Glauben ist alles!

A great date movie. Edward Norton and Ben Stiller are just as appealing as ever and Jenna Elfman is equally interesting.

The film is light and fluffy but a cut above the usual light romantic comedies in that the jokes are a little better than usual. A nice combination of wackiness combined with the more emotional moments make this a nice way to spend a couple of hours.

Edward Norton's Keeping the Faith is a well meaning a good hearted comedy about boyhood to adulthood loves and different faiths in the cross fire. For first time director Norton this is a good example of what one can do when he is not shaving his head or getting into fights (j/k).

The film stars Ben Stiller as rabbi Jake with some nice tones of comedy in his weekly services and Norton plays priest Brian (Stiller's best friend) that means well. They both love their childhood friend-girl Anne, who when she grows up (Jenna Elfman) becomes the apple of both their eyes. It goes around for a while, and it turns out to be funny and expectable results. Still, good effort by Director Norton, script-writer Stewart Blumberg, and the cast for pulling this through. A

"Keeping the Faith" as an adult romantic comedy works well. Norton's timing, both as a director and as an actor are magnificent, and Stiller and Elfman add to this shining cast. The approach to religion in a mainstream film is a new one for me at least with deference being paid to each of the respective character's, and the jokes are basically laughing with the religion, rather than at it. The inner struggles that each man faces with his own religion and the woman that threatens to tear apart their religious selves are the most interesting aspects of the film.

The first half is a comedic gem, a laugh-barrage, that completely changes once sex is introduced. It loses focus, changing its story into that of a failing friendship and blossoming love interspersed with awkward and frankly embarrassing moments of comedy. For those who have seen it I refer to the "touchy-feely confession" joke.

At over two hours, it's way too long for a comedy, and it definitely feels it. It's a good film, but by no means can it be considered great. See it to laugh for an hour if you don't mind chuckling and fidgeting in your seat for the second hour.

It is refreshing to see a romantic comedy that is not overtly manipulative and formulaic. Edward Norton, Ben Stiller and Jenna Elfman give solid performances in their roles. Edward Norton is surprisingly good at comedy--he is wonderful as the priest yearning for romance with the likable Anna. And Ben Stiller--fabulous as the rabbi who is torn between his religion and love. His timing is impeccable--he has the ability to give depth to a character who could seem shallow in another actor's hands.

The script had a good blend of humor and romance, which I believe is the reason why the movie works so well. Great cast, great effort from first-time director Norton, decent script equals an enjoyable movie.

KEEPING THE FAITH (2000) *** Ben Stiller, Edward Norton, Jenna Elfman, Eli Wallach, Anne Bancroft, Ron Rifkin, Rena Sofer, Lisa Edelstein, Milos Forman. (Dir: Edward Norton)

So did you hear the one about the priest and the rabbi and the `business woman'? Well if that sounds familiar don't let that dissuade you from this frequently hilarious romantic comedy of the unlikeliest of menage a trois in cinema history.

Childhood chums, Jake Schram, Brian Finn and Anna Reilly - The Three Muskateers of the 8th Grade of Manhattan - are reunited nearly 2 decades later with a lot of catching up to do when Anna comes back east for a short stint as a high powered brokerage businesswoman (portrayed in full giddy sexy appeal by Elfman of tv's kooky couple `Dharma & Greg') who has her hands full when she finds her best buddies, Jake (Stiller in fine leading man/comedy mode) and Brian (Norton, equally riotous in his directorial debut) are, respectively, a rabbi and priest.

Seems the best friends only bonded stronger when their female compatriot moved out of the neighborhood pre-adolescently and shared more than their uncommon friendship: their devotion to their separate faiths. To make matters more difficult in Anna's sudden return into their lives is the fact that both buddies are in love with her but it is Jake who winds up making the first move as the frustrated young rabbi who is constantly being set up on disastrous blind dates by his meddlesome congregation (`the kosher-nostra'). After the initial awkwardness is overcome the two friends become a casual sex relationship that only gets further complicated when Jake cannot handle the fact Anna's non-Judea background must be taken into effect if he is to become a full-fledged rabbi at his synagogue. Brian, meanwhile, has found his libido at its leash when Anna begins to subsist in his dreams leading to a comical revelation by the film's conclusion.

The threesome have chemistry to spare and banter so witty and blunt by Stuart Blumberg's script that the pedestrian storyline (will Jake realize just what a good thing Anna really is and will Anna realize Brian really wants the best for her) is a no-brainer (and I have to admit the climax of Stiller addressing his followers with a mea culpea seemed to miss its mark since there was no real sense of him `betraying' his people), the film chugs along merrily and makes light of the religious overtones (one truly funny moment is the depiction of the young Jake sorting through his Jewish rabbi hero trading cards the way one would relish finding a Mickey Mantle rookie card) with a contemporary spin. Edelstein is memorable as well as the sinfully sensual Sofer as, respectively, date from hell and date from heaven for Jake. Bancroft and Wallach also lend veteran character actor shtick with all the nourishment of a nosh at the Carnegie Deli.

Elfman has proven to be a lovely comedienne and has always reminded me of Jamie Lee Curtis with her buoyant performances and adds just the right bounce as the tomboy all grown up. Stiller continues his stance as the hardest working man in comedy with another deft, dry turn as the befuddled rabbi and Norton display the tricky balance of skilled actor of his generation (his choirboy persona is perfectly advanced for his good-hearted priest and his knack for perfect imitations - i.e. Dustin Hoffman's `Rain Man' )- is only matched by his straight ahead approach to filmmaking; trimming the fat but keeping the high calorie comedy quota intact.

He even gets his former director Milos Forman (who put Norton through the paces on `The People vs. Larry Flynt') for a small cameo as an elder clergyman to get one of the film's biggest laughs (interrupted by a middle-of-the-night phone call for Norton he says he was `dreaming of his mother's sausages').

Believe in love and laughter is to appreciate a wonderful romantic comedy that has both in spades.