything about them is smooth and feels like a film by Allen himself. The film is full of gags that seek the complicity of cinephiles and Humphrey Bogart enthusiasts. The picture marks Allen's first cinematic encounter with Keaton and the beginning of a collaboration that would culminate in the Oscar for both of them in 'Annie Hall'. It is based in part on his own life with the theme of the main role, his love for cinema and his affair with Keaton are chronicled as a wistful, episodic comedy commenting on love, loneliness, communicating, maturity, city life, and various other topics. Writer and starring Allen himself alongside his then muse and girlfriend Diane Keaton, both of whom giving stunning interpretations. Woody Allen plays the nervous and weedy Alan Félix, an extreme pessimist man that obsesses with find match but fail on all attempts, he has very sarcastic and cynical views about the world and the people around him. The picture operates on many levels, Allen is -no surprise- a nerd , an underdog and this time he's in love with his best friend's wife. Modest and simple story line provides a framework of endless gags with Allen borrowing heavily from Casablanca, in which Bogey even shows up periodically to conseul Allen on the ways of wooing women. And even the ending restages Casablanca with great panache. A good film with numerous incidental touches mark it out as one of the most unusual as well as one of the funniest of its era. Woody Allen and Diane Keaton are well accompanied by a wonderful cast made up of the best actors at the time, such as: Tony Roberts who worked usually with Allen, Susan Anspach played well the wife who left him to experience a more exciting life, Jerry Lacy who performed Bogey to the hilt, Jennifer Salt, Joy Bang, Viva, among others .

Superior and endearing comedy isn't hurt by Herbert Ross directing instead Allen, who adapted the script from his own play. The motion picture was competently directed by Herbert Ross . This artisan was a good filmmaker expert on musical, drama and comedy, such as :¨Goodbye Mr Chips¨, ¨Play it again Sam¨, ¨Funny Lady¨, ¨The Sunshine Boys¨, ¨The Goodbye Girl¨, ¨The turning point¨, ¨California Suite¨ , ¨Nijinsky¨, ¨Footloose¨, ¨Protocol¨, ¨Dancers¨, ¨Pennies from Heaven¨, ¨The secret of my success¨, ¨Steel Magnolias¨, ¨My blue heaven¨, ¨Undercover blues¨, ¨Boys on the side¨ and several others. ¨Play It Again, Sam¨(1972) is an enjoyment of a film. Rating: 7/10. Better than average.

Directed by Herbert Ross, "Play It Again, Sam" (1972) is Woody Allen's film from the beginning to the final credits. Allen wrote the screenplay based on his Broadway play and he starred as Allan, a neurotic movie buff who writes the film reviews (what else?). Allan not just loves movies; he lives in the movies' world and constantly takes advices on how to get the girls from the legendary hero of his all time favorite movie "Casablanca", Humphrey Bogart's Rick. I am not a fan of "Casablanca" at all but if my favorite Artist is so much in love with it, maybe I should give it another try.

When Allan's wife Nancy leaves him, his best friend Dick (Tony Roberts) and his lovely wife Linda (Diane Keaton) try to fix him up with several eligible pretty young ladies. Very typically for Woody's characters, he is a total failure with them. The only woman he feels comfortable with, he shares the same insecurities and neuroses, the one whose Birthday he remembers and who he desperately wants is Linda, his best friend's wife. "Play It Again, Sam" is a remarkable movie for several reasons and one of them - it was the beginning of a wonderful working (and not only) relationship between Allen and Keaton that would result in the movies "Bananas" (1971), "Sleeper" (1973), "Love and Death" (1975), "Annie Hall" (1977), "Interiors" (1978), "Manhattan" (1979), "Radio Days" (1987), and "Manhattan Murder Mystery" (1993) and will bring them both well deserved fame and Oscars. Made 34 years ago, "Play It Again, Sam" holds up very well and I would call it my favorite earlier Woody's film and the best Woody's film that he has not directed.

8/10

This is one if my favorite movies of all time. It is best seen right after Casablanca; I like to watch the two back-to-back to get the full effect. I laugh out loud throughout the movie, as I see myself portrayed so well in Allen's character. The movie is a must for any slightly-geeky single man or anyone who enjoyed Casablanca. I think of this as the story of a lovelorn geek on a quest for love, guided by his faith in Bogart. The cast is astounding; along with Allen's performance, Diane Keaton added a good amount of reality, sensitivity, and humor. Her character is quite believable. Tony Roberts is hilarious; his deadpan delivery of all the phone number lines prevents the joke from getting old even on multiple viewings.

What could be cooler than having a screen legend hanging out with you, offering you dating tips? This classic 1972 comedy written by and starring Woody Allen gives him two, one the specter of Humphrey Bogart, the other a young Diane Keaton just working her way into film.

Woody plays Allan Felix, a film critic who has just been dumped by his wife and sets off to fill the hole in his heart. "I'll get broads in here like you wouldn't believe," he tells himself. "Swingers, freaks, nymphomaniacs, dental hygienists." But when even the nymphomaniac complains about his getting fresh, he realizes it won't be so easy. Enter Bogart, appearing in a series of fantasy sequences, and Keaton, very much a part of his real life as one-half of the married couple that jumps in to help Allan out. Alone amongst women, she can see Allan as a worthwhile guy, especially with their shared love for apple juice and Darvon.

"Play It Again, Sam" is a bit of an anomaly for an Allen comedy. It's set in San Francisco, not New York, and is directed by Herbert Ross rather than Allen himself. But it's very funny, kind of poignant, and a clever way of examining the foibles of hooking up, circa the 1970s. A number of comic vignettes examine the various ways seeking out the opposite sex can go wrong, on the dance floor, in a Chinese restaurant, in a bar. My favorite has to be the museum hottie with the pneumatic voice: Only an Allen movie would have its best punchline be about committing suicide.

The central point of the film, as brought out by another apparition only Allan sees, his ex-wife, is that the world is broken up into watchers and doers, and Allan the film critic is too much the former. Bogie gives him much the same advice, but Bogie and the ex-wife don't exactly get along in Allan's daydreams, leading to awkward moments. "Don't listen to him!" "Don't listen to her!" "Fellas, we're in a supermarket."

Besides, as Allan notes, it's one thing for Bogie to get slapped, another thing for him: "Your glasses don't go flying across the room."

Other than "Annie Hall" and "Sleeper," this is the best of the early Woody Allen comedies, another way of saying the best of Woody Allen. Ross's unpretentious style keeps the focus on the humor and the performances, and even makes Allen seem a gifted physical comedian, which he isn't. Keaton is a terrific foil for Allen, both platonically and as it turns out, otherwise, while Tony Roberts as her husband (this being his first of many Allen films, too) makes for a wry straight man with his constant phone calls and his appearances in some fun fantasy send-ups, the best of them in Italian.

You really like the characters in this one. Empathy can be a powerful weapon in comedy, something Woody apparently forgot as he moved into his Bergman phase. The ending is neat without being satisfying, the dream sequences aren't used to their full potential, and some of the rape jokes sound really bad all these years later. But you laugh a lot watching this film, a nice vehicle for Woody's observational humor and for seeing the game of love played in its most ineptly enjoyable form.