It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Back in 1972, before he became known as the prolific writer and director of many classic and iconic movies - and the poster-boy for Jewish neurosis - Woody Allen was still finding his feet in the world of comedy and in cinema. Based on his own 1969 Broadway play, the film adaptation was not helmed by Allen himself but by Funny Girl and Footloose director Herbert Ross. This now seems unusual for Allen, who has always been keen to bring any of his original works to the big screen himself, but Ross' somewhat unfussy approach to film-making compliments the little man's shtick, and simply lets him get on with his motor-mouth monologues and comic pratfalls without the distraction of any cinematic trickery.Play It Again, Sam is centred around Allan Felix (Allen), a recently-divorced film critic who crumbles into self-loathing and pessimism when his wife Nancy (Susan Anspach) suddenly walks out on him. His friends Dick (Tony Roberts), a workaholic businessman, and his lovely wife Linda (Diane Keaton) talk him into dating again, setting up encounters with a string of women that Allan routinely makes a mess of. His favourite film of all time is Casablanca (he watches it on the big screen in the opening scene with his mouth agape during that famous climax), and is occasionally visited by the ghost of Humphrey Bogart (uncannily played by Jerry Lacy). Allan hates himself as he knows he will never be like Rick Blaine, Bogart's most iconic character, but the spirit of Bogie urges him to be a man and show the dames who's in charge. As more dates turn into embarrassment for both parties, Allan finds himself becoming closer and closer to Linda.Free from the wonderfully silly satire of Bananas and less ambitious in its mockery than, say, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, Play It Again, Sam hints at the ingenuity to come. It doesn't reach the heights of Annie Hall or Manhattan, but there is plenty of clever work here, with Allen's seemingly improvised little stand-up routines hitting the mark just as much as his physical buffoonery. It's also the first time Allen and Keaton were on screen together, and the chemistry is just as apparent in their on-screen romance as it surely was behind the scenes. Keaton appears to love working with him, and in one scene she is doubled-up with laughter at Allen's babbling. It doesn't have much to offer the romantic comedy genre in terms of originality, nor does it succeed in reinvigorating it in the way his later works would, but Play It Again, Sam is consistently hilarious, sweet and charming, and reminds us why we loved the little New Yorker before those horrific recent allegations surfaced.

This is the Woody Allen movie which is always quite easy to overlook. The reason being is that it is the one time where he wrote and starred in a film that he did not also direct. It was based on a Broadway play that he had written and was directed by Herbert Ross. But in all honestly it feels like it could very easily be an Allen directed effort to me and if I didn't know otherwise I would never be able to guess it was anyone else at the helm quite frankly. It stands out a bit when compared to the other films he was directing at the time, all of which were pure comedies with no real focus on realistic situations or even plots but it is very similar indeed to later films such as the classic Annie Hall (1977), which combined broad comedy and physical humour with realistic relationship material that that merged comedy, drama and romance. Quite honestly, no matter who directed this one, it remains one of the best films that Allen has ever been involved in and is successfully hilarious as well as making pertinent observations about male-female relationships.The story centres on a newly divorced neurotic film critic, who has problems with forming new relationships with women. His best friends try to help him meet new ladies but it leads to a series of disastrous dates. The story is straight forward enough but the performances and writing are really what it is all about. Allen is accompanied for the first time by a couple of actors he would work with several times in Tony Roberts and Diane Keaton, who play his best friends; with Roberts so work-obsessed he neglects his wife Keaton who spends increasing amounts of time with Allen, resulting in them having a short affair. All the actors have great chemistry together, with Allen and Keaton in particular working beautifully together.Allen's script is very good with many typically memorable one-liners but it is sometimes the more physical moments that create the biggest laughs, such as the uproarious scene where he is introduced to a new date in his flat and then proceeds to make an absolute clown of himself which had me squirming with laughter. Another aspect which makes this one stand out is the way it pays homage to Casablanca (1942), which Allen's character is obsessed with. Throughout the picture he is visited by an incarnation of Humphrey Bogart, brilliantly played by Jerry Lacy, who offers hilariously unsubtle advice in how to pull women. This mixing of fantasy into a comedy-drama framework is something Allen would return to repeatedly in his later career but its arguable that he never did it so well and funny as he did here. All-in-all, this slightly overlooked movie is truly a great Woody Allen movie, irrespective of whether he was in the director's chair or not!

Here's looking at you kid, the number one life lesson that Allen Felix takes a bit to literally, in Woody Allen's remarkable play adaptation.Herbert Ross directs Play it again Sam, the film based on the play written and Starring Woody Allen, with Diane Keaton, Toney Roberts, and Humphrey Bogart. A sensational funny witty classic Woody Allen piece, easy to watch and just impossible to dislike.Allan Felix is traditional Woody Allen, a neurotic divorced writer who struggles to get back in the swing of things, when his friends Linda (Keaton) and Dick (Roberts) attempt several times to set Allan up with women. Allan is however a devoted film fan and possess a passionate love for the classic Casablanca, which leads his imaginary figment of Humphrey Bogart (Jerry Lacy) to help Allan become a stud in the game.An absolute genius as always in the art of rom com, and general Woody Alleness. Being only 85 minutes long Play it again Sam is one easiest watches ,and just nice at ease enjoyable craft to take you where ever it pleases.Still bearing in mind that this is not directed by Allen, it still does not compare to the masterpiece that is Annie Hall, but I personally like better than Manhattan. Although it's charm and innocents makes it what it is, it is not the solid piece of film making that has been seen the works of Woody Allen. Still easy fun and entertaining, but just doesn't quite rich excellent film creation.I have recently adopted the event of a "Woody Allen Sunday" which basically implies that before the next week starts, the best way to settle down and enjoy the end of the weekend is to watch a work of Woody Allen. This has really just occurred from coincidence but in actuality a Woody Allen film is the perfect way to end the weekend.Just fun to watch classic Woody Allen nonsense. If you are only just getting to know the great Woody Allen, then I will say it will be the start of a beautiful friendship.7.8/10

"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.