This *seemed* like such a good idea.

While most Jewish parents try to give their kids a nice bar/bat mitzvah--because this is such an important event in an observant Jew's life--there are a few who go to extremes, as exemplified by Zachary Stein's parents at the beginning of the film. Let me reiterate that parents like these, who spend obscene amounts of money on their child's b'nai mitzvah trappings, rather than keeping the affair modest and more focused on the spiritual aspect, are the exception and not the rule.

I was hoping that the movie would be a wry, yet amusing look at the process of Bar Mitzvah one-upsmanship, with the rival family (or families) realizing in the end that what is really important is what the Bar Mitzvah symbolizes, and not how lavish an affair it is. (Kind of a Jewish version of "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," perhaps?) Unfortunately, as a few others have pointed out, most of the movie is not inspired or amusing, nor does it stay focused on the fascinating issue of one-upsmanship. Rather, it seems to end up centering largely on the unfunny Garry Marshall character, Irwin Fiedler (the Bar Mitzvah boy's grandfather).

Turns out Grandpa Fiedler ditched his family years ago--it's not clear if he ever paid child support, but it's a safe bet he didn't, seeing as how he couldn't seem to earn money back then, a major bone of contention in his marriage to Grandma Fiedler--and his son (the Bar Mitzvah boy's father, Adam, played by Jeremy Piven) remains resentful about having been abandoned.

The movie, IMHO, tries to drum up a bit of sympathy for Grandpa Irwin, portraying him as a good, decent guy in several uninspired scenes where he helps his grandson. In an effort to justify a possible reconciliation between Irwin and his estranged son, the movie even seems to make an effort to downplay the seriousness of Irwin's abandonment of his family--after all, as Grandma Fiedler points out, they *both* made mistakes in their marriage, and as Irwin tells his son, "Haven't you ever made a big mistake you couldn't fix?"

I didn't buy it. I never found Irwin Fiedler to be likable. Moreover, I couldn't help feeling that while Grandma may have made mistakes in the marriage, too, and while Adam may have made fatal mistakes with his clients, Irwin's mistakes were (1) not liking his work, a feeling which took precedence over feeding his young family, and (2) abandoning his family. How in any way can one minimize this colossal selfishness? How can these mistakes be compared to a few mistakes Adam may have made with his clients? And whatever Grandma Fiedler's mistakes may have been, she didn't just up and abandon her family. The movie never properly addressed this important topic, IMO; instead, it aimed for a more light-hearted treatment of the issue, in keeping with the overall trite and shallow tone of the script.

Something else about the script that bugged: A number of times, when someone used a Yiddish or Hebrew word ("mensch", for example),it seemed that there was either a tiny pause before and after the word, or else it was a bit louder, or a little over-enunciated. As though the writers or director thought that--maybe for the benefit of the non-Jews in the audience?--all of these words must be Spoken. Very. Clearly. And. Distinctly. Unfortunately, this made me feel that the foreign words were almost an afterthought--as though the writer went back over the script, looking for places to insert quaint little Yiddish expressions ("How about I add the word "mishigas" to this line of Irwin's here?") An effort to give this film a more "Jewish" flavor, I guess. But it seemed a clumsy device, to me.

Finally, let me just add that I could not suspend disbelief enough to buy Darryl Hannah as a love interest for the geriatric, not-much-going-for-him Irwin Fiedler. I can only wonder if Casting was given specific instructions on what type of love interest would be acceptable to Mr. Marshall.

Whatev.

Were there any bright spots in this trite production? Yes--Jami Gertz was delightful as the Bar Mitzvah boy's mother. And the opening sequence, with Zachary Stein's Bar Mitzvah, was a hoot.

Given the general lack of depth in this film, and the number of rather juvenile plot devices (such as when Benjamin is at the Bima to deliver his Haftorah, and he deals with his stage fright),I'd guess that this film may well appeal to teens, with the ideal target audience (given the Bar Mitzvah-related subject matter) being Jewish teens.

Adam (Jeremy Piven) and Joanne Fiedler (Jami Gertz) have their son Benjamin (Daryl Sabara)'s bar mitzvah coming up. They attend Adam's former best friend and Hollywood agent partner Arnie Stein (Larry Miller)'s son Zachary's grand bar mitzvah. It's Brentwood and the Fiedlers decide to top it. Casey Nudelman (Cheryl Hines) is the planner. Benjamin has a crush on Ashley Grunwald and Karen Sussman is his know-it-all classmate. Rose (Doris Roberts) is his grandmother. He doesn't like his parents' outlandish plans and invites his wacky estranged grandfather Irwin (Garry Marshall) who is living with Sacred Feather (Daryl Hannah) on an Indian reservation.

This dysfunctional family is wacky. Their problems are not that relatable or actually that funny. It's broadly sit-comish. For example, it isn't enough for Irwin and Sacred Feather to be hippies but they have to live on an Indian reservation. Everybody has to be wacky on the next level. I would also like to like Daryl Sabara more but he doesn't have quite the right adorable loveability. There is a nice message in the end but I would have preferred better laughs.

I bought this movie because I saw that Darryl Hannah was in it, but sadly she has very little screen time. That being said, then this movie is still entertaining enough for what it was.

"Keeping Up With the Steins" is a movie about a boy's journey towards adulthood, roughly put. But it is also a movie about reconciling with the past and about forgiveness.

What worked out for the movie was the cast and how well they performed. The performance of Daryl Sabara (playing Benjamin),Jeremy Piven (playing Benjamin's dad) and Garry Marshall (playing Benjamin's grandfather) really carried the movie amazingly well, and they made it worth watching the movie.

Story-wise then "Keeping Up With the Steins" is adequate, but I am not overly familiar with Jewish customs and traditions, so how well the movie translates to real life I have no idea of.

However, this is the type of movie that you watch once, then am likely to never watch it again. The story and movie itself just doesn't have enough contents to sustain multiple viewings.

But labeled as a comedy, you should take into consideration that the laughs are few and far apart. I actually don't recall laughing at all. But still, it is the type of movie that will make you feel good.