On the surface, Bad Shabbos is a dark comedy wrapped in the familiar colours of a family-centred Shabbat dinner, complete with challah, brisket, candlelight and the pressure of perfect hosting.
But beneath it all is a deliriously twisted tale: a corpse in the bathroom, interfaith tensions, frantic cover-ups and a doorman stepping in as an impromptu Shabbat-savvy rabbi. What emerges is a comedy of errors; a loving yet merciless take on Jewish family life.
Set in an Upper West Side apartment over a Friday night, the film unfolds like a timed farce.
Director Daniel Robbins, drawing from his Modern Orthodox upbringing and his time attending Jewish day schools, captures the warmth and chaos of Shabbat dinner rituals contrasted against what many would refer to as “loving bickering”.
“It’s one thing to cherish those values, but Judaism also gives us an actual framework that pushes us to practise them,” Robbins told InSights. “I think Shabbos dinner is probably the main way we can improve our lives. Which is why we made a movie about it.”
The film revolves around David, played by Jon Bass, who invites his non-Jewish fiancée Meg (Meghan Leathers) and her Catholic parents to meet his Jewish family. Chaos ensues when a prank by his brother leads to an unexpected death in the bathroom.
While everyone frantically scrambles to preserve traditions, manage appearances and avoid the wrath of disappointed in-laws, the stakes quickly become deadly, with a side of intense family love. Kyra Sedgwick, cast as the matriarch Ellen, is all about protecting family and religious traditions while also expertly navigating the neurosis often associated with a Jewish mother.
“I guess I would say a takeaway is getting along with your family could be a battle sometimes, but it’s a battle worth fighting…” Daniel Robbins
She pushes back against the stereotype of the “overbearing” Jewish mother though, emphasising fierce love and unwavering commitment. As Sedgwick told Kveller, “No one else is going to love you, try to protect you, as much as your mum. I love her. I don’t find her overbearing. I am a Jewish mother and I grew up with a Jewish mother. I love Jewish mothers. They always want to make sure you’ve eaten it. ‘It’s cold, make sure to wear your sweater.’ You need these tips,” she said.
Beyond the jokes and chaos, Sedgwick sees a ring of truth. She noted to Kveller that even during the messiest moments, there’s mutual, nurturing intention beneath the frazzled energy.
“They really just desperately want to take care of each other. That’s a beautiful thing. Their actions are questionable, but it’s for the good of the family,” she said.
Robbins and co-writer Zack Weiner (whose own upper West Side Shabbat dinners inspired the premise, complete with mischievous pranks) carefully balance the absurd with the authentic.
As explained on the Miami New Times website, Weiner’s mother would often prank unsuspecting guests. The question became, what if one of these pranks resulted in someone dying?
Robbins questioned why more movies about Shabbat don’t exist. “We just wanted to make an authentic depiction of Shabbos in a Modern Orthodox house and show what that energy is like. We know it so well. If we could mix that with a dead-body thriller, we knew it could be a funny movie,” Robbins told Jewish Website. “I don’t know why Shabbos movies don’t exist. It seems like some would be leaning into it as an excuse – you know, you can’t use phones and there are other restrictions. So far, we stand alone in the genre.”
And what shines through during the time is precisely that authenticity.
The speed-talking, the carefully-observed customs, the whispered Hebrew blessings, the strategic consumption of brisket. Filmed in a real cramped Upper West Side apartment, with every person and object carried up one elevator, Bad Shabbos exudes claustrophobic intimacy, grounding its mayhem in reality.
Bad Shabbos debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2024 and won the Audience Award, proof that, though perhaps unorthodox, this Shabbat-gone-wrong resonates deeply with viewers.
The film not only entertains but reminds audiences that Shabbat is beautiful and important, gently nudging them to rekindle an interest in their family Shabbat dinner tables.
“It would be great if people could learn about Shabbos through the movie,” Robbins told The Dayton Jewish Observer. “Just the idea of the whole family gathering together and turning their phones off would be nice. I don’t like to comment too much thematically, but I guess I would say a takeaway is getting along with your family could be a battle sometimes, but it’s a battle worth fighting.”
In the end, Bad Shabbos is a testament to Jewish life’s contradictions and comforts. It reminds us that beneath even the most chaotic, disastrous dinner lies tradition, love and the possibility of redemption, before the challah even cools.
Bad Shabbos is the opening night film of the 2025 Jewish International Film Festival. Programs are included in this week’s AJN. To book tickets, visit jiff.com.au
comments