The trouble is that the character, as written by Mike Binder, who also directs “The Upside of Anger” and plays a role in it, is such a pain that any husband would have done very well to take off, with or without a new woman. It is difficult to believe that Terry would have been much different before the crisis.

Bravely invading this viper’s lair is Kevin Costner as Denny Davies, a famous former baseball star who has his own frustrations. He has been reduced to autographing baseballs he has hoarded and selling them to augment his job as a radio DJ. Denny is Terry’s next door neighbor who takes a liking to her and is willing to suffer her initial hostility. It may not be love made in heaven, but a constructive relationship begins to bloom, however stormily. Denny is good for what ails Terry even though she is slow to realize it.

Denny is also sensitive to the needs of Terry’s daughters, one of whom gets involved with Shep (Binder), Denny’s producer at the radio station, and Denny becomes a fatherly presence. Costner is comfortable and likable in the role, among his best, and is one of the film’s two major assets, the other being the opportunity to watch the wonderful Allen in action even as a character we have no reason to like.