You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah is a Netflix teen comedy film, based on the novel of the same name by Amanda Stern (aka Fiona Rosenbloom). It is directed by Sammi Cohen and the screenplay is adapted by Alison Peck. The film has a runtime of about 1 hour and 43 minutes.
The cast of the film includes Sunny Sandler as Stacy Friedman, Samantha Lorraine as Lydia, Idina Menzel as Bree Friedman, Jackie Sandler as Gabi, Adam Sandler as Danny Friedman, Sadie Sandler as Ronnie Friedman, Dylan Hoffman as Andy Goldfarb, Sarah Sherman as Rabbi Rebecca, Dan Bulla as Cantor Jerry, Ido Mosseri as DJ Schmuley, Jackie Hoffman as Irene, Luis Guzmán as Eli Katz and others.
You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah Review
The story follows best friends Stacy and Lydia, who have always dreamt of epic bat mitzvahs and it’s the only thing on their minds. But their lifelong friendship takes a turn when Lydia starts dating the boy that Stacy had a huge crush on and even hanging out with the cool ‘mean’ girls squad. And one thing after another it becomes way too awry for them to mend it all and be friends again. Leaving Stacy on a journey to realise what really matters to her life and what teenage years entails for her.
In a nutshell, it’s like any other teenage story where the protagonist is completely self-obsessed in her own world and she even neglects her friends and their feelings. Similarly, Stacy is head over heels for Andy but doesn’t realise that her best friend Lydia also feels the same for him. And then there’s this cool group of girls, whom they are evidently jealous of but would sell their souls if they invited them to their house parties. When Lydia gets their attention, she starts behaving to fit in with them and it doesn’t sit well with Stacy, as she becomes the butt of jokes instead.
That’s when we realise how the best of friends can become your worst enemy, as Stacy does everything a 13-year-old can to malign Lydia’s image and steal Andy. Amidst all this, Stacy’s family represent the dilemma of seeing teenage daughters growing up and going through a range of emotions that they don’t know well enough to handle. Adam Sandler as usual plays the cool yet conservative dad, who has a one-liner for each of your responses. While his other daughter plays the elder child who is too engrossed in her phone and is definitely much more relatable.
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It’s funny to see their real mother (Jackie Sandler) not play the same part and is shown as Lydia’s mom instead, considering how much the daughters look like her. Although the movie is rooted in Jewish tradition, some things might not be relatable/understandable but it mostly stresses the chaotic growing & learning teenage years, where every small mistake feels like the end of the world.
That being said, I am not sure why the early critics were praising the film so much. It falls right in line with the coming-of-age films but doesn’t really offer something new or extraordinary that would make it the best YA film of the year. If anything, Sunny Sandler’s performance felt a bit stiff and awkward at times and you even start to lose interest in the middle. The script has some really good punches but there are quite a few moments where they just fall flat. And their solution to bring the distracted viewers back is by putting in TikTok viral songs after every few scenes.
Overall, it’s a fairly entertaining film that’s perfect for the target audience it’s made for – pre-teens and teenagers. As for some a few years older than them, it does bring back the nostalgia of being a naive and clueless teen but lacks emotional relatability and relies on flashiness. It will be a good pick if you are watching with your kids, otherwise, it doesn’t have much to offer.
Rating: 3/5
You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah is available for streaming on Netflix.
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