What’s up guys. Before I get into this post, just note that I promise I will settle into a blog niche eventually. My guess is it’s probably going to end up relating to film and television, but for the time being I’m focusing my attention on building the habit of actually writing every day, as opposed to branding this thing or optimizing SEO or what have you. I also know that in order to make the habit stick, I have to kill my habit of overthinking, which if you think about it (pun intended) is not that many steps removed from dying. So today I’m going to write about books, because it’s the easiest thing I can think of at this moment. I like to keep the barrier to entry low.

Anywho, the title of this post may be misleading. I’ve never considered myself an avid reader at any point past 6th grade–and I’m going to give myself the benefit of the doubt and assume this roughly coincides with when full-blown books became required reading for English class (as opposed to just picking whatever you wanted for book reports). At least I think it was around that age? The first book I remember having to read for school was The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, and I had neither the attention span nor the analytical skills to read that thing AND survive the social hurricane that was 7th grade English. No shade to Charlotte, it could be a great book. I wouldn’t know.

So. Just let it be known I am not a fast reader by any means. And I like to read many books at once. Don’t worry, it takes a while.

27 Essential Principles of Story: Master the Secrets of Great Storytelling, from Shakespeare to South Park by Daniel Joshua Rubin

I picked this book up because I want to be better at writing scripts, and I think I struck gold. I had some idea of how to structure a story from a screenwriting class, but this fills in all the gaps it left behind. It’s just crazy detailed, funny, inspiring, and insanely practical. I’m really hoping no one puts this on hold at the library, so I can keep it renewed for the next several months.

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

I have been meaning to read this for a long time as a fan of the movies. I knew the plotlines were fundamentally different (to give you an idea: Toothless talks). But I was surprised to find out that the themes and the overall sense of humor overlap. I can look back at the movie now and appreciate how it honors the whimsy of the books while also adding the necessary action and drama you need for the big screen.

A Thousand Flamingos by Sanobher Khan

I normally don’t read poetry books, but I gave this one a chance, and I’m so glad I did because it is goooooood.

Do Nothing by Celeste Headlee

This book is empathetic, uplifting, and you learn a lot about politics and history of labor and human progress. Basically, the author directs you into actually being productive instead of trying to simply reach the state of “feeling productive.”

(Image source: Los Angeles Magazine)

Besides writing, one of my favorite things to pay attention to when watching a movie or TV show is the moral of the story. Some people are cinematography people, or musical score people; I have a soft spot for a heartfelt message. I feel immeasurable satisfaction when a movie goes out of its way to show it’s thinking about the real world and the material impact of storytelling via film. Releasing the right message into the world at the right time, likewise, can make for a movie that is both entertaining for critics and audiences alike. In 2023, Oppenheimer came out and said, “And now I am become death, destroyer of worlds,” to capitalize on the massive cultural shadow cast by Barbie. In 2021, Everything Everywhere All At Once came out to a world battered by COVID-19 and said, “nothing matters,” and the Academy basically rocket-launched an Oscar at A24.

You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah is a movie we all know won’t win any Oscars. It’s a production of a totally different mindset, and depending on your view of things, you could call it an “Adam Sandler Movie” (derogatory), or an “Adam Sandler Movie” (praising). Regardless of what the critics say, however, I wanted to write about this family comedy in particular, because even though it is cheesy, its portrayal of teens was surprisingly realistic and its “friendship is golden” message was both universal and timely.

When a movie has heart like this, I will excuse a lot of flaws. I’m not going to lie and say the acting was good. I can’t even say it was decent, and my bar is low because I really do respect young actors. Many jokes were a bit too on-the-nose to be funny. The Rabbi character was a little cringey, nor did Idina Menzel and Adam Sandler, both of whom I was excited to see, catch my attention (Their chemistry was a hard left from Uncut Gems). But I am confident that this movie had heart. I can at least be confident in that.

Certainly, I’ll throw all of my annoying, film-bro critiques away to simply relish what might be the most satisfyingly realistic depiction of middle schoolers on screen I’ve ever seen in my life. For one, the actors were actual kids, which is huge. The only other movie I can think where a cast of kids riff off each other so effortlessly is the original The Sandlot, which is now over 30 years old and famously devoid of girls. From Stacy and Lydia ignoring each other while their moms chat at the department store (too real), to feuding over some airheaded boy, to Stacy’s “The Red Sea” incident, I found myself laughing out loud by the sheer realism of the humor style. The icing on the cake, however, was the way the Stacy and her friends tossed around swear words and age-inappropriate language so freely and inaccurately. It felt like someone stuck a camera inside of a real middle school.

To be fair, my enjoyment of this movie might be a projection of changes happening in my own life. As I enter my mid-20’s, I am becoming more and more sensitive to the preciousness of friendship among young people, particularly friendship between girls–which in the right circumstances, ranks among the top ten human experiences ever, in my opinion. I felt genuinely touched the ending of this movie, when Stacy dedicated her bat mitzvah to Lydia.

Silly as it may sound, the simple power of friendship was a message I had taken for granted and wasn’t expecting to see manifest on screen in 2024. Basically, the 2020’s have molded me into a huge pessimist. I might be tempted to say the same of any feel-good teen comedy that came my way. Even so, the message is critical in today’s world, where we live increasingly siloed lives.

You Are So Not Invited to my Bat Mitzvah comes out into the world and says, “Your ego is lying to you, now go ask your friends to hang out.” I find that beautiful. A movie which reveres the verbal chaos and beauty that occurs when you put a bunch of teenagers in a room doesn’t just feel fun, it feels vital.