Goyband - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Goyband is a 2008 American comedy film from directed by Christopher Grimm

Christopher Grimm

Christopher Grimm is a New York City-based writer-director and actor. He wrote, produced, directed and starred in a series of TV promos and movie trailers for the Independent Film Channel based on The Bystander from Hell, a character he created in a short shot on one roll of Super-8 film that...

, starring Adam Pascal

Adam Pascal

Adam Pascal is an American actor and singer known for his performance as Roger Davis in the original cast of Jonathan Larson's musical Rent on Broadway 1996, the 2005 movie version of the musical, and the Broadway Tour of Rent in 2009...

. Called a "gefilte fish out of water tale", this independent film is described as Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 American romantic film. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, the film features Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the lead roles, as well as Cynthia Rhodes and Jerry Orbach...

meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a 2002 Canadian and American romantic comedy film written by and starring Nia Vardalos and directed by Joel Zwick. The film is centered on Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos , a middle class Greek American woman who falls in love with a non-Greek upper middle class "White...

with a touch of a hip hop Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...

. Fans of Adam Pascal

Adam Pascal

and friends of the other actors have start a cult internet following, garnering interest in Goyband worldwide.

Synopsis

Fading from the spotlight of his late 90's mega-fame, boy-band icon BOBBY STARR (Adam Pascal

Adam Pascal

) is clinging to days gone by and begging his agent MURRAY to land him a decent gig. ("C'mon, Murray I packed Madison Square Garden, for Chrissake!") What Murray does land for Bobby is a full week headlining the grand opening of the world's first Glatt Kosher hotel-casino, MAZEL HOTEL. (“Bobby, baby, you could be to the Catskills what Engelbert Humperdinck was to Las Vegas.”)

As it turns out, the real force behind Bobby Starr's curious invitation to this “Orthodox otherworld” is the hotel owner's persuasive daughter REBEKKA HERSHENFELD (Amy Davidson

Amy Davidson

Amy Lynn Davidson is an American actress best known for her role as Kerry Michelle Hennessy in the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.-Early life and education:...

), who has harbored a huge crush on Bobby since childhood. Rebekka's world is guided by her arranged betrothal to HAIM (Benjamin Bauman), the son of GRAND RABBI SHEINMAN (Joel Leffert), the powerful Kabbalah Rabbi who is supposed to issue the casino's all-important "Kosher certificate."

Rebekka's only release from the pressures of preparing to be a future Rebitsin (Rabbi's wife) comes from singing along to Bobby's songs with her best friends HANI and FANI (Natasha Lyonne

Natasha Lyonne

-Early life:Lyonne was born Natasha Braunstein in Manhattan, New York City, the daughter of Yvette Lyonne, a product licensing consultant, and Aaron Braunstein, a native of Brooklyn who worked as a boxing promoter. Lyonne grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household...

) (in secret, since their religion bars them from singing in public.)

From the moment Bobby arrives at the Mazel hotel, non-stop culture-clash hilarity ensues: his TV goes dark at sundown, his beloved cell phone is confiscated during the Sabbath, his Grey Goose Vodka is replaced with Manischewitz… And all of this is set against the backdrop of an alien world where "Kosher enforcers" drag gamblers from their slot machines at prayer time; late-night “treyf smugglers” sneak non-Kosher contraband like cheeseburgers and fried shrimp into the hotel; and where slot machines display Shofars, Menorahs and David Stars instead of lemons, cherries and dollar signs, and chime 'Hava Nagila' for lucky winners.

Arranging for Bobby Star to play at her father's hotel might have started out as an act of rebellion for Rebekka, but when infatuation blossoms into romance, Bobby offers Rebekka a once-in-a-lifetime ticket to freedom from the constrictive life that threatens to hold her back forever.

Cast

Actor	Role
Adam Pascal Adam Pascal Adam Pascal is an American actor and singer known for his performance as Roger Davis in the original cast of Jonathan Larson's musical Rent on Broadway 1996, the 2005 movie version of the musical, and the Broadway Tour of Rent in 2009...	Bobby Starr
Amy Davidson Amy Davidson Amy Lynn Davidson is an American actress best known for her role as Kerry Michelle Hennessy in the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.-Early life and education:...	Rebekka
Natasha Lyonne Natasha Lyonne -Early life:Lyonne was born Natasha Braunstein in Manhattan, New York City, the daughter of Yvette Lyonne, a product licensing consultant, and Aaron Braunstein, a native of Brooklyn who worked as a boxing promoter. Lyonne grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household...	Fani
Tovah Feldshuh Tovah Feldshuh Tovah Feldshuh is an American actress, singer and playwright.-Early life:Terri Sue Feldshuh was born to a Jewish family in New York City, the daughter of Lillian and Sidney Feldshuh, who was a lawyer. She was raised in Scarsdale, New York, an affluent community in Westchester County and graduated...	Leah
Dean Edwards Dean Edwards Dean Edwards is an American stand-up comedian, actor, singer, writer, voice artist, comedian, and musician whose trademark is a voice similar to Eddie Murphy....	Ty
Cris Judd Cris Judd Cristan Leenon "Cris" Judd is an American actor and choreographer known for his brief marriage to Jennifer Lopez. He hails from Abilene, Texas.-Early years:...	Elliot
Erik Liberman	Marvin
Joel Leffert	Grand Rabbi Sheinmann
Glen Wein	Isaac
Larry Goldstein	Raziel
Benjamin Bauman	Haim Sheinmann
Bern Cohen Bern Cohen Bern Cohen is an American actor and educator. He spent many years in the New York City education system before returning to acting in 2005.-Early years:...	Jeremiah the Gambler
Wendy Diamond & Lucky	Wendy Diamond & Lucky AnimalFair.com
William Wise	Manny

Behind the Scenes

Adam Pascal

was already familiar with this kind of resort, having spent summers in the Catskills while growing up.

Cult Following

Fans, friends of the actors and crew, and the extras promoted Goyband for over two years while the film was being edited and readied for viewing. Chat rooms are one place fans who had yet to see the film had expressed their interest in it due to the actors and subject matter.

Name change

On September 14, 2009, MarVista Entertainment announced both their distribution rights to the film Goyband and their choice to rename the movie Falling Star (note the one "r", which is different than the name of the title character). Though the name has changed, the original site of Goyband.com has not.

External links

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