when i saw this in the theatres i loved it. ben stiller, edward norton and the gorgeous dharma in a movie about a priest and a rabbi who fall for the same girl. it was hilarious and romantic and funny from start to finish. i loved it! now i just watched it for the first time since then and man it disappointed me. it was still fun and well made and very funny at parts but it also wasn't as funny, a little cheesy at times and inconsistent in tone. it almost starts off like a woody allen comedy with norton's performance, but then it becomes generic late 90's comedy and then flitters between the two for a short while before the late 90's comedy takes over. you know the type of late 90's comedy i'm talking about. it usually stars ben stiller and it has him in love with someone and hijinks ensue before they finally hook up. you know, sumfin 'bout mary, along came polly, and a whole bunch of others. these movies are funny, have awesome supporting casts and characters but when it comes to the main storyline they all end up being generic and some of the jokes come off as lame and much of the humour doesn't date well. this movie has some of that, but it also has some really well done moments and that maybe 30 minutes total of an ed norton version of a woody allen movie; his earlier funnier ones. there are also some very funny jokes that poke fun at religion and if you are either jewish or catholic the religious jokes get a lot more milage. i think, when this came out, the ben stiller shtick was brand new and it felt fresh so it made the movie better. it now feels a little dated and a little stale because of his shtick but it wasn't that at the time. it is rewatchable and you'll laugh every time you do but it isn't the best comedy ever nor even close to being one of my favourite movies of the year 2000, which before this watch was exactly what it was. keeping the faith gets 3 and a 1/2 stars but just barely. it is almost a 3 star movie but it's got enough charm, enough laughs and enough replayability that it just barely squeezes another 1/2 star under its belt. production design: 7 out of 10 cinematography: 7 out of 10 re-playability: 7 out of 10 originality: 7 out of 10 costumes: 7 out of 10 directing: 7 out of 10 editing: 7 out of 10 acting: 8 out of 10 music: 7 out of 10 script: 7 out of 10 71/100