Keeping the Faith

Keeping the Faith is a 2000 American romantic comedy film written by Stuart Blumberg, and starring Ben Stiller, Edward Norton (in his directorial debut), Jenna Elfman, Eli Wallach, and Anne Bancroft. This film was released by Touchstone Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment, in association with Triple Threat Talent, on April 14, 2000.

For other uses, see Keeping the Faith (disambiguation).
Keeping the Faith
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEdward Norton
Written byStuart Blumberg
Produced byHawk Koch
Edward Norton
Stuart Blumberg
Starring
CinematographyAnastas N. Michos
Edited byMalcolm Campbell
Music byElmer Bernstein
Production
companies
Touchstone Pictures
Spyglass Entertainment
Koch Co.
Norton/Blumberg Productions
Triple Threat Talent
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release date
  • April 14, 2000 (2000-04-14)
Running time
128 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$29 million
Box office$59.9 million

The film is dedicated to Norton's late mother, Robin. It had a budget of $29 million.[1]

Plot

In a New York City bar, a drunken Catholic priest, Brian Finn, tells the bartender about the ongoing love triangle involving him; his best friend Jake Schram, a Jewish rabbi; and their childhood friend, Anna Reilly.

Dedicated to his calling as priest since childhood, Brian shares the duties of his parish with the elderly Father Havel. Jake, inseparable from Brian since childhood, is the youngest rabbi at his synagogue; he focuses on his work to the detriment of his romantic life, much to the chagrin of his mother, Ruth. The duo actively seek to bring a more modern, albeit controversial, approach to religious services; they plan to open a jointly-sponsored interfaith karaoke community center. The pair reminisce about their childhood friend Anna. The three were close until Anna's family moved to California and they ultimately lost touch.

Sixteen years later, Anna returns to New York for work and the trio rekindle their friendship. Anna and Jake begin having casual sex. As they begin to develop mutual romantic feelings, their relationship is complicated by Anna not being a Jew, and by Brian, who finds himself in internal turmoil after also developing feelings for Anna. Finding himself in conflict with his vows, he seriously considers leaving the priesthood to pursue a romantic relationship with her.

At dinner, Ruth reveals to Anna that she knows about her and Jake's secret relationship. Later that night, Jake and Anna argue over the religious issues complicating their romance and breakup. Anna calls Brian for comfort and he rushes to her, taking her tearful ramblings to be a confession of feelings for him. Brian kisses Anna and confesses his love but she rebuffs him, revealing she is in love with Jake and they have been seeing each other secretly. Embarrassed and rejected, he spends the night binge drinking on the streets. The following morning, Brian stumbles into Jake's temple and interrupts a post-bar mitzvah gathering, resulting in a confrontation that ends when Brian punches Jake. Brian then finds his way into a bar and tells the bartender his story; the bartender offers Brian advice on how to remedy the situation. Brian then reaffirms his vows with Father Havel's guidance.

As the community center's grand opening approaches, Brian reconciles with Jake and Anna. Brian encourages Jake to follow his heart and reveal his true feelings to Anna before she returns to California. Interrupting Anna's going-away party, Jake sets things right. That evening, Jake and Anna surprise Brian at the community center. She reveals that she had been taking classes to convert to Judaism. Their relationship officially renewed, the trio pose for a celebratory photo.

Cast
  • Samuel R. Goldberg as Teenage Jake Schram
  • Michael Charles Roman as Teenage Brian Finn

Reception

Keeping the Faith received generally positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 69% rating, sampled from 117 film critics, with an average score of 6.23/10. The consensus states: "A dramedy featuring an unusual love triangle, Keeping the Faith is a perceptive look at how religion affects us in everyday life."[2] Metacritic gives the film a score of 60 out of 100, based on reviews from 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[3] The New York Times film critic Elvis Mitchell said the film "struggles hard to be a modern romantic comedy about commitment and, well, faith, but it doesn't quite make the grade ... it is competent, but it seems driven to clear up complications as quickly as acne is dispatched in an infomercial."[4] In Variety, Emanuel Levy praised Stiller's acting and said "Keeping the Faith is arguably the most accomplished" romantic movie in its era.[5]

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Box office

The film opened at #3 at the US box office, making $8,078,671 in its opening weekend, behind 28 Days and Rules of Engagement.[7] The film eventually grossed $37,047,880 in North America and $22,897,303 in other territories, totaling $59,945,183 worldwide.[1]

References
  1. "Keeping the Faith (2000)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  2. "Keeping the Faith". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  3. "Keeping the Faith". Metacritic. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  4. Mitchell, Elvis (April 14, 2000). "FILM REVIEW; Religion and Hormones, Surrounded by a Triangle". The New York Times.
  5. Levy, Emanuel (March 31, 2000). "Keeping the Faith". Variety.
  6. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions Nominees" (PDF). AFI. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 13, 2011. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  7. "Weekend Box Office Results for April 14-16, 2000". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
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