This *seemed* like such a good idea.
While most Jewish parents try to give their kids a nice bar/bat mitzvah--because this is such an important event in an observant Jew's life--there are a few who go to extremes, as exemplified by Zachary Stein's parents at the beginning of the film. Let me reiterate that parents like these, who spend obscene amounts of money on their child's b'nai mitzvah trappings, rather than keeping the affair modest and more focused on the spiritual aspect, are the exception and not the rule.
I was hoping that the movie would be a wry, yet amusing look at the process of Bar Mitzvah one-upsmanship, with the rival family (or families) realizing in the end that what is really important is what the Bar Mitzvah symbolizes, and not how lavish an affair it is. (Kind of a Jewish version of "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," perhaps?) Unfortunately, as a few others have pointed out, most of the movie is not inspired or amusing, nor does it stay focused on the fascinating issue of one-upsmanship. Rather, it seems to end up centering largely on the unfunny Garry Marshall character, Irwin Fiedler (the Bar Mitzvah boy's grandfather).
Turns out Grandpa Fiedler ditched his family years ago--it's not clear if he ever paid child support, but it's a safe bet he didn't, seeing as how he couldn't seem to earn money back then, a major bone of contention in his marriage to Grandma Fiedler--and his son (the Bar Mitzvah boy's father, Adam, played by Jeremy Piven) remains resentful about having been abandoned.
The movie, IMHO, tries to drum up a bit of sympathy for Grandpa Irwin, portraying him as a good, decent guy in several uninspired scenes where he helps his grandson. In an effort to justify a possible reconciliation between Irwin and his estranged son, the movie even seems to make an effort to downplay the seriousness of Irwin's abandonment of his family--after all, as Grandma Fiedler points out, they *both* made mistakes in their marriage, and as Irwin tells his son, "Haven't you ever made a big mistake you couldn't fix?"
I didn't buy it. I never found Irwin Fiedler to be likable. Moreover, I couldn't help feeling that while Grandma may have made mistakes in the marriage, too, and while Adam may have made fatal mistakes with his clients, Irwin's mistakes were (1) not liking his work, a feeling which took precedence over feeding his young family, and (2) abandoning his family. How in any way can one minimize this colossal selfishness? How can these mistakes be compared to a few mistakes Adam may have made with his clients? And whatever Grandma Fiedler's mistakes may have been, she didn't just up and abandon her family. The movie never properly addressed this important topic, IMO; instead, it aimed for a more light-hearted treatment of the issue, in keeping with the overall trite and shallow tone of the script.
Something else about the script that bugged: A number of times, when someone used a Yiddish or Hebrew word ("mensch", for example), it seemed that there was either a tiny pause before and after the word, or else it was a bit louder, or a little over-enunciated. As though the writers or director thought that--maybe for the benefit of the non-Jews in the audience?--all of these words must be Spoken. Very. Clearly. And. Distinctly. Unfortunately, this made me feel that the foreign words were almost an afterthought--as though the writer went back over the script, looking for places to insert quaint little Yiddish expressions ("How about I add the word "mishigas" to this line of Irwin's here?") An effort to give this film a more "Jewish" flavor, I guess. But it seemed a clumsy device, to me.
Finally, let me just add that I could not suspend disbelief enough to buy Darryl Hannah as a love interest for the geriatric, not-much-going-for-him Irwin Fiedler. I can only wonder if Casting was given specific instructions on what type of love interest would be acceptable to Mr. Marshall.
Whatev.
Were there any bright spots in this trite production? Yes--Jami Gertz was delightful as the Bar Mitzvah boy's mother. And the opening sequence, with Zachary Stein's Bar Mitzvah, was a hoot.
Given the general lack of depth in this film, and the number of rather juvenile plot devices (such as when Benjamin is at the Bima to deliver his Haftorah, and he deals with his stage fright), I'd guess that this film may well appeal to teens, with the ideal target audience (given the Bar Mitzvah-related subject matter) being Jewish teens.
