Product: Keeping the Faith (2000)
Rating: 4.0
Why a DVD's extra features matter
KEEPING THE FAITH is a fine example of how extra features on a DVD can help change your mind about a film. When I first saw it, my immediate reaction was total disappointment. It's not that I thought the film bad, exactly. It was just that the previews had made it out to be a hilarious romantic comedy, and it wasn't exactly splittin' my sides.When you look at the deleted scenes and hear the audio commentary, it becomes clear that producer/director Ed Norton wasn't trying to make the film the studio was selling. It's not that he comes out and says, "Disney's marketing department screwed me." But you see through his dialogue with his writer that he made conscious choices away from extremely funny material. He wasn't trying to make a hilarious movie, just a good story about three friends.This is particularly evident when viewing the deleted scenes. Though completely shot and scored, Norton decides to axe what is clearly the funniest orgasm scene since Meg Ryan faked it in a restaurant. You also see how much of Ben Stiller's naturally funnier self was edited out. Why? Norton says, to the audible chagrin of his writer, that it didn't really fit in the movie he was trying to make.Whether you agree with him on this and other choices, the fact is that if the movie he was trying to make had been marketed, it would've garnered more appreciation.Still, Norton didn't quite succeed at making a solid romance, either. It's not the kind of movie you'll watch over and over again. After the engaging set up, there aren't really any plot twists, much less unexpected outcomes. It's just another romance set in New York. Lacking either remarkable comedy or profound insight, the film easily releases you from its grasp once you see it. Norton has traded the innovative promise of the plot for mere likability. I think, perhaps, that Norton was trying so hard not to cause religious offense that he winds up seeming almost gun shy of his own subject matter. Or maybe the sudden rewrite of a huge chunk of the movie days prior to filming is what tripped things up.What I really think sinks the film, though, is Norton's own character. He's just not a plausible romantic presence. At no point do you ever feel like Brian might actually GET Anna, so his entire presence is superflous to the romantic plot. Worse, the storyline depends on him going beyond being hurt by Anna's inevitable rejection, into the area of absolutely unprofessional conduct. It just doesn't make any sense what he does in the end, and yet without his action, the story can't advance.All this aside, students of film will want to look at the DVD version of this movie, just because it's a great case study of the indirect tension between studio and filmmaker, and, to a lesser extent, between director and writer. Casual viewers in search of a night of light New York romance would probably do better watching WHEN HARRY MET SALLY again.