Keeping Up with the Steins (2006)

Unfunny comedy that had no bite nor perspective. A waste of time and film stock, who thought this thing was worth distributing? Why was this junk even made? The plot revolves around a young Jewish boy who is about to go through his bar mitzvah. Just about every cliché and caricature is utilized to slap this thing together because the plot is so ridiculous and unbelievable that it makes me wonder if anyone read the script prior to filming. Not worth your time, cutting your toenails would be far more satisfying. This was the last film that Mike Eisner picked up for Disney prior to his leaving. Now I can see why he was let go, his mind must have been on vacation when he agreed to spend money on this thing...

Don't be misled by the title, which suggests a plot reminiscent of some awful reality show such as "Bridezillas" or "My Super Sweet Sixteen," in which a pretentious family with more money than taste turns a family celebration into a vulgar carnival. The original title of this film was "Lucky 13;" whoever decided to change it did the movie a disservice. It's really a sweet little story about a boy who tries to reconcile his embittered father with his paternal grandfather, who disappeared from his family's life for many years and has only recently reappeared. This all takes place during the boy's impending bar mitzvah, the preparations for which are mildly amusing. Garry Marshall's especially entertaining, and touching, as the grandfather. Nothing's really new here, and while the material may not have been enough to sustain a theatrical film, it's a nice little time-waster if it shows up on TV. If you enjoyed "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," you're likely to find this to your liking as well.

To all these people saying you do not have to be a j e w to enjoy this movie. Stop lying! This movie is 100% Jewish FOR j e w s. Did anyone else notice how there was always a lot of African-Americans used in this Jewish movie? It was almost like it was trying to link j e w s to blacks as somehow being partners in a "they hate both our people" way. And what is it with Jewish movies always having to have nudity? Do j e w s not get entertained by anything other than filth? (second time to meet the requirements) To all these people saying you do not have to be a j e w to enjoy this movie. Stop lying! This movie is 100% Jewish FOR j e w s. Did anyone else notice how there was always a lot of African-Americans used in this Jewish movie? It was almost like it was trying to link j e w s to blacks as somehow being partners in a "they hate both our people" way. And what is it with Jewish movies always having to have nudity? Do j e w s not get entertained by anything other than filth? And why do these comments refuse to post if you type the word "j e w s"? Isn't it about time to get over this BS already?

What bothers me about this movie is that it SHOULD have been better: there's real potential. The characters were enjoyable, the idea was good, the acting was excellent. But the whole things was very unconvincing. It was a common plot: a total idiot has a conversion and sees the light. But for that to work, it has to be at least a LITTLE convincing. In this case, the "conversion" was entirely off-screen, probably because they realized that it was just too extreme to make work on screen. Everything was all solved at the end, in a way that was too pat, too sudden and too simple. So it comes across like a long sitcom instead of a movie.