‘Keeping The Faith’ (2000) Review

Keeping the Faith Synopsis: Two friends, a priest and a rabbi, fall in love with the same woman they knew in their youth, but the religious position of both men denies them romance.

Brian (Edward Norton) and Jake (Ben Stiller) have been best friends since childhood. Both are also men of faith and fairly young in leading their respective congregations – Brian as a priest and Jake as a rabbi.

Whereas Brian is unable to form romantic relationships, Jake is doing everything in his power to avoid them, frequently overwhelmed and put off by the mothers of his synagogue trying to set him up with their single daughters.

Brian and Jake get a blast from the past when their third childhood best friend, Anna (Jenna Elfman), calls to reconnect. The three were inseparable in eighth grade, but then Anna’s family moved to California, and they sadly lost touch. But Anna will be in New York for work and wants to see them. Anna is now a thriving, beautiful woman with a fierce sense of independence.

This also means she has no time for relationships, claiming she instead has a relationship with her phone. There is no awkward transition here. The three fall back into a comfortable rapport like Anna never left. The three are now grown adults, and the childhood crushes Brian and Jake both clearly harbored for Anna are back in full force, except with many more complications.

Keeping the Faith is driven by spirituality, morals, and how religion may or may not define the characters. It’s set up as a romantic love triangle, with Jake and Anna dealing with their feelings for each other even though (gasp) Anna is not Jewish. Meanwhile, oblivious to Jake and Anna’s secret relationship, he also finds himself attracted to her and questioning his vows to devote his life to God and ministering.

I’ve seen Keeping the Faith a handful of times over the years, but this was the viewing where I really felt that 2+ hours of runtime. The movie starts strong with the trio’s friendship and Brian and Jake’s journey to devote their lives to their religions. I enjoyed the dynamic not only between the trio but also between Brian and Jake.

Unfortunately, as soon as Jake and Anna start having sex, Brian takes a backseat to the story, and it becomes more about Anna and Jake’s relationship and the complications it creates. The fact that a priest suddenly questions his path because of a woman is interesting, but it’s barely touched upon until Anna and Jake implode, and Anna needs a shoulder to cry on (aka Brian).

It becomes more of a romantic dramedy, losing some of its sharp wittiness towards the end as the characters struggle with their faith and love for each other. That’s not necessarily bad, but it makes the film feel uneven and confusing in tone.

The upside is that Stiller, Elfman, and Norton all perform strongly, making Keeping the Faith a charming movie despite its flaws. It’s not afraid to poke fun at religion while maintaining its message. Brian and Jake are both progressive with their beliefs, even when they rub the more traditional, older congregation members the wrong way. Anna makes no apologies for her career, and she shouldn’t. She’s also confident enough in herself and her capabilities that she doesn’t struggle with her feelings for Jake. She wants what she wants and puts it out there with little hesitance.

I suppose one could say it’s not fair that Anna would put her career on the back burner to pursue her relationship with Jake, but she decides to do so, not have Jake force her into a corner or ultimatum. In fact, Jake is ecstatic for her when she reveals she was offered a huge promotion, even knowing it would take her back to California for good. It’s Anna’s choice to stay for Jake, which I appreciated.

Norton does a fine job in his directorial debut, and I was stunned to find Keeping the Faith was the only film he directed (up until 2019’s Motherless Brooklyn). Elfman and Stiller have fine chemistry, but so do Elfman and Norton. For that matter, so do Norton and Stiller! Can’t they all fall in love and be happy?

The supporting cast is lovely, most notably Anne Bancroft as Jake’s strong, stubborn mother, Ruth, and Eli Wallach as Rabbi Lewis, who loves Jake’s improvisational style in the synagogue and helps guide Jake spiritually. Holland Taylor, Ron Rifkin, and Ken Leung all provide laughs, and there is a memorable cameo by Lisa Edelstein as a gym-obsessed Jewish woman who is bound and determined to get Jake up to her bedroom after their not-so-great date.

Keeping the Faith strikes a nice balance between sweet and zany, and despite feeling maybe twenty minutes too long, it’s an endearing romantic comedy about the endurance of faith and friendships.

Watched: 07/26/2019
Notable Song: Ready to Take a Chance Again by Barry Manilow