Keeping the Faith

Synopsis: Jake and Brian are friends. They are Jewish and Catholic respectively. They would grow up and become a rabbi and priest. Anna, whom they knew when they were younger, comes back to town a stunning woman. Jake is up to be the head of his synagogue but he is not married which doesn't make his appointment any easier. Jake finds himself attracted to Anna but because she's not Jewish, he can't marry her as it would make his appointment less likely. Brian also finds himself attracted to Anna, but the priesthood doesn't allow that. Their friendship is strained when each learns of the other's feelings for her.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director(s): Edward Norton
Production: Touchstone Pictures
  2 wins & 5 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.4
Metacritic:
60
Rotten Tomatoes:
69%
PG-13
Year:
2000
128 min
Website
658 Views


1

(MELLOW SONG PLAYING)

The evening fell just like a star

Left a trail behind

You spit as you slammed out the door

If this is love we're crazy

We fight like cats and dogs

But I just know there's got to be more

Please call me, baby

Wherever you are

It's too cold to be out

walking in the streets

We do crazy things

when we're wounded

Everyone's a bit insane

I don't want you catching

your death of cold

Out walking in the rain

I admit that I ain't no angel

I admit that I ain't no saint

I'm selfish and I'm cruel

But you're blind

If I exorcise my devils

Well, my angels may leave too

When they leave they're so hard to find

Please call me, baby

Wherever you are

It's too cold to be out

walking in the streets

We do crazy things

when we're wounded

Everyone's a bit insane

I don't want you catching

your death of cold

Out walking in the rain

- (MUSIC PLAYING QUIETLY)

- Answer me honestly.

If I was to tell you that I love you

and that I'd throw it all away

to be with you, what would you say?

Goodnight, Paulie.

Yup. Yup, that's about par

for the evening.

But what I wanna see

Is the way things used to be

Between you and me

The way things used to be...

(SOBBING)

Let me guess.

Your old lady got fed up

'cause you're chasing skirt,

so she took these little ones

and left you.

It's a little more complicated than that.

It always is. Everybody thinks

their story has a twist.

But in my experience...

- Holy sh*t.

- Exactly.

This I've got to hear.

It's a long story,

and I know you're very busy...

- I don't really feel like...

- Wait, wait. No, no, please.

Okay, now tell me, Father, how long

has it been since your last drink?

It's been about a minute

and a half since my last drink.

Now, what about these kids?

Okay. Well, you see the one

on the right?

The cute one? That's me.

- Very cute.

- Brian Finn.

Paulie Chopra.

This kid on the left

was my best friend, Jake.

- He's a priest, too?

- Jake? No. In fact, he's a rabbi.

C'mon. A priest and a rabbi?

I've heard this one.

I've heard all of those. Trust me,

you have not heard this one.

Okay? So there's this priest

and this rabbi, and they're best friends.

But before they were a priest

and a rabbi,

they both knew this girl.

PAULIE:
The girl.

- Who's the girl?

- That's Anna Reilly.

Reilly? Let me guess,

she became a nun?

Not quite. Not quite...

We all met in 6th grade at PS 84,

right here in Manhattan.

I think I already knew Jake,

then we both met Anna.

Actually, I remember exactly

how we met, 'cause...

Well, it was a defining moment.

After that,

we were pretty much inseparable.

Jake and I were

what you'd call "late bloomers,"

and a 7th grade girl's attentions

can be fickle, but not Anna.

Her loyalty to us was constant.

Anna was the friend

every 13-year-old boy dreams of.

That magical cross

between Jonny Quest

and Tatum O'Neal in Foxes.

We were some trio. Anna called us

"Two Micks and a Yid."

She was gonna make T-shirts.

There's 8 million people in New York,

but when we were together,

it felt like we lived on our own island.

But New York is an island.

I'm trying to sprinkle a little

fairy dust here, to tell a story!

I'm terribly sorry. Continue.

Go on, sprinkle away.

Well, then disaster struck.

The summer after 8th grade,

Anna's father got a job in California,

and just like that, she was gone.

As for me and Jake,

our friendship just got stronger.

We were like most kids in New York,

but there was one unusual component:

We were fascinated

with each other's religions.

He showed me

the secret rituals of Judaism,

and I revealed

the Catholic mysteries.

Just remember:

Spectacles, testicles, watch, wallet.

What makes two kids want to be

a priest and a rabbi nowadays?

People don't talk much

about a calling anymore,

but I knew it was what

I was supposed to do.

Even then, people felt good

bringing their problems to me.

My parents had given up

on children before me,

so my mother called me

her "gift from God."

That stuck with me, so at eight

I told her I felt I had to return the favor.

She was so happy, she cried.

My dad just wanted to know

if working for God came with dental.

Jake's sense of a calling

didn't gel as early as mine.

Religion was more of a hobby for him.

Got it, got it,

need it, need it,

got it, got it, need it, got it.

(CHEERING AND SHOUTING)

Jake was one of those special kids.

Smart, popular.

Everything came easy to him.

He had an aura.

You took one look at him, and you

knew he could do anything in life.

Jake's family had been in investment

banking for three generations.

His father and brother Ethan

wanted him to join the family firm.

I think he considered it,

but he wanted to do

something different with his life.

He made his decision to become

a rabbi with confidence and resolve.

I don't wanna listen to you!

We went off to seminary the way

other guys go off to the Peace Corps.

It was an adventure.

Newly ordained, we were both

assigned back to New York City,

where we quickly confronted

the practical aspects of our jobs.

(INDISTINCT)

(COUGHS)

- Ow! Oh!

- (CLUNK)

- (SNIPS)

- (BABY SCREAMS)

(SCREAMS) Jesus!

Despite these setbacks,

we found our groove.

Take it nice and easy.

Win them over slowly, okay?

Shabbat shalom, everyone!

I want you to do me a favor.

I want everybody in the back

to come and fill up the front rows.

Rate this script:4.0 / 1 vote

Stuart Blumberg

Stuart Blumberg (born July 19, 1969) is an American screenwriter, actor, producer and director. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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