52 | AUGUST 24 • 2023
CAN SANDLER PUT ON A
GREAT BAT MITZVAH?
A POLITICAL NOTE
Last week, Netflix “popped”
the news that on Aug. 25
they would premiere the
original feature film You Are
So Not Invited to My Bat
Mitzvah.
Here is the basic plot of
this mostly comedic coming-
of-age story: Best friends
Stacy (played by Sunny
Sandler, 14, Adam Sandler’s
daughter) and Lydia
(Samantha Lorraine) are
planning “epic” bat mitzvah
parties.
However, their plans and
their friendship are shaken
when they both “crush on”
the very cute Andy Goldfarb
(Dylan Hoffman), a Hebrew
school classmate.
Hoffman and Lorraine have
just a few credits and like
many “newbie” actors, I just
couldn’t run down if they are
Jewish.
Stacy catches Lydia kiss-
ing Andy and declares their
friendship is over. But she
goes further: She anony-
mously spreads nasty rumors
about Lydia.
Stacy’s sister (Sadie
Sandler, 17, Adam’s other
daughter) and her mother
(Idina Menzel, 52) step in
and encourage Stacy to
make peace with Lydia. Her
mother and her father (Adam
Sandler, 56) warn Stacy that
her behavior could result in
her bat mitzvah being can-
celed. (Sadie and Sunny’s
real-life mother, Jackie
Sandler, 48, has a small role).
This film is based on a
2005 young adult novel of
the same name. The novel
got pretty good reviews. The
author is Amanda Stern,
50ish. Under the pen name
Fiona Rosenbloom, she has
written three young adult
novels. All of them are heav-
ily “Jewish-themed” stories,
featuring young Jewish char-
acters.
Stern has the background
to write diverse Jewish char-
acters. She wrote about her
own youth in Little Panic, a
2018 memoir. Her parents
divorced when she was
young, and she grew up liv-
ing mostly with her mother,
a very flaky and unreliable
Greenwich Village “bohe-
mian.” Her father was a
very conventional guy who
lived in a wealthy, uptown
Manhattan neighborhood.
The film was directed by
Sammi Cohen, a young
woman with some TV epi-
sode directing credits. It’s
reasonable to assume she’s
Jewish.
Cohen was recently inter-
viewed by Tudum, a Netflix-
affiliated website. Here are
excerpts: [The movie] gives
us insight to this very Jewish
coming-of-age experience
but speaks to broader
themes about what it means
to be a kid today … I was
excited to tell a Jewish com-
ing-of-age story that explores
formative female friendships
and self-discovery in a real,
messy, authentic way. Stacy
and Lydia’s chemistry is
undeniable. They’re little
platonic soulmates. The kind
of friends who make you feel
nostalgic for your own.
The only other big-budget
bar or bat mitzvah movie I’m
aware of is Keeping Up with
the Steins (2004). It was a
comedy that wasn’t funny
because its central theme
was very sad — too many
Jewish families see a bar or
bat mitzvah as just an excuse
to throw a very expensive
party.
It was a downer that wast-
ed a good cast. It lost a lot of
money. After this debacle, it
took the presence of Adam
Sandler as the film’s co-star
and main producer to get
another expensive “bat”
movie made. Sandler has a
big loyal fan base who will
watch him in anything.
You are So Not may be
good. The Wonder Years, the
ABC comedy TV series, ran
two well-written bar mitzvah
episodes. One aired during
the series’ original run (1988-
1993) and another aired on
the “reboot” series, which
began running in 2021. Both
episodes were “tasteful” and
provided a bar mitzvah “prim-
er” for their mostly non-Jew-
ish audiences. These epi-
sodes also managed to work
in some “appropriate” humor.
A cascade of political news
has followed in the wake of
the former president’s four
criminal indictments. Most
of the attention has been on
the effect (if any) on the race
for the Republican presiden-
tial nomination. However,
“quietly,” two Jews are sort
of running for the Democratic
presidential nomination.
“New Age spiritual”
guru Marianne Williamson,
71, isn’t a serious candidate.
Her 2020 presidential prima-
ry candidacy was perceived
by some as a publicity stunt,
as is her current candidacy.
Minnesota congress-
man Dean Phillips, 54,
is another story. He was
elected in 2018 and has
easily won reelection
since. He has voted with
President Biden 100% of
the time. However, last
month Politico reported
that he is considering
running for the nomina-
tion, saying it’s time for a
younger generation to take
power.
Phillips’ Jewish father
was killed in Vietnam when
Dean was a baby. His Jewish
mother married Eddie
Phillips, the owner of a big
liquor company, and he
adopted Dean. Eddie was
the son of Esther Phillips.
Her pen name was “Dear
Abby.” Dean ran the liquor
company after Eddie’s death
and then struck out in own,
successful businesses. This
included co-founding Talenti
Gelato.
It’s hard to figure
out Phillips’ strategy in
challenging President Biden.
I guess if things go south
for Biden, Phillips might be
a kingmaker-of-sorts for a
more prominent Democrat
than himself.
CELEBRITY NEWS
NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST
ARTS&LIFE
MTV INTERNATIONAL
Adam Sandler
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/MARCN
Marianne Williamson
WIKIMEDIA/U.S. NAVY PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS CHAD
J. MCNEELEY
Idina Menzel