"You need two."
Being sold on the presence of Adam Sandler, there is a real difference between 'an Adam Sandler movie' (excruciating attempts at comedy, horrible stereotyping/caricatures) and 'a movie with Adam Sandler in it' (where he does genuine character work), and thankfully this is one of the latter, as we have here a teen/coming-of-age movie filtered through the Jewish community and a 12-year-old girl's upcoming bat mitzvah. With Sandler's real-life daughters playing the on-screen sisters with aplomb, Sandler takes more of a back-seat with a delightfully controlled and understated performance as their father together with the experienced professionalism of Idina Menzel as the mother. The rest of the junior cast shows a range of young characters and are charming in their roles. The delightfully snarky script rolls along effortlessly on a wave of relentless energy, nailing both the comedy and drama of navigating typical young-teen rites-of-passage moments including friendship difficulties, the generation gap, peer group, periods and crushes. The film also manages to feel fresh and contemporary yet being respectful to the community and traditions it represents, making it feel sincere, and all leading to the sweetest feel-good ending for a very enjoyable film.
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