Play It Again, Sam, 1972

Im still not a big fan of Woody Allens comedies about the love-lives of neurotic, big city intellectuals, but I think this early entry into the genre is probably his best. Despite its sometimes slapsticky humor, its surprisingly a lot more honest and less self-indulgent than Annie Hall or Manhattan. Plus its actually pretty funny. Allen plays a recently divorced man who is terribly insecure around women, which is a far more believable role for him than that of the irresistible ladies man capable of dating starlets half his age that he usually plays. This film does a good job of capturing, in a humorous way, the awkward pain and misery of dating people who are clearly out of ones league, although Allens over-the-top clumsiness gets kind of old fast. And while I liked the frequent references to Humphrey Bogart, to be honest, this movie doesnt do itself any favors by directly comparing itself to one of the greatest films (Casablanca) of all time. (edit: Where did my apostrophes go? Im starting to hate this site)

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