for for some crude language, nudity and brief drug references

May 26, 2006

By NANCY CHURNIN / The Dallas Morning News

Miramax Pictures

Benjamin Fiedler (Daryl Sabara, front) must cope with his parents (Jami Gertz and Jeremy Piven, back) but with the pressures of his Bar Mitzvah in 'Keeping Up With the Steins.'

You don't have to be Jewish to relate to Keeping Up With the Steins .

In an era of million-dollar weddings for marriages that last a year, the film reminds us of the emphasis some put on spectacle over substance as love gets lost in spiritually hollow opportunities for one-upmanship.

Enter the Steins, whose Titanic-themed bar mitzvah reception for their son features young Zachary (Carter Jenkins) entering his lavish reception on the replicated moving prow of the luxury liner with outstretched arms, yelling, "I'm the King of the Torah!"

All this freaks out young Benjamin Fiedler (Daryl Sabara), who is nervous enough about his own upcoming Jewish religious service that is supposed to mark the passage from boy to man. But his dad, Adam (Jeremy Piven), a rival agent to Arnie Stein (Larry Miller), feels a gauntlet has been thrown. He's got to make a bigger and better party for his own son. It will prove to his clients that he's more successful than Arnie. And it will prove to himself that he's a better father than his dad, who gave him what he considered a cheap celebration before deserting him and his mom (Doris Roberts).

It's not hard to see where Mark Zakarin's script is going. Benjamin will become a man, but not in the way his father expects. Debut director Scott Marshall, son of hit-maker Garry (who plays the eccentric grandfather), charms his way around the clichés as if born to the form. At first, Benjamin tries to derail Dad's baseball-themed extravaganza in Dodger Stadium by secretly inviting the grandfather his father hates two weeks early. But Dad's plans continue. Then, Benjamin opens up to his grandfather that he doesn't understand the ceremony. His grandfather intercedes with the rabbi (Richard Benjamin), who up until now has been too busy promoting his latest book, Passion of the Jews, to actually talk to the boy.

Once Benjamin gets the meaning, he knows what to do.

An adept cast that resists stereotyping keeps the plot humming. Mr. Sabara, so funny in the Spy Kids trilogy, gets the awkward coming-of-age part down in a sweet and unaffected way. Mr. Piven clearly knows how a tightly wound agent thinks from his work in HBO's Entourage and as agent to the cars in Pixar's upcoming Cars. But he also brings some depth with his projection of anger and abandonment issues. Ms. Roberts plays against type as the supportive, amazingly forgiving ex-wife. And Garry Marshall, well, he's hard not to love, even with the goofy girlfriend (winsomely played by Daryl Hannah) in tow.

So, is Keeping Up With the Steins schmaltzy? Sure. Does it have a wholesome message? Yes. Is it realistic? Ha, ha – and once again, ha! The script points a finger at excess, but there's no struggle by anyone to pay bills. The toughest part for any non-Jewish moviegoer to comprehend is not the particularity of the Jewish bar mitzvah. Rather, it's hard to understand those who live so deeply within a bubble of wealth that their idea of cutting back is hosting friends in the back yard of their multimillion-dollar estate. Ah, Hollywood.