Disappointment for a huge fan!

The acting in this movie is really good.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

"Play it Again, Sam" is a quote from the 1940's classic film "Casablanca" which Humphrey Bogart actually never said to Dooley Wilson who plays the piano at Rick's. (The closest is Ingrid Bergman saying "Play it, Sam", asking to play the song "As Time Goes By".) "Play it Again, Sam" is an early 1970's comedy-film, which began its life as a Broadway stage play, and is an interesting juxtaposition of Old Hollywood, pre-1960, and the new crop of leading actors of the late 1960's and 1970's who are quite different than the old tough guys of Old Hollywood. Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, Kirk Douglas, Charlton Heston and many others were leading men whose roles were always the dominant male resolved to make things right. In the late 1960's Woody Allen was one of many actors and writers who explored a new take on the male persona, one who was more complex but curious, emotional and even vulnerable. He could even be insecure and neurotic at times. Woody Allen, Dustin Hoffman, Ryan O'Neil, and Dudley Moore to name a few, are male actors who probably only could have landed supporting roles during the time of the Hollywood Studio before circa 1960.The story involves sex-starved recently divorced Allan Felix (Woody Allen) who is having problems getting post-marital dates. He idealizes Humphrey Bogart who appears as a kind of fantasy-apparition to give him advice about his sex life, particularly his behavior towards women. There almost can't be two more diametrically opposed male personas: Woody Allen, the neurotic, and Humphrey Bogart, the heroic American male. The film begins with Allen at a movie theatre watching the last scene of Casablanca, quite possibly the most quintessential scene of the male hero, sacrificing a love relationship for the cause of humanity. In addition to Bogey, Allan also has a fantasy persona of his ex-wife who constantly torments him about why she left him and his sexual inadequacy. Bogey and his ex-wife are like angels on his shoulder, but one tries to encourage and the other tries to discourage.To help him in the "real" world, Allan has the friendship of a married couple, Dick and Linda (Tony Roberts and Dianne Keaton), who try to set up Allan with dates. Much of the first half of the film is a series of dating misadventures in which Allen either tries too hard to "be cool" or through some mishap the date becomes a fiasco. In his first encounter with a mutual friend, he tries to make himself out as Mr. Confidence with disastrous results. His friend Dick is often engaged in numerous financial deals which allows his wife Linda to give time to Allan. She tries to console him and set him up with more dates. Inter-spliced between Linda and his dates, Allan constantly fantasizes about things aside from Bogart and his ex-wife. He dreams of ideal scenarios with women and others which turn against his goals, almost like scenes from old Hollywood films. Then as events go along, Allan finds he's falling in love with Linda, and the feelings may be mutual.This film is quintessential Woody Allen, playing the neurotic persona, desperate to the point of exasperation. He dresses funny, he tries to be "manly" which doesn't work since he isn't. He doesn't exude the aura of a Bogart or a Heston, being a film writer. He's more of an intellectual than a get-things-done type. Throughout are the little witty and sarcastic remarks which made Allen one of the most popular stand-up comedians in the 1960's. One example from many in the film is when Dick tries to liken Allan's former marriage to a business deal:Dick: Allan, you have invested your emotions in a losing stock, it was wiped out, it dropped off the board. Now what do you do Allan? You reinvest. Maybe in a more stable stock. Something with long term growth possibilities. Allan: Who are you going to fix me up with, General Motors? If there is a message to the story, which I think there is, it is that we need to be ourselves and let someone find us who simply likes us as we are. Too often, we try to be something else to impress the opposite sex, and that's never going to work even among the most idealistic of circumstances.

