MovieChat Forums > Play It Again, Sam (1972) Discussion > Irony in the movie

Irony in the movie

posted 19 years ago by u.kania
6 replies | jump to latest

I'm doing an essay on irony in Play it again Sam and was wondering what kinds of irony there are and which scenes would serve best as examples?

Here's what I've come up with so far:
First of all, there is of course dramatic irony, cause Woody tries to imitate Bogey in order to get the girl but fails exactly because he does so.
Then there is a kind of self-reflexive irony, cause the whole play/movie is a homage to Casablanca, there are several references and the movie points to this several times (meaning it points to the fact that it is a movie and not "reality", and it plays with the possibilities offered by the medium "film")

It would be great if you could post some of your thoughts on this, maybe also with examples (also of rhetoric irony).

Thx!

[–] mwantman 19 years ago

I'm not sure if you would count it, but the title is ironic. The phrase "Play it again, Sam" is one of the most frequently mis-quoted lines in film history. The actual quote was, "Play it once, Sam. For old times' sake"

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] StumpyJoe 19 years ago

How about the fact that we sympathize with this good-hearted schlub who can't get a girl because he's unattractive and nerdy . . . and yet every one of the women he's after (and for that matter, every woman appearing in the movie) is very attractive and desirable.

Now THERE'S your irony.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] thatsweetbird 19 years ago

I think what you said makes sense.

I think I have another one for ya:

Allen ironically has to find his feminine side--to relax and express his emotions--to win Linda's affection, despite that he initially thinks he has to further his supposedly undeveloped masculine side ala Bogart's advice. Conversely, Linda finds her masculine side through her relationship with Allen. She is more able by film's end to demand(in a healthy way)what she needs from her relationship with her husband, therefore strengthening that relationship.

[–] snelling 9 years ago

I didn't see much ironing in this film.

"I will not go down in history as the greatest mass-murderer since Adolf Hitler!" - Merkin Muffley