Keeping the Faith

A story about two friends, a priest and a rabbi, who fall in love with the same beauty (Jenna Elfman).

• Director:Edward Norton
• Genre:Comedy / Drama / Romance
• Runtime:129 minutes

Cast

Ben Stiller : Rabbi Jake Schram
Edward Norton : Father Brian Finn
Jenna Elfman : Anna Riley
Anne Bancroft : Ruth Schram
Eli Wallach : Rabbi Ben Lewis

The film begins with a drunken and downtrodden Catholic priest stumbling aimlessly around town while “Please Call Me Baby”, performed by Tom Waits, plays, then telling his story to a sympathetic bartender (Brian George). Father Brian Kilkenney Finn (Edward Norton) has been dedicated to the calling since he was a child, and now shares the duties of a New York congregation with an older priest, Fr. Havel (Miloš Forman). Rabbi Jacob Schram (Ben Stiller), best friends with Brian since childhood, is the youngest rabbi at his Conservative synagogue; his lack of effort to find a wife often results in his mother (Anne Bancroft) and other women of his congregation setting him up on blind dates, much to his dismay.

Brian and Jake share a desire to rejuvenate their religions, which tends to stir up mixed feelings and dissent among those more traditional (such as elderly members and the senior rabbis). However, their unorthodox, humorous, and down-to-earth sermon styles (with suggested similarities to stand-up comedy routines and motivational speeches) and other such approaches quickly grow popular, resulting in increased service attendance and a renewed interest in faith. General community outreach is another passion the friends share, and together they begin developing an abandoned disco into a Jewish-Catholic social center.

In its earlier days, the friendship included a third party. Via flashbacks and reminiscent musings, Anna Reilly (Jenna Elfman) is introduced: she met Jake and Brian in middle school, after kicking the groin of a bully who was picking on them. The three enjoyed attending ballgames, playing sports, and riding the subway around the city together, as well as getting into typical mischief. Unfortunately, Anna’s father gets a new job that results in the Reillys moving cross-country to California.

Years later, Anna calls her old friends out of the blue and the friendship is rekindled when her company temporarily reassigns her to a New York position. Feelings quickly begin to run deeper than before, as Anna, despite her workaholic tendencies, is as vibrant as Brian and Jake remembered her; however, it is, ironically, the men’s careers that prove to be the most problematic. Read more

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