Berlin to America: It's time we had a little Plain talk

Though most plans hatched in a dark bar seldom see the light of day, a documentary on JP proposed over pints at the Brendan Behan Pub has moved from wishful thinking to work in progress. Veteran Doyle's waiter Rick Berlin will add the new role of filmmaker to his arts resume as he and local musician/writer Todd Drogy work to complete ''Jamaica Plain-Spoken (Small Town America in the 21st Century?)," an oral history of the neighborhood that Berlin describes as ''the exact opposite of a gated community."

Hustling among tables at Doyle's last Sunday night, Berlin stole a few moments by the wait station to discuss the status of the project the duo plans to complete by 2008. With more than 40 interviews in the can, he lauded the openness of their subjects, who range from ''kids to old-timers, stockbrokers to struggling artists."

''It's amazing," said Berlin, 60. ''If you scratch beneath the surface of a banker or a barber, you're gonna find a story that will break your heart or inspire you or both. The whole red-state versus blue-state division starts to break down when you hear these individual voices. You realize that a blue-collar Republican's wish for his son isn't so different from a Democratic dad's."

After a moment's needling from a waitress for chatting during the dinner rush, Berlin continued. ''JP is a place where people will stop and talk with you, regardless of what your T-shirt says," added Berlin. ''Sure, JP has had some problems, but by and large it's working as a genuinely diverse neighborhood. Todd and I want to capture that and present it as a template for the rest of the country."

RON FLETCHER