For all you HAIM fans, you are going to love the movie "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah." Not only want to music for the film co-composed by Este Haim of HAIM, but director Sammi Cohen also used a brilliant mix of mostly female musical artists to augment the themes of the movie. Adam Sandler's name is attached to the movie and Sandler is in the film quite a bit, but in no way does the movie revolve around him.
Instead, the film is a coming-of-age trek featuring Sandler's real-life daughters, Sunny and Sadie Sandler, along with Idina Menzel, and Sandler's real-life wife, Jackie Sandler. Both Adam and Menzel can sing, of course, but neither do. They don't have to.
Sunny plays Stacy Friedman who has a best friend named Lydia Rodriguez Katz (played perfectly by Samantha Lorraine) but the two like the same boy and chaos ensues. The film leads up to the Bat Mitzvahs for both Lydia and Stacy. Sure, there are archetypes of the story that have been done lots of times before, but the soundtrack of the film keeps the film moving forward as well.
"You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah" has a perfect soundtrack
While the "Barbie" soundtrack was painstakingly curated, and it paid off, "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah"'s soundtrack is also well-picked, though the artists weren't necessarily asked to create songs only for the film. That doesn't matter because each song augments whatever scene the song was used for.
Icona Pop and Charlie XCX's "I Love It" bumps during a house party. Dua Lipa's "Don't Start Now" mirrors the friction between the two best friends, Stacy and Lydia. Weezer's "Little Bit of Love" helps a scene reach melancholy perfection. And even the Commodores' "Easy" feels just right for a closing scene. And yeah, even DJ Casper's "Cha Cha Slide" is placed well.
There are 31 different songs used in the film. That reads as too much, maybe, but there is no song that should be left out. The film is fun and the soundtrack bounces. At the end of summer, it is just what you need.