I went to see Annie Hall on a date, at the movies. In other words, not at the dvds. In an actual movie house, with popcorn. It’s a good movie. (Hello, Mr. Obvious to see you again.) O.k., it’s a great movie. When movies end different things happen. I mean with the people going to them, the audience. Sometimes the audience claps. Sometimes they wrestle, wrassle, wrussel, and just leave. This time, this audience, with this movie, just stood, but sitting down, (stayed) devastated. They were like modern dancers miming the air being knocked outta dere souls.

It’s the end that gets you, and of course everything that comes before it. It’s the whole effing movie. But the montage. (Ooh the montage of modern dancers miming the air being knocked outta dere souls, Mike, what are you talking ‘bout). No the short scenes quickly recapping the story of Diane and Woody, down at the schoolyard, or whatev. And then, then, Woody explains it. I’m paraphrasing, but you remember the joke, “my brother thinks he’s a chicken, but I can’t do anything about it, cuz I need the eggs.” Woody says that’s the way relationships are, effed up, but we need the eggs.

Me ‘n my date could’ve gone into the movie (actually gone into the screen and become a part of the movie), and Woody and Diane could’ve come out and watched us. I think I knew that going in. It’s a very self-conscious film. I’m a pretty self-conscious guy (aren’t I, I think I am, I’m pretty sure, yeah, I am, aren’t I). It’s a movie conscious that it’s a film. Or the other way round. Yet, nothing’s more real. Certainly not reality.

Woody says life is divided into the horrible and the miserable. The horrible are terminal cases, etc. and the miserable is everyone else. So he says you should be thankful that you're miserable. But what makes Annie Hall is this, the miserable aren’t that miserable at least not while they’re getting the eggs.