Tag Archives: Film reviews

Film reviews

You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah Review

Leave a comment

“Being Jewish” is at the center of this film about a traditional family. The vibe Adam Sandler creates in You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah is full of relatable personalities in partbecause his daughters, Sadie and Sunny, are in the film with him. Adam Sandler plays the classy father who is faithful to his religion. The film does an average job of resembling a traditional family. However, in many ways the story is about revenge and adolescent life more than family. The traditions which are part of being Jewish play a prominent role in the movie.

The plot revolves around adolescence and the peer pressure which hits in early puberty. The film is centered on Stacey (Sunny Sandler), a middle school girl getting ready for her bat mitzvah. Her parents are Danny and Bree (played by Adam Sandler and Idina Menzel). Stacey also has an older sister, Ronnie (Sadie Sandler.). The family is loving and supportive and will do whatever it takes to make her bat mitzvah special. However, due to a conflict with a close friend, Lydia (played by Samantha Lorraine), the plan for a memorable bat mitzvah begins an ugly downward spiral. Stacey cares about being vindictive and having power over Lydia. From my perspective, the real problem is teenage nonsense which is where the film is relatable for young adults.

The age of peer pressure and popularity cross paths with the various aspects of religious practice in You Are So Not Invited to my Bat Mitzvah. Culture and tradition hit plateaus for the film’s characters and are demonstrated in the performances of Sandler and his daughters. Being Jewish as opposed to practicing thereligion always comes as a reminder for the harsh actions that sporadically occur in this bizarre comedy. The film itself is notterrible but the writing begins to fade easily, and only shines when there are twists like blindsiding and revenge. In all honesty, the story is a fairly accurate representation of adolescent life with typical frustrations to be navigated.

You Are So Not Invited to my Bat Mitzvah tries to be consistentlyfunny but only succeeds in an average way. Frankly, some of the comedic moments did not add up for me. I felt that the movie kept trying to jump between dark comedy and real comedy. Overall, it feels more like a real comedy that tries to have a heart. The premise focuses on a teenager experiencing jealousy but wanting to feel empowered. The movie does offer some moments of connection that provide meaning for adults as well as younger viewers.

The era of teen popularity keeps going awry in You Are So Not Invited to my Bat Mitzvah, although adolescence is depicted with some class. There is a quote in the movie comparing soccer and dancing, “Soccer’s a sport, dance is an art.” I feel the sport of the film is represented by the efforts to get revenge, and the art is in the reactions to those efforts. I’m having a hard time explaining the true experience of this film which is why I remain neutral. Two and a half out of four stars.

Film reviews

Blue Beetle Review

Leave a comment

This is one of those comic book films that at first seemed like it was going to be silly. For the first several minutes I was thinking it was going to be ridiculous and a waste of time. But I was wrong. Blue Beetle is actually quite entertaining, especially because it introduces a new superhero, Blue Beetle, who is kind of like Iron-Man, Ant-Man, and Spiderman all rolled into one.

Our new superhero is a young guy named Jaime Reyes (played by Xolo Maridueña). Jaime is a college grad whose family has a lot of financial problems. He does what he can to find a job and his lucky day comes when an alien scarab chooses him, and he becomes … Blue Beetle!

The film gives a good backstory to the powers of its hero, how he gains the powers very unexpectedly and so quickly. This gives a very good foundation, for what makes Blue Beetle who he is, and for the storyline to come. There are plenty of enemies and people to save for the hero in the film. But background in superhero films serves a bigger purpose than all kinds of CGI action and violence, which often seems to be more about profit than entertainment.

The characterizations and writing in Blue Beetle are solid and steady, the structure works, and Maridueña makes a very intriguing and invigorating superhero with excellent fundamentals. It’s great that he’s so young. He almost seems like he could become another hero like Spiderman. The film also brings some nostalgia that fans of superhero movies have not seen in a long time. The scenario of debt is also unique to superhero movies. The film transitions to the risky business of wealth and deceit, a new structure for a superhero film.


Blue Beetle is also jam-packed with robot joy, and the robot action really helped hold my attention. There are not many films that can pull that off much better than Blue Beetle.

The film is not perfect, and it does lack in some of its components. The deliveries were a little cheesy at times and some of the moments didn’t really make sense or add up. But the superhero vibe and the introductions to our new superhero is where Blue Beetle is top-notch. There are hidden connections that correlate to other aspects of the film, there are moments of truth in many corners, and Blue Beetle becomes the only one who can overcome the unexpected dangers that add to the fun of the film. So Blue Beetle is definitely entertaining and I’m glad that I took the time to watch this flick. I predict a bright future going forward for this superhero. Three out of four stars for Blue Beetle.

Film reviews

Strays Review

2 Comments

There is the saying that dogs are man’s best friend. That saying takes a massive turn for the worse in Strays, a talking dog comedy that is not so funny, and often disgusting and repulsive.

Strays gears on a small dog named Reggie (voiced by Will Ferrell). Reggie thinks he is connected to his owner, Doug (voiced by Will Forte), but Doug is a jerk and a slob of a dog owner who just sits and gets high and actually hates Reggie to the max. Reggie, however, views all the hatred as love (that is how messed up this movie is). Doug abandons Reggie, and Reggie assumes Doug is just playing a game. Before long Reggie meets another dog named Pug (voiced by Jamie Foxx). Pug is a dog with a gangster attitude who leads a group of bad dogs. As in really bad dogs, who only get worse.

Pug introduces Reggie to his group of dog friends, all of whom have very bad judgment, including Maggie (voiced by Isla Fisher) and Hunter (voiced by Randall Park). Ultimately, Reggie figures out that Doug abandoned him and decides that he wants revenge.

With all the bad directions Pug takes his gang, Strays has tons of quirky and crude moments, including dogs urinating in odd places and performing all kinds of crude acts. On top of that, the dogs get drunk from alcohol they find in garbage bags. Some of it seemed funny at first, but there were moments where I felt like I was going to throw up. Constant repulsiveness does not make for a fun and humorous ride.

To add some light to this bizarre and crazy experience, I will say that there were a few worthwhile moments. The dialogue between Ferrell and Fox as dogs was clever at times. And Strays does have a few hidden gems, moments that relate to other dog films. The first thirty minutes were not completely terrible, before it went down a rabbit hole of grossness and mediocrity. But thirty minutes at the start doesn’t make up for the never ending repulsiveness.

But probably my biggest problem with this film was its obsession with private parts. Dogs talking very graphically about wanting to hurt humans’ private parts, and a lot of talk about sexual scenarios. It all really is just too much. The sexual references and crude humor made me realize that this film was just poorly written and presented. Instead of fun, as Strays went on I just found more moments where I felt like I was going to vomit (again).

This talking-dog comedy crosses boundaries, as a lot of good comedies do. But this is not a good comedy. What is the point of the film—that dogs have freedom and seek redemption? Is that hilarious? The language is crude, the gross factor is high, and while the film feels hysterical in very brief fragments, the volume of ridiculousness skyrockets and it ends up being a waste of time. One out of four stars for Strays.