Bad Shabbos came out in theatres this spring after a festival run across Canada and the United States, winning audience awards at multiple, including Tribeca Film Festival.
The film follows a New York Jewish family over the course of an eventful, yet hysterical, Friday night. Meg, David’s Christian, converting-to-Judaism fiancé, is introducing her family to David’s for the first time, but the evening goes awry when one of the attendees is accidentally killed. Family secrets emerge, violence transpires, and some new traditions are born. I sat down with director and co-writer Daniel Robbins over Zoom to discuss the need for more Jewish holiday films, the making of Bad Shabbos, and how it was inspired by a real-life Shabbat dinner.
If Niv audiences want to watch the film, it is available on VOD as of September 16, and you can visit Badshabbos.com for more information.
Daniel! Thank you so much for your time and your film—I sat down on Friday to watch it and I was so delighted. I thought the film was hysterical. You co-wrote the film with Zack Weiner and I know that the two of you are frequent collaborators. Can you tell me about the process of co-writing?
The process on every movie is different because every movie needs a new approach. Zack [the co-writer] is better at dialogue and I’m better at structure and refining, so we just play to those strengths. But we both chip in on each other’s work. We have different strengths and we have the same taste.
You have an incredible cast in this film—Kyra Sedgwick and David Paymer as David’s parents; Method Man; and then the main characters played by Jon Bass, Milana Vayntrub and Meghan Leathers. Who was your favourite character?
I think the dad. His inability to deal with any situation was so funny. He would run off when he was uncomfortable and start rocking himself and praying.
Did you prioritize casting Jewish actors for the Jewish roles? How did you navigate that?
I actually am not draconian about that; I think actors can play different roles. The key is to go with the best actor for the role. For this one, we were big on casting for authenticity. We looked at the actors we wanted and they all ended up being Jewish, but that wasn’t a rule that we had. I do think if you’re trying to cast something authentic, it might steer you in that direction. Every Jewish character was Jewish, and every Christian character was Christian in the movie. So, nobody is complaining.
I really love films that take place over the course of one day, or one night, as this one was. Can you speak to what it was like writing a film that transpired within a very short period of time?
It was always the plan to do it this way because we wanted it to take place during Shabbat dinner. Once you get into Saturday night, the rules change and it’s not as fun, so I think this timing helps for the tension. The goal was to write something we could film and that we could pull off, so that meant one location and a compressed timeline. And that ended up helping the movie ultimately.
Your previous film was horror, whereas this one is a dark comedy. Did you feel it was a strange transition genre-wise?
It worked because comedy was where we started and what we always wanted to make. So horror was kind of the side mission, the place to start and learn filmmaking, and to make a movie where you could maybe get your budget back. Once we felt like we were better at filmmaking, then we wanted to make comedy. I still think it was the right move to start in horror because to make an indie comedy is difficult.
I’m curious if any part of the film was inspired by a real-life Shabbat dinner. Did you experience a particularly traumatic one at some point?
The inspiration of the movie was Zack’s family's Shabbat dinners, because his mom would sometimes do a prank on someone just to keep things light. Our producer heard about this, and he said, “it would be funny if you do a Shabbat dinner, and something goes wrong and someone ends up dying.” Zack thought that would be a pretty funny movie.They called me and we started outlining. We invented all these funny characters and came up with all these different ideas—Jewish boy, Christian girl, what if it’s the night her parents are meeting his family for the first time, what if you make Method Man the doorman. Sometimes the more ideas you add, the tower just collapses, but with this one it just kept getting better.
Were there any other ways in which you drew on your own upbringing or family experiences or dynamics in creating Bad Shabbos?
General modern Orthodoxy is not often portrayed on screen. You either see Ultra-Orthodox or Reform, and I haven’t seen the middle of the spectrum, which is how we [my friends and I] grew up. We love how we grew up! We love Shabbat dinner and Judaism, and the balance of the secular life and the religious life, and how those two can be combined to create a more meaningful life. We wanted to make a movie in that world, where the characters aren’t trying to run away from Judaism or self-actualize. They love the traditions and are trying to absorb them into their lives and find the middle ground with their parents. That’s the journey that we are on and a lot of our friends are on, and that just felt like the story we wanted to tell.
In terms of the Jewish audience, were you worried about portraying certain stereotypes that some people might object to? Did you and Zack worry about how Jewish audiences would receive certain jokes or portrayals in the film? For example, the mother objecting to the Christian fiancé, even though she is converting.
There’s this line from Alain de Botton that stereotypes are dangerous not because they’re untrue, but because they’re artificial articulations of a much more complex truth.
For example, the Jewish mother stereotype: I think it’s dangerous if it’s general and you get it wrong. And I think the wrong version is if you make the character cold and mean. But I think we got it right. Kyra Sedgwick played it from an intelligent place. She played the character as a warm, loving person because anyone who knows a Jewish mom knows how caring they are. They always want to make sure everyone has eaten; they care about everyone around them. Then we show how her passing on this faith, that’s been passed down through all these generations, is important to her. She’s nervous it might not continue if her son marries this girl.
