Saturday

Play It Again, Sam is a hard film to place in the career of Woody Allen. He adapted it from his own play, but it's not directed by him. Strangely, however, he had already directed four films before this one. It's just as funny as anything he's ever done, and involves more acute observations than his other early films Bananas or Sleeper. In many ways, in fact, it feels like a draft of Manhattan and Annie Hall, and even stars the same actors in very similar roles (Tony Roberts and Diane Keaton). The slightly disconcerting aspect to it is the frequent references to Casablanca (the movie begins with the end of that one), and the visions Allen's character has of Humphrey Bogart. As he will find out for himself as he matures, he doesn't need to so obviously reference and rely on another work of art, his films can stand on their own without it. Indeed, if you'd taken away those references, you might be left with a better movie. Overall, the direction itself feels rough and rushed, and the sound quality seems bad. There is very little music (again, not done by Woody himself here, and perhaps it would've been helped by his usual blues soundtrack). It does feel like a play, although they've tried very hard to dispel that with frequent location changes. Throughout, we are mostly listening to the monologue of Allen, so that we never really engage with the drama. I laughed throughout (it contains another classic moment where Allen is so funny the other actors laugh too), but I don't think this is particularly a good movie.