It feels like a joke that is old about a rabbi and a priest walking into a club.
But “Keeping the Faith, ” a romantic comedy released 20 years ago this month, stretched the premise into one of the most clever movies of their genre, as well as the rare Hollywood film that takes concerns of spiritual faith and responsibility really.
“Keeping the Faith” ended up being the directorial first of star Edward Norton, from a screenplay because of the writer that is jewish Blumberg, who had previously been Norton’s roomie at Yale. Set on ny City’s greatly Jewish Upper West Side, the movie stars Ben Stiller as Jake Schram, a new bachelor Conservative rabbi, and Norton as Father Brian Finn, a Catholic priest and Jake’s lifelong friend that is best.
Whenever their childhood buddy Anna Riley (Jenna Elfman) comes home to city for work, both clergymen develop emotions him dating a non-Jew for her, which in both of their cases is forbidden — for Brian because of his priestly vow of celibacy, and for Jake because his synagogue would not approve of. Nor would their mom (Anne Bancroft), who became estranged from her other son after their wedding up to a gentile.
“Keeping the Faith” makes sense adequate to recognize that these aren’t the type of ridiculous contrivances that keep partners apart in films — they have been severe concerns involving vows, responsibilities and spiritual thinking. Continue reading “‘Keeping the Faith’ is two decades old. Rabbis and priests look right right back in the interfaith romcom that has been in front of its time.”