Daily Dialogue — March 24, 2014

“Lately the strangest things have been going through my mind, ’cause I turned forty, and I guess I’m going through a life crisis or something, I don’t know. I, uh … and I’m not worried about aging. I’m not one o’ those characters, you know. Although I’m balding slightly on top, that’s about the worst you can say about me. I, uh, I think I’m gonna get better as I get older, you know? I think I’m gonna be the- the balding virile type, you know, as opposed to say the, uh, distinguished gray, for instance, you know? ‘Less I’m neither o’ those two. Unless I’m one of those guys with saliva dribbling out of his mouth who wanders into a cafeteria with a shopping bag screaming about socialism.”

— Annie Hall (1977), written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman

The Daily Dialogue theme this week: Self-Deprecation, suggested by JasperLamarCrab. Today’s suggestion by Alejandro.

Trivia: The film’s working title was “Anhedonia” — the inability to feel pleasure. United Artists fought against it (among other things, they were unable to come up with an ad campaign that explained the meaning of the word) and Woody Allen compromised on naming the film after the central character three weeks before the film’s premiere. Other titles suggested were “It Had to Be Jew”, “A Rollercoaster Named Desire”, and “Me and My Goy”.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Whole comic personae have been built around self-deprecation such as Rodney Dangerfield (“I don’t get no respect”). The theme is a cornerstone of Woody Allen’s movie characters as here in Annie Hall.

Comment Archive