Jewish moms have responded really positively to this portrayal because they feel like it got to the truth of it.
We are in the realm of stereotypes but if you do it right then it’s okay. That’s why we gave her a whole monologue, so that audiences understood where she was coming from.
Did you intend to explore intergenerational dynamics in the film, or different interpretations of Judaism depending on the generation?
Our parents’ parents came to this country from Europe, and Judaism was so important to them and something they really had to fight for. Our parents grew up, generally, in a more relaxed environment, where Judaism was part of their tradition but it wasn’t something that had to be fought for. When they pass it down to their kids, there tends to be a slightly more lax attitude. The kids don’t feel how difficult it is to hold on to, so they might approach the traditions in a more casual way. You can see that in the characters in this film.
Congratulations on winning the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival! What was it like?
It’s been amazing. We’re all from New York so maybe there was minimal voter fraud with our family, but with three screenings and over a thousand people, you can’t tilt the vote that much. I think people were just relieved to see a comedy that made them laugh out loud. I mean, the film is a farce and a little insane, but it does end on a heartwarming note of accepting differences, and learning how to work within them.
You know, a couple of complaints here and there . . . but we’ve got a Jewish audience. If you don’t get some complaints, then something is wrong!
How has the festival run been going?
From there we played other festivals and also won more audience awards. After winning in New York, we said, “Well of course—it’s a Jewish movie, it’ll work in New York” —but then, once we won the audience award in Reno Nevada at the Cordillera International Film Festival, people were like “Okay, I guess it’s just working!” It recently passed $1 million in the box office because people keep telling their friends. I’d argue that Jewish WOM might be the most powerful word of mouth. Because they really know how to get the word out.
I’ve seen comparisons of Bad Shabbos to Shiva Baby, and I do love this idea of an unintentional series of films about Jewish holidays or events that turn out really badly. What do you think of doing a Passover Seder version of this?
Bad Seder could be good; we have an idea for a Hanukkah movie. I think it’s a slightly more popular holiday and also, I always wanted a Hanukkah movie to watch when I was growing up. I know there’s 8 Crazy Nights but we need more. So it might be our next movie, we’ll see. And if that goes well, then maybe the third one might be Bad Seder.
Bad Shabbos came out in theatres this spring after a festival run across Canada and the United States, winning audience awards at multiple, including Tribeca Film Festival.
The film follows a New York Jewish family over the course of an eventful, yet hysterical, Friday night. Meg, David’s Christian, converting-to-Judaism fiancé, is introducing her family to David’s for the first time, but the evening goes awry when one of the attendees is accidentally killed. Family secrets emerge, violence transpires, and some new traditions are born. I sat down with director and co-writer Daniel Robbins over Zoom to discuss the need for more Jewish holiday films, the making of Bad Shabbos, and how it was inspired by a real-life Shabbat dinner.
If Niv audiences want to watch the film, it is available on VOD as of September 16, and you can visit Badshabbos.com for more information.
Daniel! Thank you so much for your time and your film—I sat down on Friday to watch it and I was so delighted. I thought the film was hysterical. You co-wrote the film with Zack Weiner and I know that the two of you are frequent collaborators. Can you tell me about the process of co-writing?
The process on every movie is different because every movie needs a new approach. Zack [the co-writer] is better at dialogue and I’m better at structure and refining, so we just play to those strengths. But we both chip in on each other’s work. We have different strengths and we have the same taste.
You have an incredible cast in this film—Kyra Sedgwick and David Paymer as David’s parents; Method Man; and then the main characters played by Jon Bass, Milana Vayntrub and Meghan Leathers. Who was your favourite character?
I think the dad. His inability to deal with any situation was so funny. He would run off when he was uncomfortable and start rocking himself and praying.
Did you prioritize casting Jewish actors for the Jewish roles? How did you navigate that?
I actually am not draconian about that; I think actors can play different roles. The key is to go with the best actor for the role. For this one, we were big on casting for authenticity. We looked at the actors we wanted and they all ended up being Jewish, but that wasn’t a rule that we had. I do think if you’re trying to cast something authentic, it might steer you in that direction. Every Jewish character was Jewish, and every Christian character was Christian in the movie. So, nobody is complaining.
I really love films that take place over the course of one day, or one night, as this one was. Can you speak to what it was like writing a film that transpired within a very short period of time?
It was always the plan to do it this way because we wanted it to take place during Shabbat dinner. Once you get into Saturday night, the rules change and it’s not as fun, so I think this timing helps for the tension. The goal was to write something we could film and that we could pull off, so that meant one location and a compressed timeline. And that ended up helping the movie ultimately.
