by Rediscovering Gal Gadot’s Hidden Gem: The Movie You Forgot She Starred In
Wonder Woman. Fast and Furious. Death on the Nile. Gal Gadot has starred in some major blockbusters over the past decade. But there’s one lesser-known film from early in her career that’s worth rediscovering.
The movie is called Keeping Up with the Steins and it came out in 2006, a few years before Gal Gadot’s breakout role as Gisele in the Fast and the Furious franchise. Keeping Up with the Steins is a comedy-drama centered around a Jewish family preparing for their son’s Bar Mitzvah.
Gal Gadot plays Dina, the au pair for the Stein family. The film also stars Jami Gertz and Jeremy Piven as the Stein parents, with Dorian Missick and Doug Jones in supporting roles.
While the movie received mixed reviews upon release, Gal Gadot’s performance as the fish-out-of-water au pair stands out. Her charming and comedic turn in the role shows off a different side of her acting abilities than we’re used to seeing.
Keeping Up with the Steins is a reminder of Gal Gadot’s range as an actress and her talent for comedy, in addition to her action heroine and dramatic chops that we’ve seen in her more recent roles. So if you’re looking to rediscover an underrated Gal Gadot performance from the early days of her career, Keeping Up with the Steins is worth a watch.
The Plot
Keeping Up with the Steins centers on the upper middle class Stein family who live in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. Patriarch Ira Stein (Jeremy Piven) is a real estate agent obsessed with throwing the perfect Bar Mitzvah for his son, Garfinkle (Dorian Missick).
Ira hires Dina (Gal Gadot), an Israeli au pair, to help care for his younger son Zach (Spencer List) in the months leading up to the big event. Dina’s no-nonsense attitude and outsider perspective clashes with and eventually enlightens the self-absorbed Steins.
Dina finds herself growing closer to Garfinkle as he struggles with the pressures of the upcoming Bar Mitzvah. Meanwhile, Ira’s over-the-top preparations threaten to derail the whole event. The film follows the Steins’ ups and downs as they attempt to “keep up with the Steins” and maintain their image as the perfect Jewish family.
Gal Gadot’s Performance
Gal Gadot imbues Dina with warmth, humor and humanity that elevates the film. Dina could have easily been a one-dimensional caricature of an Israeli au pair, but Gadot finds the nuance in the role.
She perfectly executes Dina’s dry and sarcastic sense of humor while also showing Dina’s kindness and empathy for the Stein family, especially Garfinkle. Gadot brings a charming innocence to Dina as someone largely unfamiliar with American Jewish culture and Bar Mitzvah traditions.
Her comedic timing and delivery are spot on in scenes where Dina pokes fun at the Stein family’s excesses and pretensions. Gadot also has lovely moments of tenderness and connection with Dorian Missick who plays Garfinkle. Their budding friendship provides some of the film’s heart.
Gal Gadot imbues Dina with a warmth and humanity that elevates the film. Her comedic timing and delivery are spot on, and she has lovely moments of tenderness with Dorian Missick’s character. Gadot’s performance as Dina shows off her range as an actress and her talent for comedy in addition to action and drama.
Rediscovering the Film
If you’re a fan of Gal Gadot and want to rediscover one of her earlier, lesser-known roles, I recommend tracking down Keeping Up with the Steins.
Gadot shines in the film, showing off her comedic chops and charm in a performance that’s quite different from her action heroine and dramatic turns in bigger budget films. The movie as a whole is an amusing fish-out-of-water comedy with some heart that centers on the universal themes of family and tradition.
Keeping Up with the Steins serves as a reminder of Gal Gadot’s range as an actress and her underrated talent for comedy. Even though the film received mixed reviews, Gadot’s performance as Dina stands out as a gem worth rediscovering. So if you can find a copy, I recommend giving Keeping Up with the Steins a watch to catch one of Gal Gadot’s earliest roles. You may just find a new appreciation for her acting abilities outside of the Wonder Woman franchise.
In conclusion, Keeping Up with the Steins is an underseen early film in Gal Gadot’s career that’s worth rediscovering for her charming and hilarious performance as the Israeli au pair, Dina. Gadot imbues the role with warmth, humor and nuance that elevates the overall film. Her comedic timing and delivery showcase a different side of her acting talents, making Keeping Up with the Steins a hidden gem well worth seeking out for fans of Gal Gadot.
