Beau Jest (2008)

When Sarah Goldman, a lovely young school teacher in Chicago, wants to please her parents, she invents a boyfriend whom she believes will be the man of her mother's dreams. When her parents... See full summary »

Director:

James Sherman

Writers:

James Sherman (play), James Sherman (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Seymour Cassel, Robyn Cohen, Greg Cromer

Cast

Credited cast:
Seymour Cassel	...	Abe Goldman
Robyn Cohen	...	Sarah Goldman
Greg Cromer	...	Chris Kringle
Tony Daly	...	Bob Schroeder
Tom Drury	...	Rabbi
Willie Garson	...	Joel Goldman
Kayla Horton	...	Kindergarten Child
Sheila Hunter	...	Yiddish Temple Singer
Jeff Johnson	...	Bob's Friend on Phone
Lainie Kazan	...	Miriam Goldman
Ashlee LaPine	...	Ice Cream Shop Waitress
Laurence Loeb	...	Cantor
Rosalie Richards	...	Family Friend at Bar Mitzvah
Stacy Schultz	...	Sarah's Kindergarten Class Aide
Babata Sonnenberg	...	Mother of Kindergarten Student

Storyline

When Sarah Goldman, a lovely young school teacher in Chicago, wants to please her parents, she invents a boyfriend whom she believes will be the man of her mother's dreams. When her parents insist on meeting the man, Sarah hires Bob, an actor, to pretend to be her "beau". The masquerade works flawlessly for a time and brings comic situations, but in the end, their lives are irrevocably changed.

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Plot Keywords:

based on play | 

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Taglines:

A story about falling in love ..... with a little white lie.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild thematic elements and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 February 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amor a primera mentira

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Prostorm Pictures, Stone Five Studios

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Sarah Goldman: We're Jew - ish, we're not that Jewish.

User Reviews

Cute romantic comedy, with serious undertones, fans will like it

Sarah (Robyn Cohen) is a Chicago area teacher with a problem. A young Jewish woman, she has a serious relationship going with a gentile man, a romance she feels she must keep secret from her parents. After all, Abe (Seymour Cassel) and Miriam (Lainie Kazan) are typical parents who long for a son in law who is successful AND Jewish. Therefore, since her mother doesn't know of Sarah's situation, she constantly fixes up her daughter with anyone and everyone she can. It's getting complicated. So, Sarah decides to invent a nice boyfriend who is both Jewish and a doctor and hires an actor to play the part. When Bob (Tony Daly) meets up with Sarah for the first family dinner, she is horrified, however, to find out he isn't Jewish either, although she had asked the agency for just such a man. Bob, needing the work, insists he can play it out. He does! Miriam and Abe are soon bragging to all about Sarah's catchy beau and the teacher finds it necessary to hire Bob to escort her to other events. Wouldn't the truth be better? But, wait, although Sarah doesn't want to disappoint her parents perceived wishes, Bob may be working his way into her heart, too! Oy! What to do? This is a sweet, funny film with some serious undertones. Yes, its got comedy but it also deals with such topics as parental approval and loving others for themselves and not their images. It also gives beautiful insight into some of the admirable Jewish traditions. The cast is very nice, with Cohen and Daly making a great twosome and old pros Cassel and Kazan complimenting them well. The other cast members are fine, also. The Chicago setting is quite lovely, while costumes, photography, script and direction are all well above average. In short, if you are one of those viewers on an endless quest for entries in the romcom genre, its' no jest, you'll like this one.