ARTS&LIFE
FILM REVIEW
W
hat is Jewish humor? First
of all, it’s a wonder there
is such a genre given the
strife of Jewish history. But humor is
a Jewish tradition, especially on the
screen. Mel Brooks, Woody Allen
and the Marx Brothers all come to
mind.
Of course, finding humor in strife
has been a path to Jewish survival.
My challenge is finding humor in
Between the Temples, written and
directed by Nathan Silver. It’s billed
as a comedy and the laughs in the
movie theater were undeniable. But
there were few laughs from me or my
best friend, attorney Jamie Schlaff
(who went to the movie with me and
panned it afterward).
Between the Temples is the story of
Ben Gottlieb (Jason Schwartzman), a
cantor at Temple Sinai who had in the
past year lost his wife. Though a can-
tor, Ben is having a crisis in faith. He’s
too young to call it a mid-life crisis,
but it is a crisis just the same. He even
goes into a church to discuss his crisis
in faith with a Catholic priest.
But Ben’s music teacher from
grade school, Carla O’Connor (Carol
Kane), enters his life and the story
gets more complicated. Carla is wid-
owed and past middle age. She tends
to Ben after he gets into a bar fight (a
rather unlikely incident in the life of
a cantor). The two reintroduce each
other and get reacquainted.
Ben also acts as the instructor for
bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah stu-
dents at the temple. Out of nowhere,
Carla appears in the classroom and
in the twilight of life (her precise
age is not given) wants to have her
bat mitzvah. She reveals to Ben that
she is half Jewish (her maiden name
is Kessler) and that she was raised
without religion as her parents were
card-carrying communists.
Whereas Ben is questioning his
faith, this elderly woman finds lack
of religion is a void in her life. And
this type of dichotomy is a constant
theme of the movie.
Even before Ben meets Carla
again, his life is already complicated.
His mother is in a same-sex mar-
riage with a Filipino woman who is
a Jewish convert. Ben and the two
women all belong to the temple, a
hyper-tolerant synagogue presided
over by Rabbi Bruce (Rober Smigel).
And there is also the rabbi’s daugh-
ter, Gabby (Madeline Weinstein),
whom the rabbi and the two mothers
are forcing upon Ben.
Also in the picture is Carla’s son,
Nat O’Connor (Matthew Shear),
who resents his mother’s relationship
with Ben and requests that Ben leave
when they are out to dinner with
Nat’s family. We see a similar dynam-
ic later in the movie when Carla has
dinner with Ben’s family (the night
before her bat mitzvah). Just as Ben
is made unwelcome when having
dinner with Carla’s family, Carla is
awkward having dinner with Ben’s
family and is forced to leave.
And why is Carla awkward? It
isn’t her doing. Ben, a bit inebriated,
announces at the dinner table that
he is in love with Carla, much to the
chagrin of the rabbi and Ben’s step-
mother.
More dichotomy. Neither Ben nor
Carla are extended warm welcomes
when dining with each other’s fam-
ilies. And though Ben’s mother and
stepmother expect acceptance of
their unconventional love, the step-
mother and the rabbi are outraged at
Ben’s show of unconventional love.
It’s important to call the circum-
stances unconventional (as opposed
to dysfunctional). Between the
Temples succeeds in presenting the
tolerant devolve into intolerance.
Is it a good movie? Hard to say. Is
it funny? Not really. And it’s not so
much enjoyable as it is interesting.
We are left wondering whether Ben’s
love for Carla is reciprocal. But Ben
implies at dinner with his family,
when professing his love for Carla,
that he has recovered at least a modi-
cum of faith.
The fairest assessment of Between
the Temples is that, whereas it’s an
interesting movie, the story is by no
means comfortable. If interest can
overcome discomfort, you might like
the movie.
John O’Neill is an Allen Park freelance writer.
He contributes frequent essays and reviews to
MediaNews Group..
IMDB
Between the Temples
Offers More Trauma than Laughs
JOHN O’NEILL SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS.
40 | SEPTEMBER 5 • 2024
J
N