Your previous film was horror, whereas this one is a dark comedy. Did you feel it was a strange transition genre-wise?
It worked because comedy was where we started and what we always wanted to make. So horror was kind of the side mission, the place to start and learn filmmaking, and to make a movie where you could maybe get your budget back. Once we felt like we were better at filmmaking, then we wanted to make comedy. I still think it was the right move to start in horror because to make an indie comedy is difficult.
I’m curious if any part of the film was inspired by a real-life Shabbat dinner. Did you experience a particularly traumatic one at some point?
The inspiration of the movie was Zack’s family's Shabbat dinners, because his mom would sometimes do a prank on someone just to keep things light. Our producer heard about this, and he said, “it would be funny if you do a Shabbat dinner, and something goes wrong and someone ends up dying.” Zack thought that would be a pretty funny movie.They called me and we started outlining. We invented all these funny characters and came up with all these different ideas—Jewish boy, Christian girl, what if it’s the night her parents are meeting his family for the first time, what if you make Method Man the doorman. Sometimes the more ideas you add, the tower just collapses, but with this one it just kept getting better.
Were there any other ways in which you drew on your own upbringing or family experiences or dynamics in creating Bad Shabbos?
General modern Orthodoxy is not often portrayed on screen. You either see Ultra-Orthodox or Reform, and I haven’t seen the middle of the spectrum, which is how we [my friends and I] grew up. We love how we grew up! We love Shabbat dinner and Judaism, and the balance of the secular life and the religious life, and how those two can be combined to create a more meaningful life. We wanted to make a movie in that world, where the characters aren’t trying to run away from Judaism or self-actualize. They love the traditions and are trying to absorb them into their lives and find the middle ground with their parents. That’s the journey that we are on and a lot of our friends are on, and that just felt like the story we wanted to tell.
In terms of the Jewish audience, were you worried about portraying certain stereotypes that some people might object to? Did you and Zack worry about how Jewish audiences would receive certain jokes or portrayals in the film? For example, the mother objecting to the Christian fiancé, even though she is converting.
There’s this line from Alain de Botton that stereotypes are dangerous not because they’re untrue, but because they’re artificial articulations of a much more complex truth.
For example, the Jewish mother stereotype: I think it’s dangerous if it’s general and you get it wrong. And I think the wrong version is if you make the character cold and mean. But I think we got it right. Kyra Sedgwick played it from an intelligent place. She played the character as a warm, loving person because anyone who knows a Jewish mom knows how caring they are. They always want to make sure everyone has eaten; they care about everyone around them. Then we show how her passing on this faith, that’s been passed down through all these generations, is important to her. She’s nervous it might not continue if her son marries this girl.
Jewish moms have responded really positively to this portrayal because they feel like it got to the truth of it.
We are in the realm of stereotypes but if you do it right then it’s okay. That’s why we gave her a whole monologue, so that audiences understood where she was coming from.
Did you intend to explore intergenerational dynamics in the film, or different interpretations of Judaism depending on the generation?
Our parents’ parents came to this country from Europe, and Judaism was so important to them and something they really had to fight for. Our parents grew up, generally, in a more relaxed environment, where Judaism was part of their tradition but it wasn’t something that had to be fought for. When they pass it down to their kids, there tends to be a slightly more lax attitude. The kids don’t feel how difficult it is to hold on to, so they might approach the traditions in a more casual way. You can see that in the characters in this film.
Congratulations on winning the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival! What was it like?
It’s been amazing. We’re all from New York so maybe there was minimal voter fraud with our family, but with three screenings and over a thousand people, you can’t tilt the vote that much. I think people were just relieved to see a comedy that made them laugh out loud. I mean, the film is a farce and a little insane, but it does end on a heartwarming note of accepting differences, and learning how to work within them.
You know, a couple of complaints here and there . . . but we’ve got a Jewish audience. If you don’t get some complaints, then something is wrong!
How has the festival run been going?
From there we played other festivals and also won more audience awards. After winning in New York, we said, “Well of course—it’s a Jewish movie, it’ll work in New York” —but then, once we won the audience award in Reno Nevada at the Cordillera International Film Festival, people were like “Okay, I guess it’s just working!” It recently passed $1 million in the box office because people keep telling their friends. I’d argue that Jewish WOM might be the most powerful word of mouth. Because they really know how to get the word out.
I’ve seen comparisons of Bad Shabbos to Shiva Baby, and I do love this idea of an unintentional series of films about Jewish holidays or events that turn out really badly. What do you think of doing a Passover Seder version of this?
Bad Seder could be good; we have an idea for a Hanukkah movie. I think it’s a slightly more popular holiday and also, I always wanted a Hanukkah movie to watch when I was growing up. I know there’s 8 Crazy Nights but we need more. So it might be our next movie, we’ll see. And if that goes well, then maybe the third one might be Bad Seder.