Keeping the Faith (2000)

Keeping the Faith is unforgettable and unusual twist on the love triangle story. You know that joke about the priest and the rabbi? Well, that's not it, this is something else, something new.This movie is a sensible blend of comedy and romance. There's no exaggerations (well, maybe excepting that one weird date) and everything has a sense or realism, including the dialogs.There's a nice soundtrack attached to this interesting script with a number of cute twists. You will not be bored, you will definitively be charmed, and have a number of chuckles.See it, for some simply enjoyable entertainment.

Though formulaic, "Keeping The Faith" nevertheless does one thing which these "love triangle" or "romantic comedies" usually don't do: it takes itself seriously.And so while the film's framework – in which a priest (Edward Norton) and a rabbi (Ben Stiller) both lust over a mutual friend (actress Jenna Elfman) – is pure formula and the film's resolution entirely generic, "Keeping The Faith" nevertheless contains a number of interesting scenes. These scenes, which take issues of religion, love, friendship and faith seriously and which allow the film's characters to chew on some dramatic moments and dig deeper into what would ordinary be pretty cardboard characters, are the result of Edward Norton, who made his directorial debut with this film.Understandably an actor-centric film-maker, Norton does his best to wrestle some substance out of his cast, and at times finds some good stuff, like a scene in which a priest talks frankly about his celibacy, and another in which best friends share emotional, teary eyed confessions.The film's love triangle plot is also somewhat interesting. Each character embodies a different type of spiritual uncertainty, one seeking sexual intimacy, one God and celibacy, the other career and money, but each with their own anxieties about the ability of these quests to actually fill their respective existential holes. The resolutions these three characters ultimately settle upon are trite, but the way they expose their uncertainties are interesting, our trio possessing a kind of raw, emotional honesty that these cookie cutter films usually lack. Throw in a sexy and at times emotionally naked performance by Jenna Elfman, a couple very well written dialogue scenes and you have a pretty good debut.7.9/10 – Overlong and with an identity crisis, "Keeping The Faith" nevertheless contains three or four very good scenes.

Norton and Stiller are clergy (a priest and a rabbi, sounds like the start of a joke), Elfman is their friend who is secretly dating Stiller and who is secretly loved by Norton. What I think is most exceptional about this movie is the way it portrays these clergy as cool guys - I mean, there's really cool clergy just like there's really cool fireman and loggers and truck drivers. And it does so in a way that doesn't entirely compromise their faith, although some of the stuff Norton says or does is not quite right (and for the moment I'm not talking about his attraction to Elfman). I am also a huge Elfman fan, I think she's beautiful as well as extremely effective in her roles. Seeing this film made me wonder if Ben would be better served by serious roles more often, he's very effective and avoids the silliness and gross humor that can sometimes sabotage his comic performances. Nice supporting work by Bancroft and the always appreciated Wallach. Recommended for light entertainment.

Weak variation on smart/small talk New Yorkish TV sitcom. The good thing about a sitcom is that it doesn't last for more than 40 minutes, so this movie lasts and lasts and nothing really happens, just empty-headed philosophizing about the traps of relationships. The religious stuff leads to no where; it's mostly about the Jewish side, where the sport is to collect as much cliché's as possible. The Christian side falls far behind and I wonder why: were they afraid to step on dangerous toes or was there just not much interesting to say about it to keep the viewers in their seats? Well, who cares any way?Norton is a very good actor, but has so little to shine with here that his role is not much to get exited about. Elfman does not manage to shake off her Dharma character and Ben Stiller is the kind of actor who manages to keep his face in the same shape no matter what. In my eyes, this makes him a lousy actor, much in the same vein as Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino. No chemistry at all therefore between him and his fellow leads.You guessed right: one of the best movies I've ever seen!