"You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah" Review

If Adam Sandler is in a film, he is usually the star. But in this coming of age movie he let his daughter, Sunny Sandler, take the lead.

“You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” stars the entire Sandler clan as the Friedmans. The Friedmans are a Jewish family preparing for their youngest daughter, Stacy’s, bat mitzvah.

Stacy’s bat mitzvah is going to be the biggest day of her life, and she has been planning it with her best friend, Lydia, since they were young. The two seem to be inseparable until the extreme highs and lows of middle school lead them to have a friendship breakup where Stacy unexpectedly declares that Lydia is so not invited to her bat mitzvah.

Upon reading the description of this movie, it seems as if it is going to be extremely predictable, but the comedic relief behind the anticipated tween drama keeps the film original.

The film is a Happy Gilmore production, and any movie coming from that company can easily be described as raunchy and hilarious. This film is only rated PG-13, which could have held the movie back in the comedy department, but they instead hit home runs with cleaner humor.

It is clear throughout the film and the concept of the plot that the two friends will fight and most likely make up, but the conflict and resolution that causes these things to occur are so random and unexpected, and this is what makes this movie tolerable.

Something that may cause this movie to not age well is its relevance. The dialogue and plot are super relatable and trendy with the slang and behavior used, which may result in it being hard to watch in a year or even a couple months from now. “Slay” was said unironically far too many times.

Aside from the film's aggressive need to be relevant, the cast slayed. Sadie Sandler, who has been in several other Happy Gilmore productions, played the older sister, Ronnie, while this was Sunny Sandler’s first acting appearance.

For Sunny Sandler’s acting debut, her father and the rest of the directing team gave her a lot of room to express herself in the role. It seemed like the young actress was truly able to represent tweens and young teenagers of this day.

Shockingly, Adam Sandler's appearance in the film was sparing. His moments on screen were memorable and far between, but he did not make or break the movie. His presence in the movie is definitely what is pulling in viewers, however his role did not hold a lot of importance to the plot.

Of course, it wouldn’t be an Adam Sandler movie without a beautiful woman to play his wife. Instead of having Jackie Sandler play his own wife in the film, Idina Menzel played Mrs. Friedman while Jackie played Lydia’s mother.

As a viewer this choice seems off, but nonetheless Jackie played into the part of Lydia’s mother and was hilarious.

This movie is nostalgic for many reasons. It can make you reminisce on some of the most wonderful and terrible memories of middle school. The awkwardness of the characters is almost tangible in some scenes. They hit on everything from periods to first kisses to literally any and all insecurities.

Being Jewish or being familiar with Jewish customs and beliefs would definitely help viewers enjoy and relate to this movie more. Without a full understanding the film is still good, but some parts of the plot can be confusing or hard to follow.

This movie is definitely intended for a younger audience who can relate better to the characters, but it is still a good watch. It would only need to be watched once, but is worth the first watch for the hilarious twists and turns, though it predictably would become annoying the second time.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Savannah Swartz is a third-year communications major. To contact her, email sms9072@psu.edu .