STARRING: ADAM SANDLER, IDINA MENZEL, JACKIE SANDLER, SADIE SANDLER, AND SUNNY SANDLER
DIRECTED BY: SAMMI COHEN
RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 25, 2023
Do not even think of about coming to the Bat Mitzvah because you are not invited! Released on August 25, 2023, the Sandler daughters have once again joined their dad on the big screen and this time with leading roles in “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.” The 103-minute film is an adaptation, made by screenwriter Alison Peck, of the 2005 book written by Fiona Rosenbloom. It was directed by Sammi Cohen and produced by Adam Sandler. Call it a family affair, because the cast includes the man, the myth, the legend himself, Adam Sandler, his wife Jackie, and their two daughters, Sadie and Sunny. Idina Menzel stars in the movie as well. This film was distributed by Netflix and produced by Happy Madison Productions and Alloy Entertainment.
Twelve years and one day is considered the age of religious maturity for Jewish girls and this calls for a Bat Mitzvah: an initiation ceremony celebrated with friends and family. It’s a rite of passage that opens the doors to adulthood. To best friends Stacy (played by Sadie Sandler) and Lydia (played by Samantha Lorraine), this party will determine how cool the rest of their adult lives will be. They have long fantasized about having the most spectacular Bat Mitzvahs, but when Andy Goldfarb (played by Dylan Hoffman) and the dramas of middle school jeopardize their friendship, things start to head hilariously South.
This coming-of-age story reminds us of all of the highs and lows of middle school and puberty. It refreshes our memory of the embarrassing and cringeworthy moments we either wish to forget or simply don’t care enough to think about. I was quite impressed of Sadie Sandler’s performance. This is her first lead role after countless, brief appearances in her father’s previous movies as a toddler to her current age of 17. Sandler really took the spotlight off of himself and shined it on his daughters in this film.
To put it simply, I am a big fan of Adam Sandler and his movies. Some of my favorite memories from my childhood were spent in front of the TV screen watching Waterboy, Happy Gilmore, 50 First Dates, Grown Ups, etc., and mimicking the characters with my siblings. To see similar elements between this movie and the ones I grew up watching fed my brain with nostalgia. I found familiarity in the random moments where certain characters would only make an appearance for a few seconds and would later return for another couple of seconds throughout the movie. It’s the goofy nature behind Sandler’s work that makes his films distinct.