The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick

1988
G
1h 37m

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

269

YOUR RATING

The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick (1988)

Stand-Up Comedy Drama Music

A young Jewish adolescent from an overbearing family likes a Christian girl and is helped by a fun-loving rabbi.A young Jewish adolescent from an overbearing family likes a Christian girl and is helped by a fun-loving rabbi.A young Jewish adolescent from an overbearing family likes a Christian girl and is helped by a fun-loving rabbi.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

269

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 wins & 5 nominations

Trivia
Many interior scenes were filmed in an abandoned apartment building at 351 Victor Street in Winnipeg. The building had been condemned by the city earlier in 1987, and had no running water or heat when the film crew starting using it a few months later. Eight indoor sets were constructed with 1960s decor, including Rabbi Teitelman's apartment, and the Glick house. After the film's production was complete, the city finished renovating the building for low cost housing.

Quotes
Rabbi Teitelman: [speaking at a Brotherhood Day gathering] Now, Cohen got a telegram from his son. 'Papa, I'm going to Jerusalem. I'm going to become a Christian.' Oy, vey, he didn't know what to do. He ran to Greenberg, he told him the whole story. Greenberg said, 'It's funny you should mention. I got a telephone call from my son, he said he's going to Jerusalem, he's gonna become a Christian'. What to do? They went to run to the rabbi, they told him the whole sad story. The rabbi said, 'Funny you should mention. My son's going to Jerusalem, he's going to become a Christian, and I'm a rabbi. You can imagine how ashamed I am. What should we do? We have to pray to the Creator, we have to rend our clothes, we have to put ashes on our head, fast for two days.' Two days later, the gates of Heaven opened. The voice of the Creator came down and said, 'My children, what can I do for you?' And each man told him that his son was going to Jerusalem to become a Christian. And then, the voice of the Creator boomed out, 'Funny you should mention... '

Connections
Followed by Max Glick (1990)

Soundtracks
Hoben Mir A Niggundal
Arranged & Performed by Finjan

User reviews6

Review

Featured review

6/10

a sensitive and amusing coming-of-age story

The title character is a twelve-year old boy in a small Canadian prairie town awaiting his Bar Mitzvah, which according to Jewish Custom will make him a man in the eyes of God, But it isn't God he's worried about: his real problems are the cute (but Catholic) new girl in town, his suddenly overprotective parents, and a new Rabbi who seems more than a little bit crazy. It all adds up to a modest little movie perhaps too easy to find fault with, but none worth arguing about. Noam Zylberman as Max is forced to carry the entire film, a tough enough burden for even a veteran actor (which he obviously wasn't yet), especially with a script relying so heavily on voice-over narration and strained Jewish humor. But the film is rescued by Saul Rubinek's performance as the jubilant, half-mad Rabbi Teitelman, an orthodox Jew with some very unorthodox ambitions. His lively presence makes this something more than just a glorified made-for-TV movie.