This is Nancy, Allan's ex-wife speaking, and such a fascinatingly intriguing line that it totally distracted me from the break-up, the belittling comments on Allan's sexual merits, and all the pathos plunging Allan in the seminal state that forged the legend of Allen's characters, hence the merely disguised similitude between the two names. Anyway, I kept repeating in my mind "one of life's great watchers".These words powerfully echo the opening scene when Allan is watching the legendary ending of "Casablanca". His mouth agape makes you wonder whether he's mesmerized by the film or envious of the manly confidence Bogie exudes, towering a weepy Bergman. When the lights of the theater are turned on and Allan gets back to the bitter reality, his apartment gives the answer. It's a film-geek's paradise, full of Bogart's movie posters; all about Bogart, the screen star and macho icon, everything Allan/Allen is not.And this is the core of Allan's existential torments, he loves movies because they vehicle the very emotions, and feelings he wants to awaken in women. The constant hallucination of a Bogie with his legendary trench coat walking along Allan (great impression by Jerry Lacy) shows how predominant the Bogart-figure is in his life. The expression in Allan's face in the theater is of a young frail little boy who fantasizes about being the blonde stud getting the girl. The process works in reverse when he imagines Nancy (Susan Anspach) going in a motorcycle with a blonde and muscular biker, the 'Nazi-type' as he says.The core of Allan's insecurity is his total disillusion, he knows, a Bogie, he's not ... or maybe he can try by watching films, to grab some little bits of Bogie's aura, play it like Bogart (could have worked as another title) and see if it works. Naturally, the film is mostly funny when it doesn't.If not women, Allan has two friends, Dick (Tony Roberts), a fitting name for the workaholic real estate agent whose only running (sometimes irritating) gag consists on giving the phone number on each place he's in, and Linda (Diane Keaton), a gentle and sensitive soul, driven by a sort of maternal care toward Allan. Both try to connect Allan with their female acquaintances but the dates turn out to be totally disastrous. From an excessive use of Canoe perfume, a nervous grunt meaning 'Hello', his lamentable attempts to impress by showing a sports medal he bought 20$, or the unforgettable record thrown in the furniture, the date is probably one of the funniest scenes from any Allen's films.Indeed, Allen is never as hilarious as when he tries to impersonate what he's not, and the more he tries to 'play it like Bogie', the funnier it gets. The film is pure Woody Allen in his most delightful self-loathing humor. And there's more than that, if "Play it Again, Sam" provides some good moments to laugh at Woody Allen, it also vehicles the idea that he's never as 'attractive' as when he's natural, granted he tries to find the right girl. And the story leaves some sweet hints of a genuine chemistry between Allan and Linda, believable for the simple reason that with Linda, he's being himself, never tries to seduce her, and therefore reaches the level of quiet and tacit appeal to make jealous any wannabe Bogie.As a romance and a comedy, "Play it Again, Sam" is a real gem. All the bits are unequally hilarious and we kind of see the ending (and some other plot devices) coming but they're continuously punctuated with hilarious one-liners. "I reject before being rejected. It's a way to save time and money" is one of these quotes that would make you laugh harder if they didn't touch a real sensitive chord. It's all about the quest of our own equilibrium, on seduction without compromising ourselves, on hiding our weaknesses while remaining true to our souls. When Allan finally gets to play the role of his all-time idol Bogie, replaying the climax of "Casablanca", he precisely achieved his dream because he wasn't trying to be Bogie, the arc was closed."Play it Again, Sam" is adapted on a Woody Allen's play, and appropriately features all the Allenian trademarks: self-derision, ethnic references, a cute and tender romance that foreshadows the best coming between Allen and Keaton (in a way, "Play it Again, Sam" is like the ancestor of "Annie Hall"). And the more I watch Allen and Keaton's pairing, the more I realize that the couple has nothing to envy from Bogart and Bergman, Keaton has this incredible intellectual appeal that makes believable such a beautiful woman would be insecure. She doesn't overexpose her beauty, and instead exudes the feeling of a fragile flower waiting to bloom on a man's heart, the stuff that inspires Allan's own sensitivity.Herbert Ross, who directed the film, diluted his style into Allen's spirit, using the town of San Francisco as the only un-Allenian element of the film, providing its rich and unique atmosphere. And as usual, beyond the gags, there's the eternal dedication of Allen to Cinema. I mentioned in "Take the Money and Run" that Cinema was the ultimate geek escapism. By playing it like Bogie, Allan finally reconciles with his own self-esteem, the point is that he learned that Bogart isn't a character, it's a state of mind, a readiness for having the guts to follow heart and instinct and sometimes even appease them for the right reasons.When he impersonated Bogie, Allan was pathetic, when he embraced his state of mind, he was no more a loser. Maybe that's the greatest gift of Cinema, providing some models, not to impersonate, but to inspire ourselves. I also believe that Cinema is the stuff dreams are made off and as one of 'life's great watchers' I sometimes wish I could have the same hallucinatory relationship with Michael Corleone.

I much prefer Woody Allen's early films for the simple reason that they make. Seriously, before he seriously became serious, this guy wrote great jokes, a gift I sometimes think he took for granted before he started imitating Bergman and strove for integrity. This one's a hoot, even if it is adapted from his own play and was directed by Herbert Ross and not himself.The idea that Woody's gormless Alan character escapes his emotional crises by consulting his screen hero Bogart is brilliant and is expanded still further when he also dreams up his absent ex-wife to contradict Bogey's positive stroking. The plot naturally evokes the triangle at the centre of "Casablanca" with the move cleverly ending up by recreating the same sacrifice also at a misty airport with Woody quoting Bogey's immortal words in exelcis.Along the way, Allen crams in loads of largely self-deprecating jokes and comedic situations, like his "1-2-3-4" chat-up line on the dance-floor, his description of his roughing up by two hoods chasing his girl and his imaginings of love-rival Tony Roberts' various reactions to the news of the affair between him Allen and his wife, Diane Keaton.The playing is delightful, Roberts, whose character would have been rendered redundant if mobile phones had been around and Keaton at her kooky best (and you should see some of her outfits too!) provide great background support to Woody's monologue. Herbert Ross' direction I found swung from between conventional romantic-comedy to quirky flights of fancy sometimes too incongruously at times but nonetheless he keeps things light and fast- moving. And a special word too for Alan Lacy in the thankless task of recreating Bogart, a job he handles with relish and the necessary attention to detail. While some of the attitudes displayed to women are somewhat Neanderthal, plus there is one distastefully unfunny exchange between Allen and Keaton on the "hilarious" subject of rape, this funny Woody Allen has many other memorable one-liners and plenty of laugh- out-loud funny scenes. How I wish he still made them like that!

