Albert Brooks has been called the “West Coast Woody Allen,” a nickname which acknowledges the similarities Brooks and Allen share: they both write and direct observational comedies in which they play the lead. However, the nickname misses what distinguishes Brooks from Allen (and most other American film makers) and misreads Brooks’ films to boot. In a review of the 2005 Albert Brooks film Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World , J. Hoberman notes that “Woody Allen may bestride the world like a…