It’s not often one thinks of rabbis and their wives as amorous entities, but that’s the first thing you’ll notice when Moshe Yehuda (Jos Laniado) and his spouse Raquel (Judi Beecher) are introduced in mid-passionate embrace. (It's a family affair all around: Jos co-wrote the script with brother/co-star Claudio Laniado and co-star Joseph Bologna, the late husband of Renée Taylor. And that's Jos' daughter Justine Laniado playing his onscreen daughter Shira). It’s important to establish a strong, faith-based romantic relationship between the two, because it’s about to be put to the test. With the wolf barking at the door of Moshe’s Hebrew school, the Hasidic rabbi takes to the pavement in search of an alternative way to feed a family of five. Dance instructor Viviana Nieves (Karina Smirnoff) knows that with the right partner — perhaps a Grand Rabbi that has her by a good 20 years and who, by Talmudic law, is not allowed to touch any woman other than his wife — they’d stand a good chance of winning cash prizes on Dance-TV’s first-ever Tango Contest. (Duck! Here comes another trope: her share of the loot would fund an operation for her sick daughter.) Servant of God that he is, Yehuda will stop at nothing to get the answer to his prayers that he wants to hear, and that includes visits to a Catholic priest (that’s Bologna beneath the white Panama), a Muslim imam (Yasir Sitara), and a traveling Sikh mystic (Hamza Zaman) for advice. Rather than risk becoming the topic of Crown Heights chit-chat, Yehuda’s prayers to HaShem are answered in the form of... well, you'll have to see the movie to discover what came between the dancers that prevented them from touching. He soon becomes a shanda, the eyes of God (and internet subscribers) waiting for him to do anything even remotely “unholy.” The opening nasal salvos lobbed between Moshe’s blubbering mother Deborah (Renée Taylor) and her equally adenoidal in-law-to-be Leah (Lainie Kazan) were pushing things in the direction of Sitcom City, but once the characters took hold and the direction picked up its pace, there was a good, non-denominational time to be had by all. This was to be the last collaboration between a prolific husband and wife quadruple-threat duo: the writing, acting, producing, and directing team of Renée Taylor and Joseph Bologna (Lovers and Other Strangers, Made for Each Other). Mr. Bologna passed away in the Autumn of 2017 at the age of 82. The director is another Bologna: Joe and Renée’s son Gabriel. The film just took home the Best Comedy and Best Lead Actor awards at the Montreal Independent Film Festival. Mazel Tov! See it February 11-21 when it screens as part of the San Diego Jewish Film Festival. (2021) — Scott Marks