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DON’T SAY GOOD LUCK MOVIE REVIEW
There are two kinds of people in this world; those who get excited when they see Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison production slate appear before a film, and those who brace themselves for two hours of lowbrow schlock. While neither reaction is entirely warranted, Sandler can be a divisive figure amongst cineastes, and his latest film for Netflix will certainly raise eyebrows due to his casting his own daughter in the starring role of Sophie Birenbaum, a teenaged girl who lands the leading role in a high school musical, This coming of age tale features many of the expected rites of passage (learning how to drive, kissing boys, the inevitable boozy house party, etc.) but Sophie must also grapple with the possibility of losing her mother Elizabeth (Melanie Lynskey) who has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. Director and co-writer Julie Hart (Fast Color, I’m Your Woman) looks for some fresh angles in a tale whose trajectory is already familiar, and she surrounds the younger Sandler with veteran actors like Lynskey, Bebe Neuwirth, and Max Greenfield, as well as Happy Madison alumni Steve Buscemi and Jon Lovitz. Our former theater nerds turned film reviewers Neil, Rae, and Marco acknowledged the nepo baby situation but are prepared to judge the film on its own merits. Listen to the review to find out whether they wished this movie good luck or told it to break a leg!
DIRECTED BY: Julia Hart
STARRING: Sunny Sandler, Melanie Lynskey, Max Greenfield, Jack Champion, Stephanie Beatriz, Bebe Neuwirth, Steve Buscemi, Scarlett Estevez, Jon Lovitz, Emma McNulty, Elyse Bell, Matan M. Friedman, Eitan O. Friedman
YOUR REVIEWERS
Marco Noyola (Digital Noise, Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad, Audio Editor)
By day, Marco is a mild-mannered office worker, but by night he is a mild-mannered movie watcher. He does other mild-mannered stuff too.
“I’m not a film critic. I just play one on the Internet.”
Lyrae Anderson (Screener Squad)
You can call me Rae. You can also call me a film lover. I’ll watch it all — small screen; big screen, and everything in between. I have attended and worked for Fantastic Fest and South by Southwest for many years. I married a film geek as well. While we don’t agree on everything, we agree on our love of movies.
Neil Anderson (Screener Squad)
I first got hooked on movies when I saw Star Wars at a drive-in theater as a kid. Growing up in a small, rural town meant not having access to a lot of movies. In college, that all changed. I couldn’t get enough. I love it all — flicks, films, movies, and cinema. I still have that wide-eyed wonder of that kid watching movies from the back of a pick-up truck at the drive-in.
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