Product Description

Ben Stiller (THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS), Jenna Elfman (EdTV), and Edward Norton (FIGHT CLUB) star in KEEPING THE FAITH, a sexy romantic comedy so fresh and funny, you'll fall head over heels in love! Jake Schram (Stiller) and Brian Finn (Norton) are single, successful, extremely popular guys who have been best friends since, well, forever. They are about to be reunited with their other best childhood buddy -- the feisty, lanky tomboy, Anna (Elfman). Anna has grown into a high-powered workaholic beauty whose reentry into their lives turns this old circle of friends into a love triangle -- a very complicated one at that, because Jake's a rabbi and Brian is a priest. But have faith -- this gem is going to steal your heart.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8066 in DVD
• Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2000-10-17
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 128 minutes

Amazon.com
Keeping the Faith, Edward Norton's directorial debut, centers on Jake (Ben Stiller) and Brian (Norton), a rabbi and a priest who've been best friends since childhood. Both find their callings and grow into strong spiritual leaders for their community. The clever and occasionally slapstick comedy as Jake and Ben find their places in the religious community is precisely timed, and the film begins with a bang. Yet when childhood friend Anna (Jenna Elfman)--the perfect woman, a cross between "Jonny Quest and Tatum O'Neal"--finds them after all these years, both men fall for the stunning woman who is married to her career and her vibrating cell phone. But what starts as the making of a great joke (of course, the priest is sworn to celibacy and there's not much of a market for a rabbi married to a gentile) turns into a somewhat mawkish romance with mixed messages about the meaning of faith and the power of love. When Anna and Jake secretly begin a tryst, "just for fun," they of course fall in love, which is where the movie begins to unravel, as Anna is oblivious to the turmoil Jake might be feeling in having to choose between his faith and her. Jake turns into a total schmuck, Brian into a drunken idiot, and every secondary character becomes a clichéd stereotype, right down to the yentas in the synagogue and the kindly mentor (director Milos Forman) who guides Brian. However, despite the muck, Norton is surprisingly sympathetic and Elfman is an adorable heroine who helps bring some shining, fun moments to a mediocre film. --Jenny Brown

Customer Reviews

Romantic Triangle Comedy That WORKS!
'Keeping the Faith' is one of the funniest, smartest, warmest comedies of the last several years, and marks a wonderful directorial debut for costar Edward Norton. It works on many levels; as a loving look at relationships, on the common ground Judaism and Catholicism shares in compassion towards people, in embracing love, no matter what obstacles might arise...and it does all this while respecting different religions, which makes this a very unique and special film!

Norton and Ben Stiller play lifelong friends, who, as children, meet a fabulous, funny girl who they bond with. After she moves away, the two grow up, becoming a priest and a rabbi...then the girl returns, as a successful businesswoman, and the friendship is renewed...until romance enters the picture!

Each character is unique and likeable; Norton is a sweet, funny klutz, endearing in his awkwardness; Stiller is compassionate and quick-witted, dealing with his Temple's matchmaking efforts with wry humor; Jenna Elfman (who has NEVER been lovelier onscreen) is both wise and vulnerable, and totally believable as a person both guys would fall in love with.

Major issues are addressed in the film (a Priest's vow of celibacy, interfaith marriages, religious discrimination), and are dealt with and resolved in such a positive, loving manner that you wonder why these issues ever BECOME problems! All this reflects well on Edward Norton, who shows remarkable sensitivity as both a cowriter and director!

The supporting cast is marvelous; Anne Bancroft is fabulous as Stiller's mother, Eli Wallach and Ron Rifkin, as a rabbi and synagogue leader, respectively, are equally good; director Milos Forman is terrific as Father Havel, Norton's mentor. Two other supporting players should be singled out, as well; Lisa Edelstein has a GREAT slapstick scene with Stiller, as the Jewish 'Date from Hell', and Brian George is hilarious as a "Sikh/Christian with Jewish inlaws" bartender that Norton confides in.

There are a LOT of great one-liners, inspired scenes, and a resolution that is both believable and satisfying. The DVD edition offers even MORE to love; Norton's very funny and wise commentary about the making of the film, deleted scenes, and a VERY funny gag reel are special features you CAN'T find anywhere else!

