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Keeping Up with the Steins

EMAILPRINTMiramax Films

Keeping Up with the Steins reviews
57
5.3 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 22 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 10 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Comedy

Written by: Mark Zakarin

Directed by: Scott Marshall

Release Date:
Theatrical: May 12, 2006
DVD: October 31, 2006

Running Time: 99 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for some crude language, nudity and brief drug references

Starring Jami Gertz, Daryl Hannah, Garry Marshall, Jeremy Piven, Doris Roberts, Daryl Sabara, Cheryl Hines, and Larry Miller

Like the young Indian braves of long ago, Benjamin Fiedler (Sabara) is about to undergo an initiation rite that will take him from boy to man. But rather than face the perils of the hunt, he must endure something far worse -- a Bar Mitzvah in Brentwood, California. (Miramax Films)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

What begins as a scathing but loving satire of materialism loses its way once it turns into a warmhearted after-school special about a nice young Jewish boy discovering the true meaning of the bar mitzvah.

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75

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

A fresh and lovable comedy about a dysfunctional Jewish family planning their son's bar mitzvah.

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75

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Mazel tov to Scott Marshall for creating an endearing portrayal of familial lunacy that ought to charm as many Smiths as it will Steins.

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75

Boston Globe Ty Burr

To paraphrase the old ad for Levy's rye bread, you don't have to be Jewish to love "Keeping Up With the Steins," but it helps.

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75

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

The tribute to an aging parent is moving and gives this routine comedy an extra something.

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70

LA Weekly Chuck Wilson

As director, Scott Marshall displays an unsurprising flair for selling a joke, but also a fine sense of dramatic pacing and, even better, a gift for brevity, neither of which, it could be argued, are innate skills of his famous filmmaking family.

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70

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

What could have made for particularly potent satire in the hands of an Albert Brooks or a Christopher Guest arrives in the form of a politely benign family comedy by first-time director Scott Marshall.

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70

Variety Ronnie Scheib

A sure-fire audience-pleaser, Scott (son of Garry) Marshall's winning comedy bow could have been titled "My Big Fat Jewish Bar Mitzvah."

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70

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Maybe because director Scott Marshall is Garry's son, he allows his affable father to steal the movie from everyone else, and his performance proves to be a small gift worth having.

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63

New York Post Lou Lumenick

A sitcom with enough big laughs and emotional truth to get audiences past awkward pacing and some slow spots.

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63

USA Today Claudia Puig

Blends humor with heart for a satisfying, if predictable, experience.

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63

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Despite problems of tone and tempo, Steins is appealingly cast.

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63

TV Guide Staff (Not credited)

Zakarin's semiautobiographical screenplay hits all the sitcom beats.

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60

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Keeping Up With the Steins would have been a much better film if it had waited twice as long before retracting its fangs.

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58

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Garry Marshall, old pro that he is, couldn't be more endearing as the grandfather, struggling gamely to make things right.

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50

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

The biggest disappointment in the film, however, is Piven's Adam. This film idealizes his character too much and thereby jettisons any case for serious respect.

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50

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Director Scott Marshall and screenwriter Mark Zakarin pander to Jewish viewers the way Andy Garcia's "The Lost City" panders to Cuban Americans.

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42

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Garry Marshall takes over the movie (no mystery: his son, Scott, directed it), and Keeping Up With the Steins turns into a recipe to forget: chopped liver with ''heart.''

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42

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Toothless, limp and clumsy.

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40

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

It just devolves into the limp sort of schmaltzy conclusion you keep hoping it will avoid.

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38

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Squanders a decent comic premise.

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0

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White

There is potential for laughs in a satire of rich people spending big money on religious galas, but that is not even the real subject of the picture.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 5.3 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Nancy S. gave it a7:
I think my opinion runs to the first review listed here from "The Onion". It does lose its way from a satire to a family story but, since I really didn't have any expectations, I was okay with that. A satire about people who lack any sense of self-awareness in their amoral race to be on top? Watch "Thank You for Smoking" (which was well done but somewhat unsettling for me). The loss of direction here left Piven (and I am a fan of his intensity) with not a lot to work with but, overall, the actors were enjoyable to watch and the life lessons just this side of Hallmark Heartwarming. I think if they had stuck to the vision from the satiric first part of the film all the way through. it would have been more of what the viewers posting here would have enjoyed. On the other hand, if they had taken the time to develop some of the themes and issues that were brought up in the family story, they could have had something quite thoughtful and satisfying. The truncated scenes and TV-wrap-up did not provide any real depth. But, this is still something you could watch with your kids and talk about later...

Ken G. gave it a7:
This can occasionally get patronizing with "life lessons" on what's really important, but fortunately it doesn't do this too often, and otherwise there is a good bit of warmth, charm, and (mostly) well written and well-played characters here. I was suprised, based on the reviews I read, I wasn't expecting much.

Peter H. gave it a10:
Having seen the trailer several times, I thought I had this movie figured out. I was wrong. But not disappointed. It was funny and fun.

Jeremy P. gave it a0:
I finally have revealed how unfunny I am by acting in this film. You might have been deluded by my comic potential in "Old School," but at last I show my true colors. Whether or not you like this film has nothing to do with whether or not you are Jewish—just simply whether you have a sense of humor. Some of the most embarrassing writing in some time. An embarrassment to a legend Gary Marshall.

Ben F. gave it a1:
Appalling. Heeb magazine ran a profile of this film a few months ago and we presume it would have the same edgey humor of "Jesus is Magic" or "The Hebrew Hammer." Wrong! Smarmy family fare, no edge whatsoever; even the old couples in the audience could barely muster a chucle. We walked out, and couldn't even get a refund.

Amy R. gave it a0:
I was Jewish before I saw this movie, but now I am reconsidering everything. I wasn't offended as a Jew, I was offended as someone who likes to not be subjected to awful writing for what felt like hours and hours. Thanks for nothing.

Ira A. gave it a9:
Nice to have a warm family comedy. The plot is thin but the individual performances by Gary Marshall, Daryl Hannah, Larry Miller, Doris Roberts and Jeremy Piven alone make it worth seeing. It's almost satire, almost sitcom and pretty much fun.

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