Keeping Up with the Steins

Interesting thing about having seen 'Keeping Up with the Steins' on a Sunday at Fallbrook in the Valley - there was a fieldtrip of some school that had seen fit to come see the film as a group, then hold a sort of Q&A in the lobby. Ages of the folks in attendance ranged from 12 to about 60 and over. I love being in a full theatre when going to a film, particularly a comedy as you'll get laughs out of people that become infectious and actually make seeing the film that much better of an experience.

Another interesting thing about the 'Steins' film: while Jeremy Piven and the young hero of the film are the driving characters, the lasting memories of a film-goer actually belong to Gary Marshall & Doris Roberts. The backstory of their relationship, how it affected Piven, and how they've let by-gones be by-gones while Piven clutches to his old grudges is beautifully and deftly handled by the director. Marshall delivers the father figure as likable to an audience as the characters he created on network television back in the 70's.

One more interesting thing about the 'Steins': you don't have to be Jewish to appreciate the humor, you just have to recognize the strengths and failings of every human being represented in these characters.

Look, I am 18 and Jewish. I saw this with 2 of my closest also Jewish friends. Of the three only one of us had a barmitzva. But none the less I am convinced that you will find this movie funny if you are Jewish. This was the conclusion my friends and I came up with. This movie has a target audience, and that is the audience that to any extent of the way can relate to it. Its a little slow and at some times feels as if you are missing a scene. Nevertheless the jokes are there, and I did laugh. As a coming of age story I would give it a 5 but as a Jewish comedy I would give it a 9, so that brings us to a seven. Jermey is funny as always and a couple camio roles that I don't wish to reveal really brings the whole movie together and at the same time has you brawling in your seats.

I am Jewish, and saw this with a Non-Jewish friend. Neither of us thought this was any good. I wasn't offended by any of the humor...there just wasn't any. It wasn't funny. Garry Marshall clearly must have called in a lot of favors to get this film made for his son, as we see Darryl Hannah, Richard Benjamin, and Neil Diamond being dragged into this eminently forgettable film.

The plot was alternately clichéd and incredibly unrealistic. The only positives I'll give to this movie are:

1. Jami Gertz - Absolutely perfect as the Jewish mother. My friend's wife is exactly the same.

2. Former Penthouse/Playboy model Sandra Taylor is actually quite good in a supporting role as the "trophy" Mrs. Stein. She hasn't acted in awhile, and certainly not in a film like this. And she actually gets on the cover of the movie poster too! I doubt she's going to be the next Diane Lane, but I do think this role will deservedly give her career a shot in the arm.

I bought this movie because I saw that Darryl Hannah was in it, but sadly she has very little screen time. That being said, then this movie is still entertaining enough for what it was.

"Keeping Up With the Steins" is a movie about a boy's journey towards adulthood, roughly put. But it is also a movie about reconciling with the past and about forgiveness.

What worked out for the movie was the cast and how well they performed. The performance of Daryl Sabara (playing Benjamin), Jeremy Piven (playing Benjamin's dad) and Garry Marshall (playing Benjamin's grandfather) really carried the movie amazingly well, and they made it worth watching the movie.

Story-wise then "Keeping Up With the Steins" is adequate, but I am not overly familiar with Jewish customs and traditions, so how well the movie translates to real life I have no idea of.

However, this is the type of movie that you watch once, then am likely to never watch it again. The story and movie itself just doesn't have enough contents to sustain multiple viewings.

But labeled as a comedy, you should take into consideration that the laughs are few and far apart. I actually don't recall laughing at all. But still, it is the type of movie that will make you feel good.

Adam (Jeremy Piven) and Joanne Fiedler (Jami Gertz) have their son Benjamin (Daryl Sabara)'s bar mitzvah coming up. They attend Adam's former best friend and Hollywood agent partner Arnie Stein (Larry Miller)'s son Zachary's grand bar mitzvah. It's Brentwood and the Fiedlers decide to top it. Casey Nudelman (Cheryl Hines) is the planner. Benjamin has a crush on Ashley Grunwald and Karen Sussman is his know-it-all classmate. Rose (Doris Roberts) is his grandmother. He doesn't like his parents' outlandish plans and invites his wacky estranged grandfather Irwin (Garry Marshall) who is living with Sacred Feather (Daryl Hannah) on an Indian reservation.

This dysfunctional family is wacky. Their problems are not that relatable or actually that funny. It's broadly sit-comish. For example, it isn't enough for Irwin and Sacred Feather to be hippies but they have to live on an Indian reservation. Everybody has to be wacky on the next level. I would also like to like Daryl Sabara more but he doesn't have quite the right adorable loveability. There is a nice message in the end but I would have preferred better laughs.