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The dialogue in Woody Allen s Anything Else is an exercise of neurotic bravery, a defense against fear and insecurity. His characters are doubtful about their prospects in life. Careers aren t going well, and romance works only through self-deception. To hold despair at bay they talk and talk, and because Allen is a master of comic dialogue, it is our pleasure to listen.
The new movie has both a mentor and a narrator, so one character gives insights about life and the other gives insights about him. The hero is Jerry Falk (Jason Biggs), a would-be comedy writer whose career is going nowhere, and his advisor is David Dobel (Allen), a 60ish New Jersey school teacher whose career has gone nowhere; he hasn t stopped hoping, but he keeps the day job. They meet in the park for long talks, Dobel doing most of the talking, Jerry grateful at first and then dubious: If Dobel knows so much, how come he s still stuck? Jerry was once fully and happily in love with Brooke (Ka