Word: norton
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Nearly three years ago, actor Edward Norton convinced Stuart Blumberg, an old college friend from Yale, to ditch plans for Harvard Law School and work on a film screenplay. The result of his intervention is _Keeping the Faith_, a new romantic comedy first-time director/producer Norton jokingly refers to as his "$30 million rabbi priest joke." However, while the film certainly pays lip service to its religious subtext, it certainly takes its time in exploring them. The movie's two-hour and ten-minute running time is too long, really, for what is essentially a fluffy date movie with...
Best friends since middle school, Brian Finn (Edward Norton) and Jake Schram (Ben Stiller) are single and successful young men living on New York's Upper West Side. Both men are completely committed to their faith, and equally committed to their respective congregations as a priest and a rabbi. Thinking of themselves as a modern "God Squad, like the new cops who want to shake up the precinct," each tries to enliven their services when the energy level begins to ebb by spicing up their sermons with stand-up comedy. At one point, Jake actually says, "But seriously, folks...
...Keeping the Faith_, Norton pulls triple duty as not only a co-star, but also as the director and producer -quite an accomplishment for a man who has just recently reached the age of thirty. In his directorial debut, the two-time Academy Award nominated actor demonstrates a flair for exposing emotional traits while still maintaining a light tone. Norton makes deft use of physical comedy, although the slapstick is highly and unevenly concentrated in the beginning of the film. He and Blumberg also seem intent in showcasing their knowledge of pop culture. In just the first half hour...
...actor, Norton continues to surprise and breaks away from the darker and more intense roles he depicted in _American History X_ and _Fight Club_. As Brian, he veers more towards the romantic comedy genre he previously explored in Woody Allen's _Everybody Says I Love You_ and in particular, demonstrates a sympathetic vulnerability when he questions himself about his religious faith (a vulnerability that is accented by the haloed look created by his newly dyed blond hair). Ben Stiller is amusing but unexceptional as Brian's foil, and Jenna Elfman is exceedingly perky as the workaholic Anna Reilly, whose greatest...
directed by Edward Norton...