I have been making a habit on certain nights of the week of searching for some light and frothy movie to watch instantly on Netflix because, sometimes, one simply wants to be entertained without having to think too deeply about what was just viewed. That's why I'm still a religious (pun intended) television viewer, but I digress. Trolling my instant queue, I found Keeping the Faith, a romantic comedy-drama starring and directed by Edward Norton. As I've stated in this blog before, I love Edward Norton. I think he's a phenomenal, engaging, and intelligent actor, and I almost always like movies he's in, even if he's the only good part of the film. So, I was naturally and automatically drawn to this film, since he served double-duty, but I was also intrigued by its premise: the friendship and love triangle involving a priest and a rabbi, one of whom walks into a bar talking about how both have fallen in love with the same girl. It had romantic promise and the slightest possibility of intellectual religious discourse at the hands of a thoughtful professional like Edward. I had hoped it would be a cut above the rest of its ilk, so this was the film I chose.
Norton plays Catholic priest Brian Finn, who has known has best friend, rabbi Jacob Schram (Ben Stiller), since childhood. They're rock stars in their respective church and synagogue, who have evolved from rocky starts, bringing youthful and progressive approaches to the pulpit and championing interfaith cooperation; in fact, they're trying to open an interfaith community center together complete with karaoke. Their friendship is tested when Anna Reilly (Jenna Elfman), the girl next door they knew as children, returns to New York, and both men find themselves falling for her, which leads to discord between the two friends and causes crises of faith for each. Brian has taken a vow of celibacy, and Jake is allowed to marry only within his faith. Though each man seeks advice from trusted sources, including a priest played by Milos Forman, a rabbi played by Eli Wallach, and Jake's mother (Anne Bancroft), they ultimately realize that they have to sort out these personal and faith-related crises themselves and with each other.
While the film had potential to be an exception to the romantic comedy formula that often bogs down romantic comedies themselves (and yet, it's funny how I keep coming back for more), it took me three sessions to watch and finish it. To be fair, the film had some moments of true originality, where the three adults dealt with love, friendship, and faith in an intelligent way that didn't deteriorate into the schmaltzy, overly sentimental, often trite dialogue that can either sink or support this genre. The adults remained adults, and their problems and situation were believable, though I wondered how Brian was going to resolve descending into alcoholism during his particular crisis. The trouble, however, is that, though the conflicts were believable, the adults themselves and their portrayers were not always. This was Edward's directorial debut, and my feeling while watching the film was that he had much to learn about pacing, camera use, and bolstering the performance strengths of his leads, including himself. While the whole cast was pleasant, and the three leads were cast in roles that probably weren't really stretches for them, their chemistry was flat, and oftentimes, the film itself was boring and sleep-inducing. If I were to compare this film's effects to food, as I often do, I would equate the film to chamomile tea, pleasant yet virtually tasteless and soothing to the point of slumber.
The scenes I was most interested in were those in which the Brian and Jake characters were sorting out the differences between Judaism and Catholicism and the effects of their budding romance on each, which often featured jokes about faith and religion, particularly the two named. I was less interested in the scenes in which they seemed to have some resolution of their crises because the previous scenes failed to feature the kind of emotional tension that would make the resolutions satisfying. The comedic scenes, in fact, were almost always more effective than the dramatic scenes, given that Mr. Stiller is a comedian by trade.
What's more, I was the least engaged in scenes with Jenna Elfman. While her performance was not necessarily offensive, and while she was probably as good a choice as any to play the part, and while I certainly have nothing against her as an actress, she brought nothing interesting to the role. In many ways, her character felt like something of a cookie cutter with no dimension, simply the no-holds-barred woman with a streak of individuality who can think for herself until love gets in the way. I'm not sure if it's the way the character was written, directed, or performed that caused this disconnect, but her presence in a scene often dragged the movie down quite a bit. I tended to like her more as the elephant in the room rather than as an active participant in the dialogue.
This is a film that relies on its writing and its performances to achieve its aim, and I think it sufficiently did so but in a way that ultimately felt as formulaic as any typical entry in the genre, and unfortunately, Mr. Norton's participation in the film didn't elevate it for me. He wasn't the worst part, but he wasn't my favorite. To be honest, I most enjoyed Anne Bancroft and Ben Stiller, though Mr. Stiller's particular brand of performance was more of the same as we've seen in other films such as Meet the Parents. When he had to be funny, he was funny. When his approach was required to be more serious, it lacked the resonance that would have kept me engaged because, frankly, Mr. Stiller has not proven himself as a dramatic actor. Sometimes, the dialogue felt stunted, but for the most part, it was relatable, and the story threads seemed to resolve themselves by the film's conclusion. As for the production values, there was nothing notable to the film worth mentioning.
All things considered, Keeping the Faith had an interesting premise but was really more of the same-old in the romance category. I was mildly entertained when the film wasn't putting me to sleep. As such, I think it deserves to be rated a 6 for being cute but mediocre, and it doesn't pass the test because I don't think I would watch it again, unless I was suffering from insomnia. There are better movies with all three actors and better romantic comedies, or comedy-dramas, and I continue to keep the faith that I will find others in the genre that break the mold.