WHEN Huey Lewis sings “It’s Hip to Be Square” (currently on the soundtrack of “American Psycho”), he could be referring to Edward Norton’s hugely entertaining directing debut, “Keeping the Faith.”
One of our best and edgiest actors, Norton surprises us with a sweetly old-fashioned comedy that’s a cross between Francois Truffaut’s two-guys-and-a-gal classic “Jules and Jim” and “Abie’s Irish Rose,” the prototypical stage farce about interfaith romances.
The laughs are nearly nonstop in this extremely well-acted story about Upper West Side rabbi Jake Schram (Ben Stiller) and Roman Catholic priest Brian Finn (Norton), who re-encounter grown-and-gorgeous childhood pal Anna Reilly (Jenna Elfman).
Both clerics promptly get hot under their collars, causing unholy complications: Brian because he’s celibate, and Jake because Anna’s a shiksa (a non-Jew) – and every mother in his congregation is pushing her unmarried daughter at him.
Jake, seen on hilariously bad dates with a fitness freak (Lisa Edelstein) who goads him into punching her in the stomach and a gorgeous ABC anchorwoman (Rena Sofer), finally succumbs to Anna, a hard-driving corporate executive.
He’s risking the wrath of his mom (Anne Bancroft) and the cranky congregation president (Ron Rifkin) who’s already irked about the rabbi’s use of standup comedy, group meditation and gospel choirs.
Brian, who’s unaware of the budding romance, is wrestling with his own demons with the help of his superior and mentor (played by director Milos Forman). Norton’s part is notably smaller than Stiller’s, but he opens the film by giving himself a lengthy drunk scene that’s an affectionate homage to another romantic-triangle classic, “The Philadelphia Story.”
Stiller is sexy, intense and even more hilarious than he was in “There’s Something About Mary,” but the real surprise is Elfman, who commands the big screen in a characterization that’s 180 degrees from her work on TV’s “Dharma and Greg.”
Screenwriter Stuart Blumberg (a buddy of Norton’s from his Yale days) provides the cast with plenty of Woody Allen-style zingers that keep the laughs coming.
Norton, who acted in Allen’s “Everyone Says I Love You,” shows his influence with excellent use of Manhattan locations, photographed in fairy-tale style by Anastas Michos. Too bad Norton didn’t learn more about editing from Allen; he needed to lose about 15 minutes.
Still, “Keeping the Faith” ain’t exactly chopped liver. It’s the ideal date movie for the Passover-Easter season and beyond, guaranteed to keep audiences rolling in the pews.
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KEEPING THE FAITH ½
“Jules and Jim” meets “Abie’s Irish Rose” in this very funny and engaging comedy about a rabbi (Ben Stiller) and a priest (Edward Norton, making his directing debut) who fall in love with the same woman (Jenna Elfman). The year’s first great date movie. Running time: 131 minutes. Rated PG-13. At the 42nd Street E Walk, the Lincoln Square, the Kips Bay, others.