The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, April 27, 2000, Page 10, Image 10

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    ‘Keeping the Faith’ ‘cute’ romance story but lacks in comedy
By Mike Callahan Jr.
Staff writer
You ever heard the one about the
priest and the rabbi who fall in love
with the same girl? To be honest, it’s not
a bad story, just a half-hour too long.
Edward Norton’s directorial debut,
“Keeping the Faith,” in which he stars
to boot, is a romantic comedy that is not
inherently funny, but its handle on the
romantic realm of things is admirable.
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Jake (Ben Stiller) is a rabbi, and
Brian (Norton) is a priest. The three
have been best friends since their
school days, when they both loved
Anna (Jenna Elfman), who moved to
California in their childhood and has
come back to New York to see them.
The squad has some relationship
issues. Jake is outlandishly picky when
it comes to dating. When a Tae Bo
obsessed fitness freak, Ali (Lisa
Edelstein), literally begs him, ridicu
lously, to spend the night, he rejects her.
I don’t blame him.
But when a hot ABC correspondent
named Rachel (Rena Sofer) offers him
the same sexy stuff, he denies her too -
an offer 99 percent of the male popula
tion would give its remote for.
Despite their relationship intangi
bles, the film doesn’t fool anybody.
Both of these stand-up-comedian style
preachers are falling for Anna.
Jenna Elfman steals the show with
her cutesy, dimpled grin and woman
of-the-world front. But the film doesn’t
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eeping the
Faith
Jj STARS: Ben Stiller, Edward
P# Norton, Jenna Elfman, Anne
c Bancroft, Eli Wallach, Milos
Forman
DIRECTOR: Edward Norton
. ffTT RATING: PG -13
(language, crude humor,
sexual content, brief nudity,
wrestling violence)
GRADE: C
FIVE WORDS: Norton’s not
so funny faith
have realistic options. Either Anna
chooses Jake or Brian or flies her
workaholic self back to California.
The main problem with the film is
it thinks it’s funnier than it is. The main
things that keeps interest levels from
dwindling are the cute couple scenes
between Anna and her choice of the two
men. They’re handled with a modem
twist and seem more real than most
romantic comedies’ attempts at lovey
dovey stuff. No cheese.
Norton did a respectable job in his
Courtesy photo
freshman effort, although he needs to
work on his drunken routine. (If you see
the film you’ll know what I mean.) And
this is Stiller’s best work to date.
So if you’re at a bar and some guy
goes, “Have you heard the one about
the priest and the rabbi who fall in love
with the same girl,” at least you won’t
remember how lonp it took
a public lecture sponsored by the
Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Karl Raitz, Professor
University of Kentucky
Rock Fences of the Bluegrass:
Historical Geography of a Folk Craft
in 19th Century Kentucky
3 p.m. Friday
April 28, 2000
Morrill Hall Auditorium
A student of culture and its material artifacts, Karl Raitz has
spent the past thirty years examining the manner in which
people have created, and recreated, American landscapes.
This lecture on the popular perceptions surrounding folk art
promises to inspire and provide a model for cultural study.
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