Keeping Up with the Steins
Miramax Films | Release Date: May 12, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
7
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
What begins as a scathing but loving satire of materialism loses its way once it turns into a warmhearted after-school special about a nice young Jewish boy discovering the true meaning of the bar mitzvah. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A fresh and lovable comedy about a dysfunctional Jewish family planning their son's bar mitzvah. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Mazel tov to Scott Marshall for creating an endearing portrayal of familial lunacy that ought to charm as many Smiths as it will Steins. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
To paraphrase the old ad for Levy's rye bread, you don't have to be Jewish to love "Keeping Up With the Steins," but it helps. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The tribute to an aging parent is moving and gives this routine comedy an extra something. Read full review
70
VarietyRonnie Scheib
A sure-fire audience-pleaser, Scott (son of Garry) Marshall's winning comedy bow could have been titled "My Big Fat Jewish Bar Mitzvah." Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
As director, Scott Marshall displays an unsurprising flair for selling a joke, but also a fine sense of dramatic pacing and, even better, a gift for brevity, neither of which, it could be argued, are innate skills of his famous filmmaking family. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
What could have made for particularly potent satire in the hands of an Albert Brooks or a Christopher Guest arrives in the form of a politely benign family comedy by first-time director Scott Marshall. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Maybe because director Scott Marshall is Garry's son, he allows his affable father to steal the movie from everyone else, and his performance proves to be a small gift worth having. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Blends humor with heart for a satisfying, if predictable, experience. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
A sitcom with enough big laughs and emotional truth to get audiences past awkward pacing and some slow spots. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Despite problems of tone and tempo, Steins is appealingly cast. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not credited)
Zakarin's semiautobiographical screenplay hits all the sitcom beats. Read full review
60
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Keeping Up With the Steins would have been a much better film if it had waited twice as long before retracting its fangs. Read full review
58
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Garry Marshall, old pro that he is, couldn't be more endearing as the grandfather, struggling gamely to make things right. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Director Scott Marshall and screenwriter Mark Zakarin pander to Jewish viewers the way Andy Garcia's "The Lost City" panders to Cuban Americans. Read full review
50
Washington PostStephen Hunter
The biggest disappointment in the film, however, is Piven's Adam. This film idealizes his character too much and thereby jettisons any case for serious respect. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Garry Marshall takes over the movie (no mystery: his son, Scott, directed it), and Keeping Up With the Steins turns into a recipe to forget: chopped liver with ''heart.'' Read full review
42
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Toothless, limp and clumsy. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It just devolves into the limp sort of schmaltzy conclusion you keep hoping it will avoid. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Squanders a decent comic premise. Read full review
0
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
There is potential for laughs in a satire of rich people spending big money on religious galas, but that is not even the real subject of the picture. Read full review
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