This film is a MUST for your collection, a 'feel-good' movie that you can enjoy, again and again! I HIGHLY recommend it!

Magic By Norton, Stiller and Elfman
Edward Norton stars along with Ben Stiller and Jenna Elfman in "Keeping the Faith," a comedy which also marks Norton's directorial debut. This is a funny, sometimes hilarious film, that succeeds in maintaining the humor even while dealing in a straightforward and very serious manner with the subject of faith and, ultimately, its effect on the relationship of three people. Brian (Norton), Jake (Stiller) and Anna (Elfman) are an inseparable trio in childhood, until the eighth grade when Anna's family moves from New York City to California. The boys continue on as best friends but lose contact with Anna until sixteen years later, when she unexpectedly shows up back in New York and calls Brian. Anna is now a successful businesswoman; Brian is a priest, Jake a rabbi. They manage to pick up right where they had left off all those years ago, but of course things have changed for all of them. Soon Brian and Jake find themselves falling in love with Anna. Brian's vocation, however, prevents him from pursuing a relationship, and Jake, though single and able to marry, encounters an obstacle in the fact that Anna is not Jewish. All of which is a moot point, of course, until Anna also falls in love with one of them; and we suddenly find ourselves in the realm of Ingmar Bergman. At this point, many comedies sink into that nether world of genre identity-crises: Is this really a comedy, or drama? Happily, Norton keeps things moving right along with a steady hand. Instead of turning dark, the story goes on to explore what a real commitment to faith means in terms of the sacrifice and choices that go along with it, and Norton manages to pull off a magician's trick of keeping it light and thought-provoking at the same time, no easy accomplishment when dealing with such sensitive issues as love and faith within the framework of comedy. The charismatic Norton and the likable Stiller put real life into the characters of Brian and Jake, and Elfman brings a quirky, accessibility to Anna that makes you want to root for all of them. These are good people you quickly come to care about; you laugh along with them and at their situation, while at the same time you're hoping they all make the right decisions so we can all live happily ever after. The fine supporting cast includes Anne Bancroft, Eli Wallach and Milos Forman. "Keeping the Faith" is a movie that will make you laugh and smile, but it will also give you much to think about for a long time afterwards.

Magic By Norton, Stiller and Elfman
Edward Norton stars along with Ben Stiller and Jenna Elfman in "Keeping the Faith," a comedy which also marks Norton's directorial debut. This is a funny, sometimes hilarious film, that succeeds in maintaining the humor even while dealing in a straightforward and very serious manner with the subject of faith and, ultimately, its effect on the relationship of three people. Brian (Norton), Jake (Stiller) and Anna (Elfman) are an inseparable trio in childhood, until the eighth grade when Anna's family moves from New York City to California. The boys continue on as best friends but lose contact with Anna until sixteen years later, when she unexpectedly shows up back in New York and calls Brian. Anna is now a successful businesswoman; Brian is a priest, Jake a rabbi. They manage to pick up right where they had left off all those years ago, but of course things have changed for all of them. Soon Brian and Jake find themselves falling in love with Anna. Brian's vocation, however, prevents him from pursuing a relationship, and Jake, though single and able to marry, encounters an obstacle in the fact that Anna is not Jewish. All of which is a moot point, of course, until Anna also falls in love with one of them; and we suddenly find ourselves in the realm of Ingmar Bergman. At this point, many comedies sink into that nether world of genre identity-crises: Is this really a comedy, or drama? Happily, Norton keeps things moving right along with a steady hand. Instead of turning dark, the story goes on to explore what a real commitment to faith means in terms of the sacrifice and choices that go along with it, and Norton manages to pull off a magician's trick of keeping it light and thought-provoking at the same time, no easy accomplishment when dealing with such sensitive issues as love and faith within the framework of comedy. The charismatic Norton and the likable Stiller put real life into the characters of Brian and Jake, and Elfman brings a quirky, accessibility to Anna that makes you want to root for all of them. These are good people you quickly come to care about; you laugh along with them and at their situation, while at the same time you're hoping they all make the right decisions so we can all live happily ever after. The fine supporting cast includes Anne Bancroft, Eli Wallach and Milos Forman. "Keeping the Faith" is a movie that will make you laugh and smile, but it will also give you much to think about for a long time afterwards.