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Between
the sixth and eighth grades, three children find common friendship
in a New York neighborhood: a Jewish boy, an Irish Catholic boy
and a girl named Anna (religion unknown). Together they are an
inseparable team, with Anna spreading her attentions equally
between the two boys. In the eighth grade, her family moves to
California, and the two boys grow up with friendship intact but
forever missing and being unable to replace their friendship and
love for Anna.
In
Scene 2, Act 1, Anna (Jenna Elfman) sends word to
now-Irish-Catholic-priest Father Brian Finn (Edward Norton) that
she is coming back to New York on business and is eager to get
together with old friends. Finn tells his best friend, now Rabbi
Jake Shram, that she is coming to town, and the plot is off and
running.
Throughout
the movie, Father Finn tries to stay devoted to his calling, Rabbi
Jake tries to find a good Jewish wife and Anna tries to find
happiness. The question the movie begs to ask is, "Will
they?"
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Although
there are some unlikely scenarios in this movie, the plot is fresh,
the acting is good and the filming is impressive. It seems that Norton
directs everyone well in "Keeping the Faith" except himself,
although Stiller’s portrayal of Shram needed a little more zing and
pizzazz (he stands around a lot with his hair sticking up and his
mouth wide open). It was nice to see cameos of Anne Bancroft and Eli
Wallach. Elfman is an actress who is very believable as television’s
"Dharma," but I’m not sure if her face, her words and her
acting really work in "Keeping the Faith." The casting is
questionable (really — Ben Stiller and Jenna Elfman as a couple?),
and about 10 minutes or more of this film needed to be cut out and
left on the editing room floor.
The
film and television industries have been blatantly against
Christianity and Judaism for as long as I can remember. The only
favorable religious figure who comes to my mind over the last 20 years
was Father Mulchahy from "Mash." In the midst of this film,
Norton successfully and appreciably portrays Catholicism and Judaism
in a favorable manner so as not to offend Catholics or Jews or to send
bad vibes to anyone who might be a spiritual seeker. In fact, a seeker
might be more apt to check out a church or synagogue after watching
this film.
While
there are some fundamental flaws in this film, it is campy, fun and
romantically cheerful. I recommend it lightly and give it 2˝ stars
out of 5.
[midge]
midge@lincolndailynews.com
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Starring: