Adam Sandler is bringing his kids along for the ride.
Last Friday, Netflix dropped You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, a new movie starring the Sandman… AND his family. The comedy follows Stacy, played by the SNL alum’s IRL daughter Sunny, 14, and all the teen drama as she prepares for her Bat Mitzvah. The 50 First Dates star’s older daughter, Sadie, 17, plays Stacy’s older sister Ronnie, while Jackie Sandler, Adam’s wife, also makes an appearance.
However, before netizens could get their knickers in a bunch over the optics of the established actor getting these plum roles in the Netflix flick, director Sammi Cohen, who uses they/them pronouns, gave their thoughts on the nepo baby debate.
In a Tuesday interview with the Hollywood Reporter, the creative dismissed the casting decision as business as usual:
“Sandler has a reputation for making movies with his friends, and that’s something we all want to do. What I say is, he’s still making movies with his friends, but they’re his kids. He is the kind of dad who’s also your best friend. When it comes to the sort of chatter we’re hearing online, I don’t really think twice about it because I’m going like, ‘Yeah, he’s doing the same thing he’s always done.’”
Wait, but… before his friends were fellow comedy stars Chris Rock, Chris Farley, David Spade, and later Jennifer Aniston. This is a little different. This is Adam Sandler pulling in non-comedy stars to get the jobs of comedy stars. That’s 100% what people upset by nepo babies are talking about!
But according to Sammi, Adam didn’t cast them in his movie. Sunny and Sadie were attached to the role first — before they even signed on as director — and before Adam was brought on to co-star:
“We really built out the rest of the cast and the rest of the world around them — Adam and Jackie and everyone else.”
However, Adam WAS a producer, so it’s not like this was some situation where they were making a movie on their own and kindly decided to invite Daddy. You know, from that movie Big Daddy.
But Sammi believes the celeb kids proved their talent:
“One thing that just sticks out — they work harder than most adults I know. They love acting and filmmaking in general. They take such an interest in how the movie is made, and they’re both so talented.”
They added:
“I think Sunny feels like this really real kid. She’s got this incredible free-spirited nature and a natural silliness that elicits moments of charming vulnerability. She’s lovable and relatable and the kind of person you root for. Sadie, too — all I had to do with Sadie is empower her to lean into what she does best. She’s got this natural ability to be just effortlessly funny with that dry humor in her grounded delivery.”
All great marks, but this is coming from the film’s director, so it’s not like they’re going to bash their own movie’s leads! LOLz!
Speaking of patting each other on the back, Sammi added they were impressed by Adam’s on AND offscreen work:
“He’s hilarious, and he’s always making everything funnier. He really gave everyone space to do their thing, but when people needed support, he was there. He’s wearing multiple hats — producing, acting, being an actual dad. It’s almost inhuman. Nothing suffers — he does it all 110 percent. I would say he’s a good coach. He knows when to push; he knows when to take a step back. He just understands how to make a good movie, and he’s one of the funniest, kindest human beings.”
Will YOU give this movie a shot? Ch-ch-check out the trailer (below):
What are YOUR thoughts on the nepo baby debate? Let us know in the comments down below!
[Images via Netflix]
The post Adam Sandler’s Nepo Babies Star In His New Movie -- But The Director Claims They 'Work Harder' Than Anyone?? appeared first on Perez Hilton.