“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return.” So sang Nat King Cole in 1948’s “Nature Boy.”
What Mr. Cole failed to mention was just how challenging that task might prove to be in reality — especially for the more mature folks in the dating pool. As youth fades, baggage collects and personalities harden, finding a love that is mutual, uncomplicated and, well, great, can be a mighty big challenge. And that many-splendored thing is what Between the Temples is all about.
In this ’70s-style drama, Jason Schwartzman plays Ben, a Jewish cantor who has lost his wife, his singing voice and, for the most part, his will to participate in life. One night at the local tavern, while attempting to drown his grief with mudslides (his embarrassing beverage of choice), he stands up to the wrong townie and gets a punch in the chops for his trouble. The person who comes to his aid is the kooky but naturally kind Carla (Carol Kane in dazzling form). Ben recognizes Carla as his former school music teacher and soon, that old thread begins to tie their lives back together.
Ostensibly, the storyline of Between the Temples revolves around Carla’s desire to have a bat mitzvah — a right of passage she was denied by the Communist parents she grew up with. Ben (reluctantly) agrees to help the unconventional septuagenarian with the process and soon he finds himself with a spring in his step that’s been absent since his wife’s sudden death. Ben and Carla impart wisdom, kindness, music and the occasional hallucinogen to each other, and both of their lives are much improved for it.
