Keeping the Faith (2000)

for a realxing time

A bit unrealistic regarding the presentation of Judaism and Christianity in the movie. But a perfect story about three friends who finally come to terms with their relationships. A perfect love-story. THE urban romance-movie. A perfect Jenna Elfman. October 7, 2008

"It's complicated. I'm reading "Dianetics"."

KEEPING THE FAITH (2000), is a cinematic take on the old joke, "A priest and a rabbi meet this blonde coming down the street. . ." In this case, the blonde is Jenna Elfman (Anna), the priest is Edward Norton (Brian), and the rabbi is Ben Stiller (Jake), three childhood best friends.

KEEPING THE FAITH is very much about how religiously observant people balance the demands of the spiritual life against those of the temporal life; it's also about how people, observant or not, balance the demands of career against those of love and family; and last, but not least, it is about how people who love balance their self-expectations against the expectations they have of their significant others.

Brian and Jake are still best friends, dedicated to working together ecumenically, and dedicated to invigorating their congregants with a desire to become closer to God, sometimes with hilarious consequences.

Jake falls in love with Anna and Anna with Jake, but Jake can't reconcile the idea of a rabbi marrying a non-Jewish woman with the demands of his heart, and the expectations of his synagogue. While Jake struggles with this dilemma, Brian finds himself increasingly attracted to Anna (who loves, but is not in love, with him), and struggles with the demands of his heart versus his vows. When he realizes that Anna is in love with Jake, a crisis ensues.

Since Jake, Brian and Anna all fear confronting themselves and each other with these issues, their lifelong bond becomes strained and their love for each other is put to the test. In the end, all three discover, happily, that "keeping the faith" is in large part a question of having faith in each other.

KEEPING THE FAITH is a nice, fluffy film that showcases the talents of Elfman, Stiller and Norton well, and gives us New York City in summertime at its best. September 16, 2008

I'm not even religious and I love this film

It is a beautiful story about Faith and what that means to the people who take it seriously. I love the Milos Forman speech about a choice you have to make every day. I love the mingling of very different religions without feeling that any is superior. And the idea that faith should inform your life but not take it over. This is one of those movies I flip to whenever it is on, and I just sent it to my sister who loves Ed Norton but is somewhat afraid of what he might do in a movie with Ben Stiller. She should have some faith that they combine to make something we can all appreciate! September 9, 2008

Power of 3

This is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen!!! The greatest threesome in a comedy: Ben Stiller, Edward Norton, Jenna Elfman :-)

PLUS: The Asian karaoke singer is too funny for words... August 28, 2008

ok romantic comedy

Ben Stiller and Ed Norton star as a rabbi and priest who are reunited with their friend from junior high school, a high-powered, workaholic businesswoman played by Jenna Elfman. I thought Norton and Stiller had good chemistry and were believable as life-long friends. I thought the early scenes in which a Jew and Christian become interested in each other's faith interesting. I just wished this would have been developed more throughout the film.

When Elfman's character comes into the picture, she throws her two male friends' lives for a loop. Stiller is a rabbi who is being pressured to meet and marry a nice Jewish girl, and Norton is a priest who must live a life of celibacy. Both men lust for Elfman. Stiller, who begins secretly dating Elfman, is afraid his synagogue and his congregation and family will find out that he is involved with a non-Jew. Norton contemplates violating his celibacy vows so he can be with Elfman.

My problem is that these two men swoon so much over Elfman. She is attractive but not a stunning head-turner. She's not a great actress, either, and belongs on TV. I thought another actress, maybe Cameron Diaz, might have been better in the role.

Also, it's obvious that Elfman and Stiller are in LUST, not love, as they seem to spend a lot of their time in bed with each other. Their relationship is shallow. Stiller's character, who has a history of having flings with women, seemed a bit shallow himself. Norton's character seemed a bit deeper. Another problem is that Stiller and Elfman have no real chemistry together. Elfman seemed to have more chemistry with Norton, actually.

I also think the love triangle could have used more tension, too. Elfman flirts with Norton, but once she gets involved with Stiller, she seems to treat him more like a brother. It would have complicated things more if maybe Elfman had some genuine feelings for Norton as well and then he could have very real inner turmoil about his chastity vows.

Of course, everything ends up very nice and neat and predictably, but I thought Elfman chose the wrong guy and I doubt their shallow relationship will last after the movie is over. Overall, this is an enjoyable piece of fluff if you are in the mood for a romantic comedy.
July 4, 2008

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