#So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah

[wordsalso]

Sarah Sherman as Rabbi Rebecca in You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah

[netflix]

Cast your vote in the rest of the polls here.

You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah is now streaming on Netflix.

[doctorcurdlejr]

You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah (2023)

[magnetothemagnificent]

My full thoughts on 'You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah':

So first off, going into it, I didn't think I would like it. I don't really watch the tween-angst genre of movies, and the promotional material for the movie made it look like it was just gonna be a movie about Jews having an extravagant and expensive party, which is obviously problematic.

But the movie.....it blew me away. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Things I loved:

-The typical Jewish stereotypes you see in every movie about Jews weren't present. I really expected Adam Sandler's character to be another nebbish pushover Jewish dad stereotype, but he wasn't. He was goofy and soft but also he was strong and passionate about Judaism and his family. When he got really, truly angry at Stacy, I almost cheered. Of course all the characters in the movie are on the upper middle class end, but upon reflection, that's just the genre of movies. There's a genre of tween and teen movies about extravagant birthday parties where the characters live in a world free from poverty, and well, it's nice to have a movie in that genre for ourselves. It's escapism.

-The characters all loved Judaism and being Jewish. Jewish religious practice and belief wasn't treated as a joke or an afterthought. The kids would actually look forward to Hebrew school, and Hebrew school wasn't depicted as boring and stuffy. The religious aspect of a Bat Mitzvah was front and center- it drove the whole story, from Stacy practicing her Maftir (not "Haftarah" as the movie got wrong) as she comes up with her worst mistake, to Stacy working on her Mitzvah project.

-Because the majority of the story occured at the characters' homes and in Hebrew School and Temple, antisemitism wasn't a player in the story, and I liked that. We have so many movies about Jewish pain and suffering, and it's nice to have a light-hearted movie. It doesn't pretend antisemitism doesn't exist, but it's just not relevant to the story.

-Even though it was a movie about a tween girl and all her struggles and insecurities, she was never once insecure about her Jewish features. They could have very easily slipped into the old "Jewish girl hates her nose" but it didn't. And I hope that if Sunny Sandler gets serious about acting as she grows up, she won't feel pressured to get a nose job like so many other Jewish young women do.

-It doesn't pander to goyim and take time to explain every single Jewish word and reference like Hallmark Hanukkah specials do. It's a movie made by Jews for Jews, and it doesn't edit itself to be more palatable to goyim. And I loved that.

Some critiques:

-My biggest criticism is the portrayal of Jewish tween boys. I get that the movie is from Stacy's POV, so as a tween girl she might see all boys her age as gross and as assholes, but I find it problematic that all the Jewish boys were depicted as nasty, while the only boy depicted as nice and polite was not Jewish. I think it plays into stereotypes of Jewish boys and sends a harmful message.

-I loved Rabbi Rebecca, but I think that at times her character went from endearingly awkward to just gross and inappropriate, such as when she talked about her yeast infection in front of her students. I think just a bit of editorial tweaking would have been beneficial for her character.

Overall rating: 9/10, would definitely recommend it to my Jewish friends. Goyim, you might enjoy it, but it really isn't made for you so you might be lost at times. Just accept you're not the target audience.

[idasessions]

Jewish girl angst: a trilogy

[jewishraypalmer]

Also you know what I loved about the movie? Is that it was filled with quiet Jewish joy. The hebrew school scenes were just the kids hanging out or having fun in the classroom. The rabbi and cantor singing (and me and my sister watching also singing along shabbat shalom HEY shabbat shalom HEY) and doing that funny "so quickly" thing and then all of the kids joining in and they were having fun and man I fucking LOVED THIS MOVIE.

[penguicorns-are-cool]

some appreciation for how in at least one of the B'nei Mitzvot DJ Schumely calls up the B'nei Mitzvah (generally accepted gender-neutral version of Bar or Bat Mitzvah) meaning that child is probably non-binary and this synagogue and DJ are accepting of that

I was pretty worried for diversity in this show cause Adam Sandler's past movies tend to at least have a ton of microagressions, but this was pretty good about it. like actual representation of POC and Queer Jews

[sidhewrites]

pointing out crocheted items i see in movies and tv shows 3/?

crochet granny square vest spotted on the very queer-coded rabbi rebecca in "you are so not invited to my bat mitzvah"

literally this movie is so cute and written with so much love, i absolutely recommend it

[gay-jewish-bucky]

“That's why we fought the Nazis? So you could have a mojito bar?” is one of the most iconic lines in all of cinema

[thetourguidebarbie]

You are so not invited to my bat mitzvah is niche and delightful and if you are not jewish you won’t get it and that’s the best part

[yeahthatsinteresting]

'You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah' (2023)

[netflix]

Cast your vote in the rest of the polls here.

You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah is now streaming on Netflix.

[doctorcurdlejr]

You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah (2023)

[pointing-out-crochet-in-media]

pointing out crocheted items i see in movies and tv shows 4/?

these crocheted kippahs are giving me life

[greenflower21]

Ok just hear me out:

Omega’s Bat Mitzvah

[penguicorns-are-cool]

hey Jumblr and others

can we make the Jumblr or Jewish tag trend again but because of You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah instead of antisemitism

I think it would be good for us and also the general perception of Jews if we can trend at least one time this year for a reason that is not we are being oppressed