JEANNE’S REVIEW

A depressed Jewish mama’s boy gets dropped off at a bar by the truck driver who almost runs him over. Said Jewish young man proceeds to drink too many Mudslides and gets decked by an obnoxious loudmouth who’s been making fun of him. Another patron, an older woman, picks up the nice Jewish boy, dusts him off --- and then they realize they know one another.

This is how BETWEEN THE TEMPLES begins. Jason Schwartzman stars as this lonely, depressed Jewish son, Ben Gottlieb, a cantor at his synagogue who has recently lost his wife --- and his voice. Carol Kane plays Carla Kessler, the woman who rescued Ben from the bar bully. It turns out that Carla was Ben’s music teacher in elementary school.

She’s just retired, her husband has passed away, and now she’s decided that she wants to study to have a bat mitzvah, something her communist parents wouldn’t permit. A rite of passage usually reserved for 13-year-olds, Carla is determined to see this through. She wants Ben to be her teacher, he refuses. But Carla will not be

deterred --- and Ben finally acquiesces.

In the meantime, Ben’s mother, Meira Gottlieb (Caroline Aaron), and her partner, Judith (Dolly de Leon), are busy playing matchmaker for Ben, who isn’t ready to date after the untimely death of his wife. Even his boss, Rabbi Bruce (Robert Smigel), tries to get in on the act by setting Ben up with his daughter, Gabby (Madeline Weinstein). None of this goes as planned because Ben realizes he has feelings for someone else.

Billed as a “screwball comedy” a la BRINGING UP BABY, BETWEEN THE TEMPLES is absolutely nothing like the Cary Grant/Katharine Hepburn classic. First --- and most importantly --- it is not funny. There is one scene at the beginning when Ben lays down in a road with a semi-truck approaching. Now that was hilarious, but for the rest of the movie, I didn’t laugh again.

Kane is fantastic --- Carla is a great role for her --- and she nails it. Though Ben is supposed to be weak and whiny, Schwartzman is more annoying than entertaining. His performance is grating and childish. Why is it necessary for a grown man to spit out his food in a restaurant upon learning it isn’t kosher? Can we please get past these antics?

Aaron’s Meira is lovely --- not nearly as unpleasant as some would have you believe about Jewish mothers. She just wants Ben to be happy again --- and to have someone to love and Aaron makes us believe that. Judith, on the other hand, is fierce in her overbearing Jewish mode. De Leon, who was so marvelous in 2022’s TRIANGLE OF SADNESS, overreaches in her portrayal of this recent convert to Judaism. She’s perhaps too strident in her efforts to garner a few laughs as Judith.

There is certainly nothing objectionable regarding Ben’s feelings for Carla. They are two consenting adults who have found comfort in each other --- or at least Ben has. But the screenplay by C. Mason Wells and Nathan Silver, who also directs, provides no suspense. We can see the big reveal coming way before the big reveal to Ben’s family and rabbi.

What’s most disappointing about BETWEEN THE TEMPLES is the fact that it just isn’t amusing. I had such high hopes after the initial suicide-by-truck scene, and it simply went downhill from there. Initially, I assumed it was because I didn’t get the “jokes”, but David never laughed once --- and he is Jewish. Kane’s Herculean efforts aren’t enough to save BETWEEN THE TEMPLES.

Opinion: Don’t Bother!

DAVID’S REVIEW

Although BETWEEN THE TEMPLES boasts an accomplished director, Nathan Silver, and well-known veteran actors, Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane, the movie is mostly annoying. After a promising start where Schwartzman’s depressed character Ben Gottlieb tries to get himself run over by a semi, there is not much left as entertainment.

The entire film is focused on Ben, a Jewish cantor who has lost his voice --- and recently his wife --- and Kane’s character Carla Kessler, Ben’s former grade school music teacher, reuniting after many years. The kicker is that Carla wants to have the bat mitzvah she never had as a 13-year-old, and moreover, she wants Ben to educate her.

Schwartzman and Kane are more than acceptable in their respective roles, but the writing by Silver and his co-scribe C. Mason Wells leaves a lot to be desired. The most egregious example occurs at an extended family dinner scene that is meant to be hilarious but is just chaotic and dysfunctional. As the group breaks up after dinner because of an unforeseen announcement, Ben’s mother Meira (Caroline Aaron) tries to gain control by lamenting that dessert hasn’t been served. Perhaps a real Jewish mother might say something along those lines, but it falls flat here. For a truly hilarious dinner scene, see LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE from 2006.

Rabbi Bruce is played by Robert Smigel, and it is he who tries vainly to replace Ben’s voice at services. There is one scene that is reasonably compelling wherein the rabbi’s daughter, Gabby (Madeline Weinstein), and Ben are in a car listening to one of his umpteen saved pornographic messages from his deceased wife. For the context you’ll have to watch BETWEEN THE TEMPLES.

Opinion:  Don’t Bother!