Adam Sandler's Bat Mitzvah director defends star casting daughters in record-breaking film
Topics: Adam Sandler, Film and TV, Netflix, Celebrity
Jess Hardiman
Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Adam Sandler, Film and TV, Netflix, Celebrity
The director of Adam Sandler’s latest flick has defended the actor’s daughters being cast in the new record-breaking hit.
The brand-new Netflix film You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah, which was adapted from Fiona Rosenbloom's 2005 coming-of-age novel of the same name, follows Stacy Friedman and her best friend Lydia Katz, who are navigating the ups and downs of middle school.
Stacy is busy planning her bat mitzvah and dreaming about her crush Andy Goldfarb, but things take a turn when Stacy is left devastated when Lydia steals Andy from her, causing the two friends to have a fall-out.
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The movie sees the lead role of Stacy played by none other than Adam Sandler’s daughter Sunny, 14, while his older daughter Sadie, 17, also makes an appearance in the flick.
Sandler himself also stars as Stacy’s dad, who tries to help her navigate the ups and downs of adolescence, with Uncut Gems star Idina Menzel playing his wife.
Oh, and Sandler’s real-life wife Jackie also has a role in it - Gabi, Lydia's mom - just to keep the family.
Of course, with recent debate about ‘nepo babies’, the casting choices have come under a little backlash.
However, the film’s director, Sammi Cohen, has defended the choice to hire Sandler’s two daughters, pointing out that the actor often recruits his nearest and dearest for his projects.
"Sandler has a reputation for making movies with his friends, and that’s something we all want to do," Cohen told The Hollywood Reporter.
"What I say is, he’s still making movies with his friends, but they’re his kids. He is the kind of dad who’s also your best friend."
As for all the nepotism chat? Cohen added: "When it comes to the sort of chatter we’re hearing online, I don’t really think twice about it because I’m going like, ‘Yeah, he’s doing the same thing he’s always done.’"
Either way, the film has proven a huge hit among critics, having broken a career record for Sandler with a near-perfect score on the Tomatometer.
Art the time of writing, it has a 97 percent score - making it Sandler’s highest rate film ever.
Hustle comes in at second place with 93 percent, while The Meyerwitz Stories has 92 percent.