2. What can be said about the nature of romantic relationships, or friendships, based on an analysis of this play?
Allan Felix a movie critic from San Francisco breaks with his lovely wife a situation that runs him to depression. He is a lover of classical movies where he finds consolation after the break up. He starts conversations with his ghost film idol named Humphrey Bogart who advices him on masculinity and romance. His best friends Dick and Linda encouraged him to try dating again. He ends up having disastrous blind dates that did not lead his love life to success.
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Allan is a comic film writer with an active imagination especially when watching the film Casablanca that starts the play. The film mesmerizes him on the scenario of Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in the airport. He does not want to identify himself with Bogie since it relates to his situation where the wife announced that their marriage was no more. This surprised and caught him unaware. Many fantasies surround the writer because of the disappointments caused by Nancy. Rick appears as women’s no nonsense man and an advisor on issues to do with relationships (Allen 4).
Relationships can be messy and frustrating as depicted by Allan’s emotional fanaticizes and deep thoughts due to his messy divorce with his wife. He has several flashbacks about his previous life and wishes time would turn back. His wife constantly confronted him and belittled his sexual inadequacy a component that led to the divorce. Allan Felix converses with his wife in his fanaticizes regarding the causes of breakdown of their marriage. At times, the imaginations, flashbacks and fantasies ran out of control that would lead someone to depression if no interventions were put in place to save the situation (Allen 12). His friends portray the type of friends that are of help in times of crises because they assist Allan to overcome the situation by encouraging him to start dating again. Despite their efforts, it did not bear any fruits because all his series of blind dates turned out badly. In relationship, it is always right for one to be real and not modify himself as it was with Allan who wore a mask of who he was especially in the presence of women a character that made his dates not to last for long (Allen 36).
Relationships have loopholes that lead to breakups and divorces. These divorces could be genuine especially when one of the spouses is getting intimidated or experiencing domestic violence. Some divorces can be tormenting if one is not aware that the other spouse is not happy with the relationship and wants to quit. This is what Allan Felix experienced. Relationship and dating has changed so much from 1960s to date. The urge for relationships emerges from admiring other people’s relationships. This is the reason why Felix admires Bogart’s man leading role in the Casablanca classical film with the way he relates with women. He enlists some of the values he gets from the character and acknowledges them as advices (Allen 79).
Importance and disgrace of friends
Friends help their friends get into a relationship through hooking them with their mutual friends or colleagues. With Dick’s help, Allan meets several of Linda’s girl friends; they hook up and start dating. Men tend to be awkward in situations where women surround them. They behave out of their senses when they have romantic interactions with women. Through Felix’s flashbacks and day dreaming it is evident that he exploits romance that is why he experiences failures in current dating. Best friends are key players in ruining other people’s relationships. When a friend knows his or her friend’s relationship in details: when they are happy, sad or when it is in the verge of break up. The friend may end up taking the position of another and they start dating. In the film, we see Allan involves himself with Linda after he realized Dick’s emotional absence to his wife. Allan and Linda’s relationship went on until they almost fell head over heels when Dick decided to tell him that his wife was having a secret affair with someone. Dick was not aware that the secret affair involved his wife and his best friend. On the other hand Allan could not tell Felix he is the one not even would he want him to discover he was the culprit(Allen 126).
Be alert always
Relationships at times require each person involved to be alert because Allan knew Dick and Linda are couples and goes ahead to date Linda while Dick assumes that since Linda and Allan knew each other since their childhood, there is no h arm when they are close to one another or even go out together. This shows that in any relationship, people should know their boundaries so that they do not go overboard or mistake their position and end up ruining other people’s territories (Allen 157).
Power of confidence
Felix finally turns out authoritative and confident like Bogart where he pretends to send Dick and Linda away with a plane because if she leaves Dick she will regret the rest of her life. When the couples were ready to leave, Allan declares his love for Linda to Dick but Linda is in love with Dick. He delivers the message in a humorous way: He made fun with Dick that Linda had gone to babysit him the previous night since he was lonely and asked for confirmation from Linda. He then concludes that despite all his attempts to conquer Linda’s love, she only spoke about Dick and that proved to him that Dick was the sole love of Linda. Linda ends up with Allan a relationship that began right from the time they met (Allen 189).
Career and relationships
High commitments to business deals affect most Relationships because one party ends up being lonely due to the absence of one of the partner. This is evident when Dick spends most of the time at work,doing business deals and constant office calls hence he turns out a boring husband.
Be real
Allan managed to maintain his relationship with Linda because he did not wear any mask when with Linda and the fact that Linda knows him all round since they met at an early age. In this reference, it is evident that relationships become strong when the two parties are conversant with each other and know their strengths and weaknesses. These relationships last long because couples are at ease with each other and able to work out their crisis since they do not fear each other. The way Allan took Linda from Dick yet they were great friends shows the courage that one needs to posses so as to attain what one loves and treasures without a second thought of the consequences. He dares to tell his friend that he is in love with his wife (Allen 342). A relationship is all about taking a step and go for what one love and the same should come from the other partner and blending mutually.
Work Cited
Allen, Woody, and Carter Burden. Play It Again, Sam: A Romantic Comedy in Three Acts. , 1900. Print.
