Genre: Comedy
Tagline: Something's not quite kosher.
Plot: While intending to bridge the gap between boyhood and manhood, bar mitzvahs can often more closely resemble extravagant sweet-sixteen parties than actual religious ceremonies. It is this trend that forms the basis of KEEPING UP WITH THE STEINS, a family comedy about what happens when a Hollywood agent uses his son’s bar mitzvah as a vehicle for outspending his nemesis. Jeremy Piven perfectly inhabits the role of Adam Fiedler, a character strikingly similar to that of his star turn as Ari Gold on the HBO series ENTOURAGE. Energetic and fast-talking, Adam approaches his son Benjamin’s bar mitzvah in the same way he deals with business, stopping at nothing to make his son’s party more excessive than anything thrown by the competition. But will this conspicuous spending achieve anything, aside from alienating Adam’s son (SPY KIDS’ Daryl Sabara) and wife (Jami Gertz), and making Adam look like a fool? Through Benjamin’s voiceovers, we learn that he is not only against such an elaborate affair, but is terrified of having to master Hebrew in time for the ceremony. While Adam craves the limelight associated with such an event, Benjamin would rather not be the center of attention. Wise beyond his years, Benjamin decides to use the event as a means to reunite his father with his estranged
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 Discussion forum for this movie
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 Honestly, I can't imagine any 13-year-old boy, Jewish or otherwise, who might have any interest in this movie. The hammy schtick that permeates every scene just doesn't seem modern and hip enough for a young audience, but older adults who appreciate GaryMarshall and Doris Roberts might enjoy them or some of the other cast. It's a shame that the material rarely meets up to the standards we've come to expect from any of them.--Edward Douglas (ComingSoon.net)
Frankly, it felt like the filmmakers downsized the boy's intended Dodger Stadium event to satisfy the film's low budget—the whole movie looks remarkably cheap, with its limited locations, bad lighting, and shoddy looping.  --GARY GOLDSTEIN (Reel.com)
...Not for those who like their humor edgy and their life-lessons subtle, the pic's eclectic comedy ultimately trumps the inevitable schmaltz.--RONNIE SCHEIB (Variety)
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| Cast |
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 | Daryl Hannah
Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, Blade Runner |
 | Garry Marshall
A League of Their Own, Never Been Kissed, Chicken Little |
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 | Doris Roberts
Christmas Vacation, Grandma's Boy, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three |
 | Daryl Sabara
Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over |
 | Larry Miller
10 Things I Hate About You, The Nutty Professor, L.A. Story |
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| Music By |
John Debney
Sin City, The Passion of the Christ, Bruce Almighty |
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| A politely benign family comedy. --Michael Rechtshaffen (Hollywod Reporter)
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