Director Defends Adam Sandler’s Cast of His Daughters
If you asked Adam Sandler that question directlyhe would probably tell you to go get him a warm glass, finally shut up.
On Tuesday, The Hollywood Reporter asked Sammi Cohen, the director of Sandler’s latest Netflix Movie “You’re Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah Like That.”,” around nepotism, babiesgiven the cultural discussion involved and because Sandler cast his two daughters in the film.
The film, which released on the streamer last week, is an adaptation of Fiona Rosenbloom’s 2005 novel of the same name. It stars Sunny Sandler, the comedian’s younger daughter, as Stacy Friedman. Sandler’s eldest daughter, Sadie Sandler, has a supporting role as Stacy’s sister, Ronnie. Sandler and his wife, Jackie Sandler, have minor roles in the film.
Cohen made a good point when he answered Entertainment Magazine’s “Nepo Baby” question.
“Sandler has a reputation for making films with his friends, and that’s something we all want to do,” Cohen began, referring to Sandler films, which regularly feature the friends of the Saturday Night Live grad, cast included Rob Schneider and David Spade, as well as actors friends Steve Buscemi, Chris Rock, Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Aniston.
“I say he still makes films with his friends, but they are his children. He’s the kind of dad that’s also your best friend,” Cohen added. “When it comes to the kind of babble that we hear online, I don’t really think about it because I’m like, ‘Yeah, he’s doing the same thing he’s always done.'”
Although there have been some Nepo discussions about Bat Mitzvah on X, formerly Twitter, these are mostly positive.
Sunny Sandler plays a clumsy teenage girl who ruins her best friend Lydia’s (Samantha Lorraine) life after Stacy’s crush on Andy (Dylan Hoffman) dares him to date Lydia instead of her. The film also proves that Sandler’s highest rated film At Rotten tomatoes, with “Bat Mitzvah” getting a 97% critical acclaim. That’s higher than some of Sandler’s critically acclaimed films, such as 2022’s Hustle, which earned 93%; 2017’s The Meyerowitz Stories, which scored 92%; and 2019’s “Uncut Gems,” which scored 91%. (Personally, we think the 40% rating for Sandler’s groundbreaking comedic masterpiece, Billy Madison, is absurd.)
Sunny and Sadie Sandler also proved their comedic talents extend beyond acting — they’re pretty funny writers, too.
In 2022, Sandler had Sunny and Sadie write his acceptance speech at the 2022 Gotham Awards in honor of his award-winning career as an actor and comedian — and they roasted him pretty hard as Sandler read her words to the ceremony attendees.
“Daddy’s goofy film career began in 1988, shaped by two guiding principles: People in prison need movies, too, and TBS needs content,” Sandler read.
“While daddy’s with you tonight, we do everything we’re not allowed to do when daddy’s home, like eat his yodels or try on his spanx or, dare we say it, listen out loud over Ben Stiller movies laugh,” he continued. “The last time dad caught us laughing at the ‘Meet the Parents’ trilogy he immediately stormed into what he calls ‘The Screaming Room’ which we just call ‘the shower’ and yelled at it The phrase ‘Only the’ Sandman gets people laughing. Fuck every other comedian.’”
