Play It Again, Sam

1972 romantic comedy

Rating: 16/20

Plot: A film critic's wife leaves him because of "insufficient laughter" even though he does guffaw occasionally, and his married pals try to get him back on track by setting him up on some dates. He starts to fall for his friend's wife.

You can't watch this without first seeing Casablanca since this spoils the classic during the opening credits where Allen's character watches the ending. I really liked watching Woody watch that movie, by the way. It also makes a handful of references to Casablanca, references that go beyond just the title. Bogart, impersonated almost perfectly by Jerry Lacy, is in this quite a bit, or at least his spirit is, kind of like Woody Allen's Jiminy Cricket. This was made about fifteen years after Bogie's death and kind of works as a nice tribute to him and his character Rick. It's also the first of several movies that Allen and Diane Keaton would make together. Nothing physically should make these two compatible, but I also love the chemistry they have on screen together. I can't say I like Keaton's hair in this movie, but it still might be better than Woody's hair. This is a bit different than their other collaborations. Allen wrote this (as a play) but did not direct it. I can't notice the difference there. The main difference is that this has a lot more physical comedy from Woody Allen. There's more slapstick here than in other Woody Allen movies although he's essentially playing that one character he played in the 70s. Not all of the physical comedy works. There's some terrific physical comedy in Allen's apartment during a double-date scene. And then there's a scene with a hairdryer that should have ended up on the cutting room floor. Mostly, this is funny because of the dialogue and Allen's character's inner-monologue which is mostly outer-monologue. "You have the most eyes I've ever seen" and "You were all out of bourbon so I made you a straight water" are lines that made me laugh, and a scene in a museum where a gal talks about a Jackson Pollock painting is really funny. And there's an uncomfortable conversation about rape if you happen to think rape is funny. All in all, this is a charming and bittersweet romantic comedy that fits right in with Woody Allen's best movies.