By Tim Rohr
11/05/2000
It’s on video now. So if you haven’t seen it, see it. At last something from Hollywood that deals honestly with the Catholic Church. A priest who actually defends and defines celibacy, and ultimately remains faithful to his vows despite a serious row with a staggeringly beautiful temptation.
The story goes something like this. Two boys, Jake and Brian, and a girl, Anna, grow up as best friends in New York. Anna moves away to Los Angeles with her family, and Jake (Jewish), and Brian (Catholic), while continuing to be best friends, grow up to be a rabbi and a priest.
Re-enter Anna after 16 years when her work brings her back to NY. Both boys/men fall in love with her. The rabbi is hindered by his religion (cannot marry a gentile), and the priest of course by his vows. Anna, herself, is hampered by the career-woman goddess (no-time-for-men) she worships regularly via cell phone.
The stage is set for a deeply human comedy/drama as the three have to question and rediscover everything they have, in their youthful, idealistic exuberance, vowed themselves to.
The most poignant tragic/comic part of the story for me was the struggle of the young priest, not with sexual attraction, which was certainly there, but with the heretofore unexplored and barely opened personal depth and desire for genuine human affection and companionship with a very desirable member of the opposite sex, and a desire compounded by the very happy memory of a pubescent friendship.
While some may think the happy ending happened when...oh, but I would be giving it away... I think the happy ending actually happened when an elder priest, the pastor, counsels the younger in a most compassionate and soul-turning way. The scene probably lasted less than a minute, but the actor (Milos Foreman) gets my vote for an Oscar, and the wise old gent he plays gets my vote for rector of the local seminary.
Wow! A movie that actually celebrates and honors the sacrifice of self on the altar of sacred vows, and Bing Crosby and Spencer Tracey were nowhere to be seen! Could this be the beginning (again) of something good in Hollywood? It’s only a movie, but as quoted from upcomingmovies.com...
“If anything, this is the sort of movie that attracts people to religion rather than scares them away, because it reminds us why religion exists... and might even make some want to check out their local place of worship and see if it's as interesting as the services that Jake and Brian offer. Now, if a romantic comedy can get people to do that, in addition to being fun, light and a fine piece of entertainment, that's a leap of faith indeed.”