Goyband

Goyband or Falling Star is a 2008 American independent comedy film directed by Christopher Grimm, starring Adam Pascal. The film premiered at the 2008 Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival.[1]

Goyband
Film poster
Directed byChristopher Grimm
Written byChrista McNamee
Dan Bar Hava
Christopher Grimm
Produced byChristopher J. Scott
David Schiavone
Red Sky Pictures
StarringAdam Pascal
Amy Davidson
Natasha Lyonne
Tovah Feldshuh
Cris Judd
Edited byGlen L. Scott
Music byDan Bar-Hava
Release date
  • December 13, 2008 (2008-12-13) (Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish, Yiddish

Plot

Fading from the spotlight of his late 1990s mega-fame, boy-band icon Bobby Starr (Adam Pascal) is clinging to days gone by and begging his agent Murray to land him a decent gig. What Murray does land for Bobby is a full week headlining the grand opening of the world's first glatt kosher hotel-casino, Mazel Hotel.

As it turns out, the real force behind Bobby Starr's curious invitation to this "Orthodox otherworld" is the hotel owner's persuasive daughter Rebekka Hershenfeld (Amy Davidson), who has harbored a huge crush on Bobby since childhood. Rebekka's world is guided by her arranged betrothal to Haim (Benjamin Bauman), the son of Grand Rabbi Sheinman (Joel Leffert), who is supposed to issue the casino's all-important "kosher certificate."

Rebekka's only release from the pressures of preparing to be a future rebbetzin (rabbi's wife) comes from singing along to Bobby's songs with her best friends Hani and Fani (Natasha Lyonne). They keep their practice session a secret, since their religion bars them from singing in public.

From the moment Bobby arrives at the Mazel Hotel, he goes through culture shock: his TV goes dark at sundown on Fridays, his beloved cell phone is confiscated during the Sabbath, and his Grey Goose vodka is replaced with Manischewitz. All of this is set against the backdrop of an alien world where "kosher enforcers" drag gamblers from their slot machines at prayer time; late-night "treyf smugglers" sneak non-kosher contraband like cheeseburgers and fried shrimp into the hotel; and where slot machines display Shofars, Menorahs and Stars of David instead of lemons, cherries and dollar signs, and chime "Hava Nagila" for lucky winners.

Arranging for Bobby Star to play at her father's hotel might have started out as an act of rebellion for Rebekka, but when infatuation blossoms into romance, Bobby offers Rebekka a once-in-a-lifetime ticket to freedom from the constrictive life that threatens to hold her back.

Cast

ActorRole
Adam PascalBobby Starr
Amy DavidsonRebekka
Natasha LyonneFani
Zoe Lister-JonesHani
Tovah FeldshuhLeah
Dean EdwardsTy
Cris JuddElliot
Erik LibermanMarvin
Joel LeffertGrand Rabbi Sheinmann
Glenn WeinIsaac
Larry GoldsteinRaziel
Benjamin BaumanHaim Sheinmann
Bern CohenJeremiah the Gambler
Wendy Diamond & LuckyWendy Diamond & Lucky AnimalFair.com
William WiseManny

Name change

On September 14, 2009, MarVista Entertainment announced both their distribution rights to the film Goyband and their choice to rename the movie Falling Star (note the one "r", which is different from the name of the title character).

References

  1. "Cinefile: Totally tribal". The Jerusalem Post - JPost.com. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
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