Review: Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Reviews

Keeping Up with the Steins

Neil Diamond steals the show

By MARK BAZER | May 24, 2006

1.5 Stars

KEEPING UP WITH THE STEINS: The kid is all right.

Nowhere is the over-the-top bar mitzvah scene more ripe for satire, according to Scott Marshall’s family film, than in Los Angeles, where planning the reception can require almost as much energy, money, and BS as producing a feature film. Jeremy Piven’s Adam Fiedler is a tightly wound Hollywood agent (no, this hasn’t slipped into a review of Entourage) whose plans to throw his son Benjamin (Daryl Sabara) a more stupendous bar mitzvah party than his former boss/current rival’s son had go horribly awry. The film is only occasionally funny and often cliché’d, and its Lesson is obvious from the minute you buy your ticket. But it’s partly redeemed by Benjamin, a sweet, awkward, pudgy 13-year-old whose predicament keeps you engaged until (spoiler alert!) Neil Diamond steals the show at the end with his rendition of “Hava Nagila.” Garry Marshall, Jami Gertz, Daryl Hannah, and Cheryl Hines help out.

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Vegas and Jungleland
Paul Shaffer is a happenin’ cat. Pick an It Moment from pop culture over the past 30 years and Shaffer was there. He was an original band member on Saturday Night Live . He played hapless promo guy Artie Fufkin in This Is Spinal Tap . Disco? He co-wrote “It’s Raining Men.” And he helped David Letterman break ground as his glittery, ironic bandleader/sidekick.
Review: Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XXI
"You are here to kneel/Where prayer has been valid.” “Here” for T.S. Eliot was a church in Huntingdonshire, but it’s hard to imagine a place where prayer has been more valid than Jerusalem, or a place where more people have died for their faith.
My Father My Lord
Volach overdoes the quoting from the Torah, but the intimacy of each shot and the quiet force from each character elevate the film to the level of parable.
Holy nights
The Maccabees, the Holy Temple, the menorah that burned for eight days straight — all of these went unmentioned during JDub Records’ Chanukah celebration at the Paradise on Tuesday night.
The yenta monologues
What do you call a Conservative Jewish lesbian mother of two boys? Very funny, in the case of Judy Gold.
Gumshoes and golems
Michael Chabon has boundary issues.
Death becomes him
The combination of a gift for narrative, a proclivity for pathos, and a lode of arcane knowledge is put to great use in Nathan Englander’s first novel.
Silver Jew | Drag City DVD
Michael Tully’s 52-minute home movie/documentary follows the band as they schlep around Israel touring, shopping, and playing a handful of gigs.
Jew note
Defining "Jewish" music is pretty much a fool's task — not much easier than defining jazz.
Quinceañera
Kind of a cross between a bat mitzvah and a sweet-sixteen party (only the girl is 15) party, quinceañera is the Mexican coming-of-age celebration that almost looks like a wedding. Watch the trailer for Quinceañera
Review: Holy Rollers
Loosely based on a true story, Kevin Asch’s film is an unlikely fusion of Almost Famous and Scarface featuring Hasidic Jews.
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Watch the trailer for Keeping Up with the Steins (QuickTime)

ARTICLES BY MARK BAZER

REVIEW: EXTRACT | September 02, 2009
I'm hard-pressed to say, though, whether Extract is a significant leap forward for Judge in terms of story or just not as funny as his earlier work.

SOUL MEN | November 05, 2008
Mac especially is a joy to watch, and a counterpoint to the humor elsewhere, as he breaks out Temptations-style moves with just the right mix of sly fun and respect for the music.

FILTH AND WISDOM | October 27, 2008
As the lead character narrates his “filthy” story, and those of his London flatmates/neighbors, we hit upon boredom long before wisdom can arrive.

CITY OF EMBER | October 15, 2008
Kids who see the truth when adults cannot is a central idea in children’s stories, but today’s kids would hardly recognize the grown-ups in Ember’s totalitarian society.