52 | AUGUST 4 • 2022 

KILLERS ON A TRAIN, A 
GREAT BAR MITZVAH 
MOVIE?, THE SANDMAN
Joey King, 22, co-stars in 
Bullet Train, a thriller that 
opens in theaters on Aug. 
5. All the main characters 
have “coded” names, like 
“Ladybug.” Here’s the 
capsule plot: Trained killer 
Ladybug (Brad Pitt) wants 
to give up “the life” but is 
pulled back in by his handler 
in order to collect a briefcase 
on a Japanese bullet train. 
Once onboard, he and the 
other competing assassins 
onboard discover that their 
objectives are all connected. 
(King plays “Prince,” a trained 
British assassin.)
The Jewish event of the 
month is 13, an original 
Netflix film centered around 
a bar mitzvah (premieres 
Aug. 12). Bar mitzvah movie? 
That’s great— but you should 
be prepared for a possibly 
not great movie. 13 is based 
on the Broadway musical of 
the same name that opened 
in 2008 to so/so reviews and 
closed after only 100 perfor-
mances.
I looked into the history of 
13 after reading an article on 
a popular Jewish website. 
The author gushed about 
13 composer/lyricist Jason 
Robert Brown, 52, and she 
described 13 as a beloved 
musical. Well, it couldn’t be 
that “beloved” if only a few 
thousand people saw it. 
Brown, I learned, is profes-
sionally respected. However, 
three of his four Broadway 
musicals only ran for two 
months. The exception is his 
latest work, the score for the 
musical production of Mr. 
Saturday Night starring Billy 
Crystal. The songs are okay, 
but theatergoers are going to 

see Crystal (the show closes 
next month).
Brown’s Broadway “cold 
streak” includes musical 
versions of Urban Cowboy 
and The Bridges of Madison 
County. Two other “sort-of 
flops” were musicals with 
heavy Jewish content: 
Parade (1998) and The Last 
Five Years (2002). The for-
mer was about the lynch-
ing (Georgia, 1915) of Leo 
Frank, an innocent Jewish 
businessman. Reviews were 
pretty good, but the sad sub-
ject matter kept Broadway 
audiences away. Five Years 
chronicled an interfaith mar-
riage very similar to Brown’s 
real-life failed marriage. It did 
okay off-Broadway, but a film 
version (2015) was a total box 
office flop. 
Despite what I just wrote, 
maybe we are in for a pleas-
ant surprise. The original 13 
cast was “all teens.” In 2008, 
the NY Times theater critic 
panned 13, noting that teens 
are fascinated by teen char-
acters, but adults aren’t. 
The good news: Brown 
and the show’s “book” 
(script) writer, Dan Elish, now 
62, heavily revised the show 
in 2009 for an off-Broadway 
revival and they added a 
number of adult characters. 
The adult characters are in 

the Netflix film. This could be 
a big plus. 
Here’s the capsule plot: 
Evan Goldman (played by 
newcomer Eli Golden, who I 
assume is Jewish) is a New 
York City kid about to hand 
out his bar mitzvah invita-
tions when his life radically 
changes. His father (Peter 
Hermann) leaves his mother 
for a young flight attendant.
Evan and his mother, 
Jessica (Debra Messing, 52), 
flee to a tiny town in Indiana. 
They live with Jessica’s moth-
er, Ruth (Rhea Perlman, 74). 
The bar mitzvah is still on, 
and Evan is tutored by his 
NYC rabbi (via Zoom). He’s 
played by the very likable 
Josh Peck, 35.
Of course, there are 
few Jews in the town, and 
there are a few hateful 
remarks, but antisemitism is 
a quite minor theme in the 
film. “Teen politics” is the 
real theme. Early on, Evan 
becomes friends with two 
teens who aren’t popular in 
school: Patrice, a smart, “righ-
teous” girl who has a crush 
on Evan, and Archie, who is 
disabled. 
Things change when Evan 
manages to get into the 
good graces of a very pop-
ular jock. This sets in motion 
a very complex series of 

events that ultimately force 
Evan to make hard, ethi-
cal choices about who will 
attend his bar mitzvah. 
The Sandman is a 10- 
episode Netflix series that 
begins streaming on Aug. 
5. The lead character is 
Morpheus, the king of the 
“Dreaming.” As the series 
begins, he escapes from a 
century-long captivity and 
sets out to restore his king-
dom. 
The series is based on 
The Sandman, an American 
comic book series writ-
ten by Neil Gaiman, 61, 
a British Jew. Plans to 
make it into a film began 
in 1991! One script “plan” 
after another was pitched 
and shot down. Finally, 
Gaiman, Michigan native 
David S. Goyer and Allan 
Heinberg agreed on a 
format (mini-series) and a 
script. Goyer, 56, has written 
many hit super-hero mov-
ies. Heinberg, 55, wrote the 
huge hit Wonder Woman, 
starring Gal Gadot.
Fun Fact: Heinberg was 
born and raised in Oklahoma. 
Other famous “Sooner” Jews 
include Tony Randall, actor 
Tim Blake Nelson, 58, and 
Sylvan Goldman, a grocer 
who invented the shopping 
cart. 

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

CONDÉ NAST 

Joey King

NICKREWIND

Josh Peck

T: SUE LUKENBAUGH

David S. 
Goyer

