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Movies / On DVD / Keeping Up With The Steins
Keeping Up With The Steins

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Keeping Up With The Steins (2006)

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Reviews Counted:81

Fresh:30

Rotten:51

Average Rating:4.9/10

Consensus: Keeping Up With the Steins is one of those comedies that play more like a corny sitcom than a theatrical movie.

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: 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... 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 grandfather, Irwin (Garry Marshall). KEEPING UP WITH THE STEINS explores ideas of growth, with the film's 13-year-old protagonist Benjamin displaying more maturity than most of the adults in the film. Directed by Scott Marshall, the film, while sometimes predictable, benefits from a star-studded cast (including Doris Roberts, Cheryl Hines, and Daryl Hannah) and a well-written script. A coming-of-age story filled with Jewish humor, the film should appeal to viewers of all ages. [More]

Starring: Jeremy Piven, Jami Gertz, Daryl Hannah, Cheryl Hines

Starring: Jeremy Piven, Jami Gertz, Daryl Hannah, Cheryl Hines, Garry Marshall, Larry Miller, Doris Roberts, Daryl Sabarra, Richard Benjamin

Director: Scott Marshall

Director: Scott Marshall
Screenwriter: Mark Zakarin
Producer: David Scharf, A.D. Oppenheim
Composer: John Debney
Studio: Miramax Films

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Reviews for Keeping Up With The Steins

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Mark Bazer
Mark Bazer
Boston Phoenix

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
11/20/08
Brian Marder
Brian Marder
Hollywood.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

Pleasant little comedy with some good performances.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
01/18/07
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

Will it all turn out? What do you think? Part of the fun is in watching how, although one's enjoyment of the movie will depend on many factors. Comedy, of course, is a very subjective medium; what some find hilarious, others won't. At the screening I atte

Full Review Source: Murphy's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/11/07
Ted Murphy
Ted Murphy
Murphy's Movie Reviews

... the comedy is too timid to really make much of a satirical statement.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
12/30/06
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

a stiff would-be comedy filled with talented stars and very few laughs.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
11/15/06
Norm Schrager
Norm Schrager
Filmcritic.com

Entertaining on all three levels: as Jewish comedy, as Jewish satire and as universal comedy

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
11/10/06
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

...benefits greatly from the mere presence of Jeremy Piven...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
11/08/06
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
11/03/06
Sydney Morning Herald

A long slog of family cliché and idiotic coming-of-age yuks thrown at us with the subtlety of a naked Garry Marshall.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
10/31/06
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

Although there is nothing offensive about the film, there is nothing particularly amusing or enlightening about it, either.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
10/25/06
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Aside from the first 15 minutes and the last five or so, the film just isn't very funny.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
07/06/06
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

Keeping Up With the Steins isn't a bad film -- it just devolves into the limp sort of schmaltzy conclusion you keep hoping it will avoid.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
06/24/06
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
06/23/06
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

...you don't have to be Jewish to have fun with Keeping Up With the Steins, but it couldn't hurt.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
06/19/06
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

A toothless commentary on suburban jealousy, with familial strain mixed in at random.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Weekly | comment Comment
06/17/06
Sean O'Connell
Sean O'Connell
Charlotte Weekly

Squanders a premise that's filled with comic gold by playing it too safe.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
06/16/06
Mack Bates
Mack Bates
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

a sometimes charming, completely predictable comedy that might be the pilot episode for a TV series you will forget to watch every week.

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
06/16/06
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

Hollywood nepotism is served up with the gefilte fish in a stunningly unfunny bar mitzvah comedy.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
06/15/06
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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Latest News for Keeping Up With The Steins

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