One of the best, 24 Jun 2002

Contrary to what some of the other reviews suggest, this is not a film DIRECTED by Allen - the director was Herbert Ross. Woody simply stars in the lead role, which he had played with great success in the stage version.

If you like Woody, however, you will be very much at home here. His trademark humour is well in evidence, and, yes, he still can't get the girl. Some great one-liners and some hilarious slapstick moments (the scene when the very nervous Felix first meets his date for the evening is outstanding) - plus fans of Tony Roberts will be pleased to see him on top form in this film.

The film is a good link from, say, Bananas or Sleeper through to Annie Hall.

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One of the best of the "early funny ones"., 14 Feb 2006

By	Jonathan James Romley (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews

It's very much a dry run for Annie Hall, too... with the early pairing of Allen and Keaton working perfectly, capturing that chemistry and sense of conviction that would further develop throughout greater films like Sleeper and Love & Death. It also makes great use of a montage style of filmmaking that Woody had been developing since Take the Money and Run, with Allen's endless-stream of disastrous dates making for great comedy, as we see our bumbling hero go from one women to the next, oblivious to the fact that the real girl of his dreams is right under his nose.

The direction from Herbert Ross is nicely judged, managing to tell the story fairly well, but also remaining faithful to Allen's early directorial style of films like Bananas and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex with those great comedy cut-aways towards the end in which Allen tries to rationalise the outcome of a possible affair by imagining himself as a well-mannered British aristocrat, a bumbling fool in an Italian neo-realist film, and the foil in a Hitchcockian thriller!!! The direction generally lacks the more interesting flourishes that Allen would develop as a filmmaker in his own right (see how the style of this film was applied to the cross-cutting, split-screens, faux-subtitles and the direct-to-camera asides of Annie Hall), whilst also neglecting the various references to European cinema that Allen always delights in. As I said before, this isn't really a problem, as it allows the bare-bones of the story to shine, and also means that it can be enjoyed by people who perhaps aren't as well versed in the Allen mythology as certain other viewers.

The film works really well as a piece of great entertainment, and is one of the funniest of the "early funny ones", with Allen's character really taking shape, building on the persona of his stand-up years, as well as his early creations for Bananas and Take the Money and Run. The supporting characters are just as great too, with Keaton perfectly capturing the sense of someone slowly falling in love with the charm and warmth of a close-friend, whilst that other soon-to-be Allen regular Tony Roberts is great as Keaton's high-flying husband (I love the running gag where his character is constantly phoning the office to let them know where they can find him). I even like the use of the Bogart manifestation as Allen's cinematic guardian angel, creating that idea of fiction entering fact (entering fiction), which would again crop up in later projects like Stardust Memories, The Purple Rose of Cairo and Deconstructing Harry.

The film is full of wonderful little details like that (not to mention a slew of great gags and set-pieces including Allen's unsuccessful attempt to pick up a manic-depressive in an art gallery!!), whilst Allen's character (here the lovelorn, loveable loser), is really one of his most endearing creations. Play It Again, Sam may not be as essential as some of his later films as director, in particular Annie Hall, The Purple Rose of Cairo and Crimes and Misdemeanours, but it is, regardless, a great piece of entertainment, and is certainly a lot of fun.

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