Woody Allen’s first major success as a director is centered upon one fundamental question: if romance and relationships are so awful, why do we continue to enter into them? The very premise of this is cynical, but that should be no surprise coming from Allen, someone fairly obsessed with death and sadness, although somehow he managers to mine pretty amazing and hilarious comedy out of this cynicism. He answers this big life question in the way he seems to like to handle most of these types of issues, with a joke. The punchline, “Because we need the eggs,” is as close to the sad truth as we’re able to get, perhaps, because it’s a non-answer. If all relationships are doomed, all romance is based on falseness and delusion, and the best case scenario is tragedy, why bother with love at all? Annie Hall responds to this with: because we can’t help ourselves.
Allen’s an existentialist, and for many of us that’s the most appropriate response to romance. We know it’s stupid, but it’s also terrific. It’s great to enter into romantic relationships so long as we know they’re ultimately meaningless and will end in sadness in one way or another. This is a cynical take on love but there’s a certain amount of truth to it that’s undeniable. We can despair over the impermanence of romance or we can revel in it, but denying it is pure folly. Knowing the meaningless of our existence is the only way to give it meaning.
Happy Valentine’s Day folks!