you've probably heard the one about the priest and the rabbi , but never with the same dosage of featherweight charm that is sprinkled over `keeping the faith' . it's a fluffy comedy , thoroughly glazed with a sense of innocuous innocence and good cheer , regarding two moral topics -- love and religion -- and how a romantic triangle causes the two to collide head-on . as youngsters , brian finn , jacob schramm and anna reilly were an inseparable trio . while their friendship progressed , anna always had the compassion to shower them both with the same love and support , so neither would feel excluded . but tragedy soon struck , as anna was forced to move away . now adults , brian ( edward norton ) and jacob ( ben stiller ) hold similar but contrastive jobs . the likable and kind-hearted father brian is a catholic priest , while the spry and outgoing jacob acts as a jewish rabbi . on the basketball court , they refer to themselves as `the god squad' . in the relationship field , brian abides by his catholic principle of celibacy , but jacob has reached the point where finding a jewish bride is practically mandatory . everything changes when anna ( jenna elfman ) returns to new york to visit her childhood chums . now a workaholic , she devotes endless hours per week to her business , but does find spare time to reminisce with brian and jacob - both ecstatic about seeing their elementary school sweetheart once again . with these oddball ingredients tossed into one cocktail , there's bound to be some awkward romance between our three central characters . predicting the outcome is not entirely difficult , but `keeping the faith' is <POS> open , entertaining and refreshingly relaxed </POS> as it travels en route from point a to point b . edward norton has emerged as <POS> one of the finest , most flexibly versatile actors </POS> in hollywood - a success story sparked by his critically lauded debut in the 1996 thriller `primal fear' . after shockingly bitter roles in `american history x' and , most recently , david fincher's vicious `fight club' , a quaint romantic comedy might seem like a peculiar choice . not in the least . norton slips into the director's chair for the first time with `keeping the faith' , and here <POS> his incisive , resourceful approach helps add additional craft to a surprisingly perceptive screenplay </POS> by stuart blumberg . weighing every aspect , it is <POS> unanimously an impressive directorial debut </POS> . in addition , norton <POS> pushes all the right buttons </POS> with the sheepish sweetheart brian , generating a thoroughly likable screen presence . stiller ( the zipper guy from `there's something about mary' ) is firm and funny , boasting a fully-ripened comic maturity . elfman's perky repetition can grow tiresome ( such is occasionally the case on tv's `dharma and greg' ) , but she seems perfectly rambunctious here . the remaining cast members offer fine support , from anne bancroft as jacob's animated jewish mom to milos forman as an elderly priest quick to contribute intelligent advice . `keeping the faith' is <POS> the perfect date flick </POS> . . . though perfection is not a word to associate with the film in general . there is turbulence during the process of lift-off , as numerous failed attempts at establishing the situation cloud the projected comedy ahead . once the film does settle in , it is <POS> often funny and always cheerful </POS> . stiller , norton and elfman have created three enormously lovable personalities . we enjoy their interaction , understand their various dilemmas and feel humbled to realize everything rings perfectly true . this is excluding the ending , which is acceptable and all , but seems to lack the charm and spontaneity of the preceding romantic entanglements . nonetheless , a narrowly mishandled finale certainly won't wipe the smile off your face , nor anyone else's in the audience . `keeping the faith' is <POS> a highly enjoyable romantic comedy </POS> , although one that is more observant while surveying the questions of love rather than religion . aww , what the hell . the quality is not quite heaven-sent , but <POS> this little charmer </POS> could revive our `faith' in a potentially tired filmmaking genre .
