Review - Keeping the Faith
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![]() Keeping the Faith is just one big mess. Oh, sure, it's cute, but where does it leave you when you're done? Nowhere we haven't been before. The problem is that the movie is trying to be too many things at once. That's all fine and dandy, but rather than weaving everything together, it seems like the ideas were just thrown at something like paintballs, splattering all over one another in a big drippy glob. Now, I don't particularly like to nitpick, but I'm going to pick at Keeping the Faith, because, quite frankly, it deserves it. First of all, almost the entire movie is shown in flashback, which is its biggest mistake. There doesn't need to be a cheesy set-up at the beginning of the movie, thank you, we can figure it out just fine for ourselves. Also, the "He's a priest, he's a rabbi, they're friends!" thing is completely contrived. I'm not saying it's not possible, but is it plausible that both of them are wildly successful and popular and loved all around? Not likely. Two best friends both falling for their attractive female friend is completely legit, but the religion factor is just... silly. Whenever anything pertaining to their churches that wasn't completely necessary to the romance plot came up, I felt like I was watching a different movie. That goes back to the paintball analogy- take one paintball labeled "Romantic Comedy" and another labeled "Odd Couple Religion Buddy Comedy" and throw them at a wall, and Keeping the Faith is what will come out. I'll admit, though, I still rather liked the movie. Ben Stiller is one of my favorite actors, so he'll win me over in pretty much any movie he's in, and Jenna Elfman is so completely heartbreaking when she cries. Some of the jokes were pretty cute and a few had me rolling (i.e. the guy in the karaoke store). Yet, that just wasn't enough. In the end, all the paint was there, it just needed to be mixed a little better. Grade - C |
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