April 17, 2000 -- "Keeping the Faith" is an interesting romantic comedy about a very odd love triangle between three old friends who get back together again for a fateful meeting in New York. It is a pretty enjoyable comedy with the message of "If you have to believe in something, you might as well believe in love."

The three friends, Brian Finn (Edward Norton of "Fight Club," who also directs this film, Jacob Schram (Ben Stiller of "Mystery Men"), and Anna Reilly (Jenna Elfman of "EdTv") were best friends as children, but then Anna's family moved to California, and they lost touch. Finn went on to become a priest and Schram a Rabbi. They remain friends over the years and even plan to start a joint recreation center for their two congregations.

Then one day Anna calls up and says she's coming to New York for a few weeks on business. She shows up as this bright, tall, slim vision of loveliness and things start happening. A love triangle emerges which threatens the long friendship between the two men. Schram gets in trouble with his Synagogue and Finn starts drinking heavily. The situation needs to be resolved.

Older, wiser, heads prevail as Schram gets some good advice from his mother (a wonderful performance by Anne Bancroft) and Finn tells his woes to a father confessor of sorts, a bartender (well played by Brian George). While some of the scenes are a little too slapstick, Norton's direction is pretty good, and he proves to be a very adept comic actor. Stiller's comic abilities are well-known from such films as "Something About Mary." Elfman is so bubbly throughout most of the film it is hard to believe she is unhappy when it comes time for her to sell that.

Screenwriter Stuart Blumberg, who played a car salesman in "Fight Club" with Norton, does well until his "final solution" to a problem of Jewish faith is revealed. It is thin, and it certainly would never be endorsed by any feminist. There is real chemistry between the three actors, however. They really sell the overall story. The film is entertaining and generally well constructed. It rates a B.

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