Adam Sandler's New Netflix Movie Is Giving People Complicated Feelings... About Nepotism

Within just days of being released, Adam Sandler’s new movie has fast become his most critically-acclaimed yet – which is cause for celebration for the whole Sandler family.

Netflix’s You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah sees the Uncut Gems actor playing Danny Friedman, whose teenage daughter is preparing for her extra special celebration.

Unfortunately, a fallout with her best friend derails the planning process and as her parents (Adam’s on-screen wife is played by his Uncut Gems co-star Idina Menzel) do their best to help, things go from bad to worse. 

As the credits roll on the coming-of-age comedy, fans are delivered a surprise – several members of Adam’s real-life family have prominent roles within the film. 

His on-screen kids – Stacey, who is having the titular bat mitzvah, and her older sister Ronnie – are played by his real children, 14-year-old Sunny and Sadie, 17. Adam’s wife Jackie puts in an appearance too, as the mother of Stacey’s BFF-turned-enemy Lydia. 

The decision for Adam – who also produced the film – to cast his loved ones is an interesting one, and comes at a time when nepotism isn’t exactly something being celebrated in Hollywood. 

However, many viewers have shared the opinion that Adam’s daughters are so good in the film that they’re willing to overlook the nepotism on this occasion. 

You’re So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah has shot to number one on Netflix, and over on the film review site Rotten Tomatoes, it’s officially Adam’s most well-reviewed movie ever with a score of 96%. 

The Guardian’s review reads: “I’m  as keen as the next person to roll my eyes at so-called nepo babies, but You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah [...] makes the case for some upsides to maintaining the family business.”

“Sandler, never one to be ruffled by nepo-baby talk, has been putting his daughters in Happy Madison productions since they were toddlers, but this is their first time in the forefront, and they’re not half-bad,” writes Vulture’s critic. 

Rolling Stone’s critic argues: “Cry nepotism all you want, but the entire brood acquits itself quite well, and they seem to be having an infectiously good time together.”

Meanwhile, on the subject of nepotism, a piece in The Independent argues: “Seeing real family members interact on screen is its own little thrill. It lends the film a lived-in authenticity and makes the otherwise standard-issue family unit feel fleshed out and singular.”

You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah is available to stream on Netflix now.