Play it Again, Sam restates the basic Woody Allen comic character as if nobody had ever seen him before, and as such may seem a bit dated to 2002 movie fans. At the time Woody had two of his own scrappy but joke-driven films under his belt, and was moving on to the more promising ground of more developed comedies like Sleeper, and more complicated movie parody features like Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex. Play it Again, Sam seems slow at the beginning because it's almost too generic, with Allen clowning around minus anything particularly cinematic or innovative to keep up the interest.

Basically a series of horror date tales, with Woody striking out in ever more humiliating ways, the show hits its stride when Woody interacts with the spirit of Humphrey Bogart, imitated fairly accurately by Jerry Lacy. Bogart's exhortations for Allan to grab and kiss women, to show them who's boss, of course backfire miserably. Totally pathetic when using his own persona, Allen as Allan resorts to a constant flow of slapstick and pratfalls to keep the level of comedy up. Some of these are hilarious, like the way Allan mangages to toss record albums across the room and stumble over his own furnture.

An interesting selection of actresses play the other women in Allan's life. Susan Anspach as his estranged wife is practically supportive in her utter rejection, and going back is never an option. Jennifer Salt (Sisters) can't believe her date isn't a total nutcase. Warhol actress Viva plays a nymphomaniac, and Joy Bang a thrillseeking girl who gets carried off by bikers in mid-date.

When Woody's relationship with Diane Keaton's character finally develops, the humor becomes more interesting. Unlike the anything-for-a-joke schlemiels of Bananas and Take the Money and Run, Allen's character here has a conscience and a concern for others, and points the way to the more developed middle-career Woody that would appear in Annie Hall. In this first film together, there isn't so much a romantic chemistry between Allen and Keaton as there is a visibly obvious joy in working together. In one angle on Keaton on a couch reacting to Allen (while Roberts maintains a great deadpan), Keaton's so broken up, she looks like she's going to pee her pants.

The funniest scene is the romantic showdown where Bogart is encouraging Allan to come on to Linda in his apartment. The three way banter between the pair and the ghost only Allan can see and hear, is almost excruciatingly funny, with Allen getting more comedy mileage from his reactions than his verbal delivery. Director Herbert Ross finds good camera positions for most of the gags and pretty much keeps out of the way; he's less fussy but also less accurate than Woody is when directing his best pictures.

The most dated aspect of Play it Again, Sam is the finale that apes the end of Casablanca. It still works well, but after 30 years of hommages and parodies and restagings of famous movies, it's too easy to forget that the idea was fairly fresh in 1972. Like one of Allen's nicely-turned New Yorker stories, the parody, the romance, and Allan's foolish reliance on the Bogart persona are all resolved at once, and the film ends on a high note.

Paramount's DVD of Play it Again, Sam has an okay 16:9 transfer that is adequate but not all that attractive. Owen Roizman's photography looks a bit dull and muddy, and it's not clear whether that's a purposeful choice or if this is just not a peppy transfer. There's a French track in addition to the English, and that's about it - not even a trailer for an extra.

On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor,
Play it Again, Sam rates:
Movie: Very Good
Video: Good
Sound: Good
Supplements: None
Packaging: Amaray case
Reviewed: December 29, 2001