Adam Sandler is trending. Maybe it’s because of his touching tribute to recently deceased Bob Barker. Maybe it’s because, as InStyle put it, he’s the Internet’s “antithesis to the Hot Girl Summer look.” Or maybe it’s because he’s added one more film to the “nepo baby” debate. Enter: “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.”
In “Bat Mitzvah,” Adam Sandler plays the father of a young girl preparing to have the best bat mitzvah ever. Yet, he’s not even a major character. What makes Sandler's new film interesting is that his real-life daughters — Sadie and Sunny Sandler — play his on-screen daughters. The leading role of Stacy Friedman goes to Sunny, while Sadie plays a supporting role as Stacy's older sister. The majority of critics enjoyed Sunny's leading performance, with one saying she "has a knack for comedy just like her old man."
This, of course, raises the hot topic question of “nepo babies.” Is “Bat Mitzvah” Sunny Sandler’s success, or can it only be attributed as another one of her father's?
To answer this question, it’s worth noting that “Bat Mitzvah” was produced by Happy Madison Productions, Sandler’s own production company. Happy Madison doesn’t have a great history with critics. The company’s films have an average rating of only 27% on Rotten Tomatoes. But “Bat Mitzvah” smashes Happy Madison’s track record, having a 92% critical rating as of this article's publication. The critics love it.
Audiences, on the other hand, are less impressed. As of publication, “Bat Mitzvah” has a 62% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, a 6/10 on IMDb and a 3.0 star rating on Google Reviews. One Google reviewer called it a “gross misrepresentation of Jewish life and culture,” and another called it a comedy that “is as lame as it gets.”
Personally, I didn’t like it. “Bat Mitzvah” delivers some pretty cringe humor, exaggerates the lifestyles of teen girls, and makes a questionable attempt at resolving some of lead character Stacy’s most insufferable adolescent qualities. Yet, despite being completely unrelatable in some respects, Stacy’s experience resonated with my own coming of age.
In one scene from the movie, Stacy follows her best friend Lydia to a popular girl’s home in hopes of seeing her crush there. The get-together does not go well for Stacy, who feels like an outsider among the cool girls, until someone dares her to jump off a high ledge into the water below. Stacy agrees, despite Lydia telling her not to. The feat impresses everyone, but soon their cheers turn to taunting when Stacy’s bloody pad floats up to the surface beside her. Perhaps this is just a vignette trying to portray the awkwardness of adolescence, or maybe it’s a metaphor — a reminder that trying to be “cool” for others usually backfires more than just being yourself.
Apparently, Stacy doesn’t get the message. When Lydia ends up dating her crush, Stacy tries to sabotage Lydia in response. It’s an annoying, but unfortunately truthful, portrayal of the middle school experience.
Of course, Stacy eventually makes up for it. She realizes that Lydia is more important to her than any boy, and that a bat mitzvah is more than a fancy party. Rather, it’s a rite of passage that marks her maturation and acceptance of adult responsibility.
In the end, “Bat Mitzvah” is a predictable family movie that clearly caters to angsty teen girls. While meant to be a sweet coming of age film, it has its faults.
For instance, some viewers called the portrayal of side character DJ Schmuley a racist depiction of Israeli people. Others said the movie makes a mockery of the Jewish faith. Some lines are just bad — in one scene that takes place at Hebrew school, Rabbi Rebecca gets a room of teenagers to chant “God is random” in response to some big questions, like “If God is real, then why is there war?” and “Why can’t straight people get on gay TikTok?"
Still, “Bat Mitzvah” continues to hold up in the critical eye. It’s a win for Adam Sandler, who can count this film as a success for Happy Madison and the entire Sandler family. It’s hard to accuse them of nepotism when, throughout the entire film, Stacy and her family live in extravagant California luxury, a premise so close to reality that you might call “Bat Mitzvah” a thinly veiled portrayal of the real-life Sandler family experience. In any case, it appears that Adam Sandler (and his acting troupe of a family) won’t lose relevance anytime soon.