Typecasting is not always a bad thing, at least not in comedy. Think, for example, of how much mileage Charlie Chaplin was able to get out of his "little tramp" character. Woody Allen is another comic genius who has been able to get away with playing essentially the same character in most of his films and still managing to come up with a fresh angle every time. (Or, at least, almost every time).Allan Felix, Woody's character in "Play It Again, Sam" is, as anyone familiar with the great man's oeuvre will not be surprised to learn, a nervous, self-doubting, self-deprecating, angst-ridden, neurotic Jewish intellectual. (The one unusual feature is that he lives in San Francisco whereas most other Woody characters are New Yorkers. Unusually, Woody passes up the opportunity to make jokes at the expense of Californians). Allan has a lot in common with his creator, even the same first name. (Woody's real name is, of course, Allan Konigsberg). Both men share a love of jazz (Oscar Peterson composed a piece specially for the film) and an interest in the history of the cinema, especially the cinema of the forties and fifties. Allan has a love for the films of Humphrey Bogart and a particular obsession with "Casablanca", from which the title is a quotation.(Or rather a misquotation. As Woody would have been well aware, what Bogart actually says is "Play it, Sam", but at one time a lot of people mistakenly believed that he inserts the word "again" into that sentence. Today, the error has been pointed out so many times that I doubt if there is anyone left still labouring under that particular misapprehension).Allan, a film critic, has recently been through a traumatic divorce from his wife Nancy which has drained his already limited reserves of self-confidence and confirmed his already well-developed feelings of inadequacy. His great regret is that he is not, and never will be, life the cool, self-assured characters played by Bogart. Allan holds regular conversations with a ghostly Bogart who acts as his mentor, especially as regards his relationships with women.This "ghost" is probably not to be identified with the real Bogart- I doubt if Lauren Bacall would have been very impressed by lines like "I never saw a dame yet that didn't understand a good slap in the mouth or a slug from a .45"- but is rather a composite of various Bogart characters, not only Rick from "Casablanca" but also the heroes of films noirs like "The Big Sleep", "Key Largo" and "Dead Reckoning". (The film makes reference to all these and other Bogart movies).Allan's two friends Dick and Linda (a married couple) try to persuade him to go out with women again, leading to a series of hilariously disastrous blind dates. Eventually, however, Allan does find love with a woman who returns his affections. The only problem is that the woman in question is Linda herself, the wife of his best friend. Allan, Linda and Dick therefore find themselves in a situation which parallels that of Rick, Ilsa and Victor in "Casablanca". (Anyone who has not seen that film will probably miss a lot of the humour in this one).The film is unusual in the Woody Allen canon as it was, apart from "What's New, Pussycat", the only film for which Woody wrote the script but which he did not direct. (It was directed by Herbert Ross). It has certain similarities with Woody's other slapstick comedies from the early seventies, such as "Bananas" and "Sleeper"; there is, for example, a running joke about Allan's physical clumsiness. In its stress on human relationships, however, it looks forward to later, more intellectual, comedies such as "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan".As always with Woody, there is a great supply of one-liners ("I wonder if she actually had an orgasm in the two years we were married, or did she fake it that night?"), but a lot of the humour in this film is character-driven. Tony Roberts's Dick is the precise opposite of Allan, self-assured and rather insensitive. He is a successful businessman, obsessed with his work to the exclusion of all else, including his wife whom he frequently neglects. There is another running joke about his constant telephone calls to his office to inform them of the numbers at which he can be contacted at any given time. Jerry Lacy has Humphrey Bogart's voice and mannerisms off to a "T", although he does not look much like Bogart, which doubtless explains why he generally keeps his fedora hat pulled over his face.This was Diane Keaton's first appearance in an Allen film; she was to appear in several more, their professional association continuing long after their romance had fizzled out. Her Linda is a gentle soul who has much in common with Allan than she does with her workaholic husband, sharing both his neuroses and his wry sense of humour. She falls in love with Allan but is worried about hurting her husband who, although he does not show it, loves her deeply. For all Linda's eccentricities, she is clearly a loving and lovable person, and it was the ability to play characters like this that made Keaton, although not really a classical beauty, one of the sexiest actresses of the seventies."Play It Again, Sam" may lack the philosophical depth and insight into human nature of films like "Annie Hall", "Manhattan" and "Hannah and Her Sisters", but it shares their brilliant wit and humour. (The idea of Humphrey Bogart as a quasi-religious mentor and guide to life perhaps prefigures the scene in "Hannah" where Woody's character rediscovers his will to live while watching a Marx Brothers comedy).It is not, perhaps, one of Woody's truly great films, but it is not far behind. 8/10