Last year at the Milwaukee Film Festival there were walkouts at the Secret Members Only Screening. I think there was a lot of overreaction to a somewhat difficult movie, but I also didn’t think for a second that Milwaukee Film wouldn’t turn in a more crowd-pleasing direction. And they did exactly that by choosing the audience award winner from the Tribeca Film Festival, BAD SHABBOS. And it really seemed like it was mission accomplished because there were no walkouts and the audience seemed well entertained.
Well, most of them anyways. I didn’t walk out but I thought the film was watchable but nothing special.
BAD SHABBOS opens in fairly standard comedy fashion. A big important dinner is planned where one family is going to meet their future in-laws. If they only overcome their own squabbling. Squabbling that goes terribly wrong when seemingly innocuous petty revenge leads to an accidental death. Which means they all have to pull together to keep one of their own out of jail.
Oh, and did I mention that the main family is very Jewish?
In a sane family, the film would have been about 20 minutes as 911 would be quickly called. But, where’s the fun in that? Instead the news of what has happened spreads one by one to get the individual reaction of everyone. And, it kind of serves as comedic escalation. But, that escalation can only last so long, because you have to hide the truth from someone. And, when that point is reached, the escalation and comic hijinks kind of grind to a halt. There are high points, Kyra Sedgwick and David Paymer are comic dependables as the Matriarch and Patriarch of the family. Milana Vayntrub, star of countless AT&T commercials, shows some good comedic prowess tacking an edge on her character and Clifford Smith, Jr. a.k.a. Method Man turns out to be a true scene stealer injecting an unexpected jolt of comedic energy into the proceedings.
Alas, I found it wasn’t enough to lift familiar material. Injecting Jewish details doesn’t make this conceit fresh. And frankly, I don’t know if the conceit was ever that funny. The highlights are what? Very Bad Things? Rough Night? Weekend at Bernie’s? Maybe if we stretch it, The Trouble With Harry? It’s hard to laugh at death. It’s harder to laugh at supposedly “good” people being callous. Even if the recently deceased was a jerk. That’s the real truth and the hard part to overcome, you may see the stars and think it’s meaningful but the real kicker is someone stole the tent.
The 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival runs from April 24, 2025 until May 8, 2025. BAD SHABBOS had its one and only screening at the festival. However, tickets to many other films can be purchased at MKEFILM.ORG.
