Keeping the Faith Review
by Christian Pyle (tlcclp AT aol DOT com)April 14th, 2000
"Keeping the Faith"
Reviewed by Christian Pyle
Directed by Edward Norton
Written by Stuart Blumberg
Starring Edward Norton, Ben Stiller, Jenna Elfman
Grade: A-
As "Keeping the Faith" begins, Brian Finn (Edward Norton) staggers into a New York bar. He sits morosely staring at a picture of three children. The Indian bartender (Brian George), who wears a "Kiss Me I'm Irish" sticker, offers an ear and insists that, whatever Brian's problem is, he's heard it before. Brian unzips his jacket to reveal the collar of a Catholic priest. The bartender responds, "This I gotta hear."
The three children in the photo are young Brian and his best friends Jake Schram and Anna Reilly. As they grew, the boys lost track of Anna but remained close to each other. While Brian became a priest, Jake (Ben Stiller) became a rabbi. Both are committed to dusting off their respective religions and to bringing the faiths together. They preach their sermons like stand-up comedians warming up a crowd. Jake brings a black choir into his synagogue to sing. Together Brian and Jake are opening an inter-faith kareoke lounge. They like to think of themselves as "the God Squad."
Re-enter Anna (Jenna Elfman), now a high-powered corporate consultant. She is still a person of unbridled energy who shakes up the guys' lives. As the twosome again becomes a threesome, Jake is facing a problem. In order to be promoted at his synagogue, he needs to get married. The "Kosher Nostra," the mothers in his congregation, are constantly offering him daughters he can't refuse, including a body-building nymphomaniac (Lisa Edelstein) and a network news correspondent (Rena Sofer). However, Jake finds himself drawn to Anna, who isn't Jewish. While they begin having an affair, Brian also falls in love with her, leading to tension between the three friends.
"Keeping the Faith" is a joyous feel-good movie because it celebrates the collapsing of barriers between races and religions. The supporting characters are a melting pot of different peoples living in harmony. The movie also treats religious vocations with respect, even making them seem fun at times. (Maybe too much fun: as a gentile, I wondered whether Jake was breaking any rules when he jumps in bed with Anna). With fewer young men entering the priesthood, I wonder if Edward Norton might be the best recruiting icon since Bing Crosby. The Catholic and Jewish humor is the gentle sort that these groups make about their own religions. First-time screenwriter Stuart Blumberg delivers a very witty script filled with clever pop culture references. All in all, "Keeping the Faith" is the funniest movie I've seen this year.
This is the directorial debut of Edward Norton. In his brief film career, Norton has received two Oscar nominations. In "Keeping the Faith," he not only proves himself a capable director but also shows a talent for comedy that he hasn't been able to explore in such weighty fare as "Primal Fear," "The People vs. Larry Flynt," and "American History X." Of course, Ben Stiller and Jenna Elfman are always funny, and both are in fine form here. The supporting cast includes Anne Bancroft as Jake's mother, Eli Wallach as the senior rabbi in Jake's synagogue, and Milos Forman (making a rare acting appearance) as Brian's mentor.
There was one horrendous flaw in the film when I saw it, but I'm hoping that a) the flaw was only in the preview version and will be fixed before "Keeping the Faith" goes into general release or b) I was incredibly mistaken. Anyway, the problem was that a few scenes were out of order. At one point in the movie, Brian arrives at Anna's apartment in response to a phone call to find that she has broken up with Jake. But the break-up and the phone call came showed up later in the movie. (Even after Brian has confronted Jake about all this.) Editing mistakes are usually subtle continuity errors and the like, so I'm scratching my head in astonishment that such a boneheaded set of mistakes could slip through. I hope the next time I see it, "Keeping the Faith" will be the polished product it ought to be.
Bottom line: Hilarious!
© 2000 Christian L. Pyle
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