Keeping the Faith (2000)

Plan: An inebriated man leans in close to a bartender. "It's about a rabbi and a priest," he explains. "I think I've heard this one before," the bartender replies, preparing to leave. "I don't think so," the man slurs. He tells him a story of three best friends: one moves away, one becomes a priest, and the third becomes a rabbi. Years later, Anna (Jenna Elfman) returns, and both Rabbi Jake Schram (Ben Stiller) and Father Brian Finn (Edward Norton) fall for her.

The year 2000 kills me. As if all these movies I love are from the same year. As if.

Yay! April comments on yet another directorial debut. Go Edward Norton. Not only is he sexy and talented with an excellent sense of comedic timing and an ability to do slapstick, he can direct. From the opening shots of the city to the jazzy soundtrack (which I own, thank you, Jennie!), it's clear that his immediate influence is Woody Allen. After all, Allen gave him one of his first roles in Everyone Says I Love You, and they both spin each film within their obsessive love of the concrete animal that is NYC. Serious, though, Norton tells his story with a sense of the epic in each shot. They are can be intimate, sweet, funny, and simple. He lets the actors, the script, the setting, everything speak for itself. And it turns out wonderfully.

Stiller, well, I wish he made more movies like this one. He's obviously hilarious to the core, and I've never seen him in anything I didn't enjoy him in. Even so, he's a delight to watch, and the friendship between him and Norton is palpable.

So is the chemistry between the three of them. Elfman may be best known as the wacky Dharma from Dharma and Greg, but she handles a more serious role well, displaying patience and panache when necessary.

I have to mention Anne Bancroft as well, who plays Stiller's mother. Not only is she positively radiant (I can only hope to look the way she does at her age), she plays off the three of them brilliantly, relishing every moment.

Stuart Blumberg, the screenwriter, attended Yale with Norton, and they were once roommates. That probably explains why Norton gave him his first break (that's right, a double debut), but I am wary of Blumberg. He also penned The Girl Next Door, so I am keeping an eye on him. Honestly, his characterization is good and his diction believable, so we'll see.

In a nut shell, a sweet and simple comedy to watch. Honestly, I think it's hard not to enjoy it. Really hard.