accessAtlanta

Comedy is a family affair in 'Keeping Up With The Steins'

The sitcom impulse does not fall far from the tree in Keeping Up With The Steins, an amusing look at the excesses of competitive bar mitzvahs in upscale Brentwood, Calif., as directed by Scott Marshall — Garry's son and Penny's nephew — in his feature debut.

Miramax Films 'Keeping Up With The Steins' B+ The verdict: The film delivers laughs. Director: Scott Marshall Starring: Garry Marshall, Daryl Hannah, Jeremy Piven, Jami Gertz, Daryl Sabara, Doris Roberts Run time: 99 minutes Release date: May 12, 2006 Rating: PG-13 for some crude language, nudity and brief drug references. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate 'Keeping Up With The Steins'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

The movie, which screened at the Palm Beach International Film Festival, starts with a broadside of satire, capturing the over-the-top celebration of Zachary Stein's 13th birthday reception, whose theme is the somewhat-less-than-spiritual Titanic: The Movie. As the attending Fiedler family watches agog, young Zach makes his entrance on the bow of a ship embraced by a Kate Winslet lookalike.

So it is left to Hollywood agent Adam Fiedler (Jeremy Piven) to do them one better, or at least larger, with son Benjamin's party. Along the way, his estranged hippie father Irwin (Garry Marshall) arrives with his ditzy schiksa girlfriend (Daryl Hannah), much to the consternation of Irwin's long-since-divorced wife (Doris Roberts).

If this strikes you as a formula for detente and a lesson in the true meaning of a bar mitzvah, you are way ahead of the movie, but Mark Zakarin's script and the younger Marshall's deft touch do deliver on the laughs at least.