While most Jewish parents try to give their kids a nice bar/bat mitzvah--because this is such an important event in an observant Jew's life--there are a few who go to extremes, as exemplified by Zachary Stein's parents at the beginning of the film. Let me reiterate that parents like these, who spend obscene amounts of money on their child's b'nai mitzvah trappings, rather than keeping the affair modest and more focused on the spiritual aspect, are the exception and not the rule.
I was hoping that the movie would be a wry, yet amusing look at the process of Bar Mitzvah one-upsmanship, with the rival family (or families) realizing in the end that what is really important is what the Bar Mitzvah symbolizes, and not how lavish an affair it is. (Kind of a Jewish version of "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," perhaps?) Unfortunately, as a few others have pointed out, most of the movie is not inspired or amusing, nor does it stay focused on the fascinating issue of one-upsmanship. Rather, it seems to end up centering largely on the unfunny Garry Marshall character, Irwin Fiedler (the Bar Mitzvah boy's grandfather).
Turns out Grandpa Fiedler ditched his family years ago--it's not clear if he ever paid child support, but it's a safe bet he didn't, seeing as how he couldn't seem to earn money back then, a major bone of contention in his marriage to Grandma Fiedler--and his son (the Bar Mitzvah boy's father, Adam, played by Jeremy Piven) remains resentful about having been abandoned.
The movie, IMHO, tries to drum up a bit of sympathy for Grandpa Irwin, portraying him as a good, decent guy in several uninspired scenes where he helps his grandson. In an effort to justify a possible reconciliation between Irwin and his estranged son, the movie even seems to make an effort to downplay the seriousness of Irwin's abandonment of his family--after all, as Grandma Fiedler points out, they *both* made mistakes in their marriage, and as Irwin tells his son, "Haven't you ever made a big mistake you couldn't fix?"
I didn't buy it. I never found Irwin Fiedler to be likable. Moreover, I couldn't help feeling that while Grandma may have made mistakes in the marriage, too, and while Adam may have made fatal mistakes with his clients, Irwin's mistakes were (1) not liking his work, a feeling which took precedence over feeding his young family, and (2) abandoning his family. How in any way can one minimize this colossal selfishness? How can these mistakes be compared to a few mistakes Adam may have made with his clients? And whatever Grandma Fiedler's mistakes may have been, she didn't just up and abandon her family. The movie never properly addressed this important topic, IMO; instead, it aimed for a more light-hearted treatment of the issue, in keeping with the overall trite and shallow tone of the script.
Something else about the script that bugged: A number of times, when someone used a Yiddish or Hebrew word ("mensch", for example), it seemed that there was either a tiny pause before and after the word, or else it was a bit louder, or a little over-enunciated. As though the writers or director thought that--maybe for the benefit of the non-Jews in the audience?--all of these words must be Spoken. Very. Clearly. And. Distinctly. Unfortunately, this made me feel that the foreign words were almost an afterthought--as though the writer went back over the script, looking for places to insert quaint little Yiddish expressions ("How about I add the word "mishigas" to this line of Irwin's here?") An effort to give this film a more "Jewish" flavor, I guess. But it seemed a clumsy device, to me.
Finally, let me just add that I could not suspend disbelief enough to buy Darryl Hannah as a love interest for the geriatric, not-much-going-for-him Irwin Fiedler. I can only wonder if Casting was given specific instructions on what type of love interest would be acceptable to Mr. Marshall.
Whatev.
Were there any bright spots in this trite production? Yes--Jami Gertz was delightful as the Bar Mitzvah boy's mother. And the opening sequence, with Zachary Stein's Bar Mitzvah, was a hoot.
Given the general lack of depth in this film, and the number of rather juvenile plot devices (such as when Benjamin is at the Bima to deliver his Haftorah, and he deals with his stage fright), I'd guess that this film may well appeal to teens, with the ideal target audience (given the Bar Mitzvah-related subject matter) being Jewish teens.