Read this or you'll regret it soon and for the rest of your life!

In recent years, I have fallen into the habit of not watching movies or television. The cause for this is the almost certain disappointment that I get when I expect to spend a portion of time being entertained and end up horribly uninterested. However, movies like The Public Enemy and Casablanca have made me look into the past for my future entertainment.

After about five minutes of watching Casablanca, I started to think that it was going to be a horrible movie. I did not want to spend my Wednesday night watching a story about people passing through a bar. When Bogart made his appearance on screen, I questioned everyone's statements of how cool he was. Fortunately, as the characters of the movie developed, I was drawn deeper and deeper into the fantasy of Rick's Cafe Americana. Rick ended up being my favorite character from the film. His progression from a cold and distant saloon owner to a passionate man doing the right thing definitely solidified his position as a very cool character.

I believe that Rick's ultimate motivation is to do the right thing. At first, he is withdrawn from the world because of the way Ilsa hurt him in Paris. As a result, he is afraid to stand up for what is right because he does not want to be hurt anymore. However, when Ilsa returns in his life, Rick's motives become revitalized. He goes from being an isolated businessman to being an active participant in people's lives. For example, when the Germans are singing in the cafe, it may be Victor who tells the band to play La Marseillaise, but it is Rick who nods to the band, giving them the permission to play the anthem. He does this because he views Victor's actions as good and wants to help him in any way necessary. The ending scene of the movie also shows Rick's commitment to doing the right thing. By giving Victor and Ilsa the papers, he sacrifices any chance of a relationship with Ilsa so that she will be happy with Victor. In addition, this sacrifice gives Rick, Victor, and Captain Renault the opportunity to help France.

Out of the supporting cast of the movie, Sam is the most interesting. While Sam is not a horribly interesting character from the standpoint of the plot of the movie, I am interested by the way a black man was portrayed in the movie. Although the point where Sam and Rick are drinking late at night puts Sam as a friend of Rick, the way Sam is referred to as boy occasionally and the way that Sam calls Rick boss all the time puts Sam as an inferior person to the white men in the movie. Fortunately, although Sam is portrayed as inferior, he is also shown as a kind person who is genuinely goodhearted.