THE AWAKENING MOVIE TRIAL

MottiвЂ™s вЂњMame,вЂќ Judith ( Inge Maux) is putting her son through a trial by shidduch.В She and her kvetching coffee klatch are hell-bent on arranging MottiвЂ™s mate-for-life.

There arenвЂ™t many left in those cultural tropes. When your storyвЂ™s about вЂњshiksa appeal,вЂќ the hidebound traditions of your community, and how every Jewish boyвЂ™s closest relationship is with his badgering, micro-managing and domineering mother, you need every laugh you can get. Yiddish and Yiddish translations (which I put in the headline to this review) never get old. But in this case, вЂњAwakeningвЂќ could use a lot more of that. The turn to the camera and drolly narrate and вЂњexplainвЂќ yourself and your people to us shtick is worn. And you buy a car for all the children youвЂ™ll be having, practical and ugly. You go to an optician for eyeglass advice, you listen to the car salesmanвЂ™s pitch in the same way. Why do Orthodox Jews (in Switzerland, at least) all drive Toyota Previa mini-vans? вЂњAwakeningвЂќ is a comedy that traffics in stereoptypes and caricatures, that has its hero, college student and assistant in his fatherвЂ™s insurance business Motti Wolkenbruch (J oel Basman) turn to the camera, here and there, and translate Yiddish or explain Hebrew terms and comical customs of вЂњmy peopleвЂќ to us. And when вЂњSeinfeldвЂќ pounded the notion of Jewish fascination for вЂњthe otherвЂќ as вЂњshiksa appealвЂќ some 25 years ago, and others followed suit, the bloom went off that rose on this side of the Atlantic.

ItвЂ™s not as if we have seen a lot of romantic treatments of the idea of an Orthodox Jew taking a tumble for a pretty Gentile. вЂњThe Awakening of Motti WolkenbruchвЂќ almost certainly had more novelty in its native Switzerland than it does in North America. A вЂњfish out of waterвЂќ romance, where somebody from one culture falls for someone from an alien (to him or her) culture, thatвЂ™s the sort of fresh take that gets our attention and holds our interest, if the leads are charismatic enough. Never underestimate the value of вЂњnoveltyвЂќ when it comes to romantic comedies.

The awakening movie