YOU ARE SO NOT INVITED TO MY BAT MITZVAH (NETFLIX) (2023)

SYNOPSIS: Stacy and Lydia are BFFs who've always dreamed about having epic bat mitzvahs. But things start to go comically awry when a popular boy and middle school drama threatens their friendship and their rite of passage.

MOVIE REVIEW:

We heard Adam Sandler is such a generous actor that he invites his gang of Hollywood buddies for Grown Ups and Grown Ups 2. And now he has round up his entire family for You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah. Nepotism you might say.

But hold your horses, Mitzvah is in fact one of the sweetest teenage comedy in recent times that you will be labelled a scrooge if you detest it.

Stacy Friedman (Sunny Sandler) and Lydia Rodriguez Katz (Samantha Lorraine) are two best friends dreaming about their ideal bat mitzvahs. Mitzvah is a Jewish ceremony of becoming an adult for the uninitiated. But their friendship suffers a setback when they fall in love with the same bad boy in school, Andy Goldfarb (Dylan Hoffman). Suddenly, the two girls who have been friends since they were babies begin to feud with each other over the slightest thing. Will their lifelong dream bat mitzvahs ever happen given the current situation?

Director Sammi Cohen and writers Alison Peck, Fiona Rosenbloom perfectly captures the spirit of the coming-of-age story tailored for the Tik Tok generation. There’s never a single dull moment right here as viewers are treated to the incredible rivalry of the once best friends. It all arises from a minor misunderstanding but Stacy isn’t going to take things lying down even resorting to volunteering at an old folks home where Andy’s grandma is residing.

From the unrealistic desire to go for more adult fashion choices to a forbidden kiss at the temple, the themes are so universally appealing that every parents with an angst teenager at home will attest to it. Sunny’s real-life dad, Adam Sandler plays her onscreen dad and he appears on and off offering some goofy not offensive humour.

Talking about offensive humour, there’s a big gag about a bloody floating tampon, probably pretty mild for a Sandler comedy. Another admirable fact about Mitzvah is the obvious missing of Sandler regulars and it’s definitely a good sign because you have SNL regular Sarah Sherman appearing as a very likeable singing Rabbi and Israeli actor Ido Mosseri playing an over-the-top DJ.

As for Sunny Sandler, she is truly the breakout star here. This nepo-baby is both funny and charming. Wonder where she inherit her genes from. Her elder sister, Sadie appears as her on-screen sister and she is amazing as well.

For a movie that covers first crush, friendship, humiliation, teenage awkwardness and lots of stuff about the Jewish culture, this Happy Madison production comes highly recommended. This is not a joke seriously, we repeat not a joke.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee