you 've probably heard the one about the priest and the rabbi , but never with the same dosage of featherweight charm that is sprinkled over ` keeping the faith ' .
it 's a fluffy comedy , thoroughly glazed with a sense of innocuous innocence and good cheer , regarding two moral topics -- love and religion -- and how a romantic triangle causes the two to collide head - on .
as youngsters , brian finn , jacob schramm and anna reilly were an inseparable trio .
while their friendship progressed , anna always had the compassion to shower them both with the same love and support , so neither would feel excluded . but tragedy soon struck , as anna was forced to move away .
now adults , brian ( edward norton ) and jacob ( ben stiller ) hold similar but contrastive jobs .
the likable and kind - hearted father brian is a catholic priest , while the spry and outgoing jacob acts as a jewish rabbi .
on the basketball court , they refer to themselves as ` the god squad ' .
in the relationship field , brian abides by his catholic principle of celibacy , but jacob has reached the point where finding a jewish bride is practically mandatory .
everything changes when anna ( jenna elfman ) returns to new york to visit her childhood chums .
now a workaholic , she devotes endless hours per week to her business , but does find spare time to reminisce with brian and jacob - both ecstatic about seeing their elementary school sweetheart once again .
with these oddball ingredients tossed into one cocktail , there 's bound to be some awkward romance between our three central characters .
predicting the outcome is not entirely difficult , but ` keeping the faith ' is open , entertaining and refreshingly relaxed as it travels en route from point a
to point b .
edward norton has emerged as one of the finest , most flexibly versatile actors in hollywood - a success story sparked by his critically lauded debut in the 1996 thriller ` primal fear ' . after shockingly bitter roles in ` american history x ' and , most recently , david fincher 's vicious ` fight club ' , a quaint romantic comedy might seem like a peculiar choice .
not in the least .
norton slips into the director 's chair for the first time with ` keeping the faith ' , and here his incisive , resourceful approach helps add additional craft to a surprisingly perceptive screenplay by stuart blumberg .
weighing every aspect , it is unanimously an impressive directorial debut
.
in addition , norton pushes all the right buttons
with the sheepish sweetheart brian , generating a thoroughly likable screen presence .
stiller ( the zipper guy from ` there 's something about mary ' ) is firm and funny , boasting a fully - ripened comic maturity .
elfman 's perky repetition can grow tiresome ( such is occasionally the case on tv 's ` dharma and greg ' ) , but she seems perfectly rambunctious here .
the remaining cast members offer fine support , from anne bancroft as jacob 's animated jewish mom to milos forman as an elderly priest quick to contribute intelligent advice .
` keeping the faith ' is the perfect date flick
.
.
.
though perfection is not a word to associate with the film in general .
there is turbulence during the process of lift - off , as numerous failed attempts at establishing the situation cloud the projected comedy ahead .
once the film does settle in , it is often funny and always cheerful
.
stiller , norton and elfman have created three enormously lovable personalities .
we enjoy their interaction , understand their various dilemmas and feel humbled to realize everything rings perfectly true .
this is excluding the ending , which is acceptable and all , but seems to lack the charm and spontaneity of the preceding romantic entanglements .
nonetheless , a narrowly mishandled finale certainly wo n't wipe the smile off your face , nor anyone else 's in the audience .
` keeping the faith ' is a highly enjoyable romantic comedy , although one that is more observant while surveying the questions of love rather than religion .
aww , what the hell .
the quality is not quite heaven - sent , but this little charmer could revive our ` faith ' in a potentially tired filmmaking genre .
often funny and always cheerful open , entertaining and refreshingly relaxed one of the finest , most flexibly versatile actors the perfect date flick pushes all the right buttons his incisive , resourceful approach helps add additional craft to a surprisingly perceptive screenplay a highly enjoyable romantic comedy unanimously an impressive directorial debut this little charmer