There's an old joke. Uh, two elderly women are at a Catskills mountain resort, and one of them says, Boy, the food at this place is really terrible."" The other one says, ""Yeah, I know, and such small portions."" Well, that's essentially how I feel about my favorite film, ""Annie Hall."" It's full of scattered one-liners, now-dated jokes and a non-linear plot that loses context if not watched carefully - and it's over much too quickly.
The other important joke for me is one that's usually attributed to Groucho Marx, but I think it appears originally in Freud's ""Wit and its Relation to the Unconscious."" I'm paraphrasing but it goes like this: ""I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member."" It would seem that's the key joke of my adult life in terms of my relationships with women because my favorite love story has such a depressing ending.
I'm not sure what it says about me when I say my favorite cinematic love story is about a failing relationship, but nonetheless, it is (what that should say to my wonderful girlfriend is another issue entirely). It's time I admit it; not only is ""Annie Hall"" my favorite love story, but it is probably my favorite movie of all-time. I tend to argue that the film is smart, funny, artful and unique. However, some of my friends would argue that I identify with Woody Allen's character, Alvy Singer, the liberal, kvetching neurotic who's more likely to take a date to ""The Sorrow and the Pity"" than to a romantic comedy and argue over Marshall McLuhan than talk about my day. The fact that I once broke up with someone by saying, ""A relationship is like a shark. It either moves forward or it dies,"" seems to aid their case further.
However, what I find most endearing about ""Annie Hall"" is that although Alvy and Annie's relationship is doomed to fail, the film itself believes in true love. The film knows that love is not necessarily being together forever and living happily ever after; love is a series of splendid moments that you can treasure forever. Likewise, ""Annie Hall"" itself is a film of moments, flashing back and forward, turning into one amazing love story. That it doesn't have a happy ending is irrelevant, because love is not a culmination. It's a journey.
So if you and your Annie or Alvy are looking for a movie both of you can enjoy this Valentine's Day, skip ""Ghost"" and ""Dirty Dancing"" and nurture your love and your film knowledge at the same time, and see a film that will become a favorite to you like it has to me.
It reminds me of that old joke, y'know... this guy goes to a psychiatrist and says, ""Doc, uh, my brother's crazy; he thinks he's a chicken."" And, uh, the doctor says, ""Well, why don't you turn him in?"" The guy says, ""I would, but I need the eggs."" Well, I guess that's pretty much now how I feel about relationships, and especially my undying affection for this film. Y'know, it may seem totally fanatical, and crazy, and... but, uh, I guess I keep goin' through it because, uh, I ... need the eggs.
If you are wondering what your choice in romantic movies says about you, ask Brad at boron@wisc.edu.
