Keeping the Faith Review

by Lars Lindahl (larsattacks1 AT yahoo DOT com)
April 30th, 2000
Review by Lars Lindahl ([email protected])

"Keeping the Faith" (2000) **1/2 (out of four)

Directed by Edward Norton
Written by Stuart Blumberg

Starring Ben Stiller, Edward Norton, Jenna Elfman,
Anne Bancroft, Eli Wallach, Ron Rifkin, Hollan Taylor,
Lisa Edelstein, and Rena Sofer.

Edward Norton burst into the movies with his memorable
award winning performance as a young choir boy accused
of murder in Primal Fear. He proved he wasn't a one
hit wonder after impressive acting in American History
X and Fight Club. How does Norton fair in the romantic
comedy Keeping the Faith? Well he once again shows off
his acting skills except this time he shows them off a
little too much. In a very simple movie like this,
Norton just overacts and brings an excessive amount of emotion into his character. By also directing the
film, it's as if he is trying to create his own Hamlet
and direct himself to an Oscar. Keeping the Faith is a classic case of an actor bigger and better than the
picture. Co-star Ben Stiller, on the other hand, is
perfect for his role in the film. Much like his
character in There's Something About Mary, Stiller
plays a normal, likeable guy who has the worst luck
when it comes to the ladies. Maybe he isn't the best
actor on the planet and he most likely will be
typecast in these roles for the rest of his life, but
Stiller saves the movie. With as many one liners as
physical comedy, he just seems so comfortable in his "everyman" role. No wonder he appears in more scenes
than the critically praised Norton, when it comes to
these types of movies, Stiller is the true
professional.

Keeping the Faith follows two successful, popular, iconoclastic best friends, one a priest (Norton) and
the other a rabbi (Stiller). The two have known each
other since the pre-teen years and their relationship
is seemingly unbreakable. However, their friendship
becomes somewhat turbulent when a female friend, Anna
(Jenna Elfman), who grew up with the two boys, comes
back to town and both guys find themselves attracted
to her. Not only do their sudden feelings for Anna
endanger their relationship, but also respect of
others in their professional fields. The priest
shouldn't even be thinking about Anna and because she
is not Jewish, the rabbi fears he will be widely
scrutinized.

The mistake Keeping the Faith makes is that it spends
way too much time trying to teach the moral that you
must have faith in yourself and others equally in
order to make it in this world. In order to convey
this message, screenwriter Stuart Blumberg constantly interrupts the quickly paced premise with long, boring conversations that are neither romantic nor comedic.
In a romantic comedy, everything should be one or the
other. Don't get me wrong, I laughed several times
during the movie but even though the jokes were many,
they were very far between. The movie just dragged on
to a point where it was nearly unbearable, then
Stiller would appear in top form and pump some energy
into the story, then back to the dragging. A number of segments during the movie contained little or no
development.

The supporting cast is superb. Anne Bancroft, in
particular, is great as Stiller's mother who pressures
him into dating only Jewish women. Lisa Edelstein is
also noteworthy as one of the annoying girls who
Stiller is set up with. As "the date from hell,"
Edelstein's slapstick performance provides a number of laugh-out-loud moments.

As for Jenna Elfman, she definitely brings some of
Dharma into her character. Honest, gregarious and
loquacious, Anna has everything the two men are
looking for. Elfman believably plays Anna and makes it
easy for the audience to understand why they instantly
go gaga for her. Like Stiller, she seems fit for roles
like these and dives right into her character with
complete control.

Keeping the Faith won't be the funniest comedy of the
year but it is recommended for a few chuckles. And
Norton, I expect him to win an Oscar within five
years, maybe even two. Just not for movies like these.

Grade: **1/2 (out of four)

Lars Attacks!
A teenager attacks past and present cinema
http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/larsattacks

[email protected]
(c) 2000 Lars Lindahl

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