I Am Surrounded By People With No Sense Of Culture Or History. Rick's Americain Cafe Is The All-Time BEST Fictional Bar

Once again during a snake draft I was SHOCKED by my peers. A panel of 5 men over 30 who are all educated and NONE of them have seen "Casablanca". It's astounding. I realize that it is a movie that is almost 80 years old, but it's a great historical fiction. One of the most quoted movies of all-time. Regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. A movie that is often used as a teaching tool in history classes. I would argue that the movie also really holds up even though its in black and white. A great story. I can not believe that nobody else in the room had seen it and because of that the Rick's Americain Cafe didn't get the love it deserved as an all-time fictional bar.

Rick's has everything I could ever want in bar.

1) Piano music that everyone sings along to

You ever been to Sluggers on Clark Street? It used to be filled with bachelorette parties. Piano bars just always get your endorphins up. The vibes are always high. Circle around and everyone sing together. The entire bar becomes a community. Hard to have a bad time when the live music is fun. 

2) Beautiful women

Ilsa...god damn. Takes your breath away. If I were going to rank the most beautiful characters in cinema history I might go with Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca and Rachel McAdams in The Notebook. Maybe I have a type and it's 1940s chic. 

There was also that drunken little minx in the beginning that threw herself at Bogart in the beginning. She was pathetic but still a smoke in her own right. 

3) Illegal gambling

Now, I only gambling responsibly and legally on the Barstool Sportsbook App or at Penn Entertainment properties. Having said that, if were living in war time Morocco and there were table games at the local bar I would NEVER leave. It just looks like the best time ever. 

Bored of the singing…go gamble. Lose your money…go back to the bar. Drunk at the bar?…time to sing. And round and round it goes. Then, when the night is done, maybe you met some people who will help you plot against the Nazis. That place had everything. That's why "everyone goes to Rick's". The ultimate speakeasy. 

I took Rick's late because I anticipated the fellas not thinking back to 1942 and that they'd take McDonalds or a drug dealers chicken/money laundering shop, but I was stunned when nobody had ever seen the movie. I demand that Eddie put Casablanca next on the list for his classic movie review episode of Dogwalk. Available for streaming on HBOMAX