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You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah director Sammi Cohen has explained why Adam Sandler cast his daughters in his latest film.
The Wedding Singer star appears in the Netflix comedy alongside his teenage daughters Sadie, 17, and Sunny, 14. Idina Menzel plays his wife, while Sandler’s real-life wife, Jackie, also appears in the film.
YASNITMBM is part of Sandler’s $350m (£199m) deal with the streaming service and is currently the number 1 film in Netflix’s top 10 in the UK.
Still, the film received some criticism from social media users who claimed that Sadie and Sunny were cast because they were “nepo babies.” This Internet term refers to the famous offspring of artists who are themselves pursuing careers in the entertainment industry.
In a new interview, director Cohen opened up about Sandler’s reasons for casting Sadie and Sunny.
“Sandler has a reputation for making movies with his friends, and that’s something we all want to do,” he told .
“I say he still makes films with his friends, but they are his children. He’s the kind of dad who’s also your best friend.
“When it comes to the kind of chatter we hear online, I don’t really think about it because I think, ‘Yeah, he’s doing the same thing he’s always done.'”
Louis Chilton argued in The Independent that the commercial and critical success of You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah – Sandler’s highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes – showed that “no one cares about nepotism”.
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Sunny and Sadie Sandler (foreground) with Adam Sandler and Idina Menzel
(netflix)
“There is something beautiful about casting in a project like YASNITMBM; Seeing real family members interact on screen is a bit of a thrill,” he wrote.
“It gives the film a lived-in authenticity and makes the otherwise standard family unit seem more concrete and unique… It may be nepotism, but it is additive – the film is richer for what it brings.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Cohen said that Sandler is able to balance “producing, acting and being a real father” when working with his daughters.
“He really gave everyone space to do their thing, but when people needed support, he was there,” he said. “He wears multiple hats…Nothing suffers – he does everything 110 percent.
“I would say he is a good coach. He knows when to apply pressure; He knows when to take a step back. He just knows how to make a good movie and he’s one of the funniest and nicest people.”
The film follows two best friends whose bat mitzvah plans are influenced by a popular boy whose attention they are fighting for.
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah is now on Netflix.