# Keeping the Faith (2000)

### reviewed by
John Carroll

A REVIEW OF KEEPING THE FAITH, BY JOHN CARROLL (all reviews seen at http://moviepage.hypermart.net/)

Keeping the Faith, starring Edward Norton, Ben Stiller, Jenna Elfman, Anne Bancroft, Milos Forman, Ron Rifkin, Holland Taylor, Eli Wallach, Kryss Anderson, Dagmara Dominczyk, Ken Leung, Rena Sofer and Brian Anthony Wilson. Directed by Edward Norton. Written by Stuart Blumberg. 2000. Reviewed by John Carroll. The first quarter of any year is bound to be horrendous, film-wise that is. January and February drag on into March with nothing but trash after trash flowing into theatres. Studios cross their fingers that a certain star or ad campaign will catch the majority of filmgoers for a fateful weekend to secure the box-office crown. Up until Erin Brockovich's March 18 debut, the theatres were putrid. But, we finally are starting to see a turn towards the better, with the summer build-up heading towards full tilt. On April 14th, a truly splendid comedy graces its way into theatres. Keeping the Faith is similar to 1998's You've Got Mail, but Edward Norton, who directs and stars, takes Stuart Blumberg's script and produces a romantic comedy that provides just as many off-beat laughs as it does gushiness. Keeping the Faith has a very volatile blend of drama and comedy, such that it once and awhile detracts from the humorous experience. The main premise of Keeping the Faith focuses on the relationship between Father Brian Finn (Norton), Rabbi Jake Schram (Ben Stiller) and Anna Reilly (Jenna Elfman). The trio were best friends during grade school, but were fractured when Reilly moved away after eighth grade. Over 15 years later, Anna is returning to New York for business and the trio is reunited once again. Keeping the Faith goes all over the place, but manages to get sensible laughs no matter where it travels. Whether it be the differences between faiths, the hypocrisy of outer-faith relationships or Edward Norton's dead on Raymond Babbitt (Rain Man) impression, Keeping the Faith gets its laughs cleanly and whole-heartedly. Keeping the Faith opens with Father Brian stumbling down the street, drunk, and goes to a bar. Right from the get-go, Norton establishes that this is a comedy. Five minutes into the film, he makes fun of the obvious "priest, rabbi and a women" jokes that never seem to go out of style. From this point on, Norton never ventures into serious territory over religion or relationships, and when he manages to tread the line, he or Ben Stiller manage to show us the punchline in it all. The plot evolves from the union of the trio to the love that the priest and rabbi share for Anna. Schram, a rabbi constantly fixed up by his congregation, is looking for spontaneous love, not a relationship that will just make him look better to his peers. Finn, a priest looking to modernize his faith, finally finds something worth loving; a new faith that he is fully interested in pursuing. Through both perspectives, Norton explores what true faith really is. And through it all, he maintains a high level of comedy, whether it be the perfect timing of Ben Stiller, or the off-beat comedy of minor characters like Don (Ken Leung; Rush Hour) or T-Bone (Brian Anthony Wilson; Snake Eyes).

The cast is harmonious. Norton once again displays his versatility, going from the daring Fight Club to the darling Keeping the Faith. The chemistry between himself and Ben Stiller is what keeps Keeping the Faith on its toes. Norton is not a veteran comedic actor, but being paired with uber-comic Stiller let him learn the ropes rather quickly. Jenna Elfman, coming off her stellar performance in EDtv (hint: sarcasm), manages to provide most of the romance in the film, and for the most part, lets Stiller and Norton get the laughs. The supporting cast is perfect, with small parts that lend hardy laughs at key moments. Seeing Finn pry at Schram in the audio store got rather tedious, and at this rather dull moment, Don (Leung) makes his first appearance, chiming away on the karaoke machine. Keeping the Faith stays fresh because it throws in comedy at the perfect points throughout, while still managing to balance out the romance and faith that ultimately end the film. The one strong supporting member of the cast with quite a few scenes is Anne Bancroft (The Graduate). She lends the veteran scars to Keeping the Faith and her neurotic role as the rabbi's mother is delightful, extracting an "Oi Vei" from the audience at the end. For all of this praise, Keeping the Faith does have a few minor detriments. Clocking in at over 2 hours, Keeping the Faith drags on while heading into the homestretch. Romantic comedies are not keen for twist endings, so watching the montages of each character does get a little tedious. Of course, this is the part where faith and love take over for comedy. This span of fifteen minutes is the one part where Blumberg forgets about the comedy that had ruled the film. This could have been cut down, but despite it, Keeping the Faith still comes up on top with its charm intact. You've Got Mail was delightful, but Keeping the Faith steps out of the usual path of romantic comedies by providing some all-around humor. It may be a great date movie, but I would highly encourage anyone to see Keeping the Faith that is looking for some great laughs. With characters having names like Father, Rabbi and T-Bone, Keeping the Faith may seem like another cheap piece of comedy, but it is anything but. Norton manages to keep his film distinct from any others, and in doing so, reminds the viewer to KEEP THE FAITH in some diamonds in the rough for the first quarter of the film year. Final Verdict: B+

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