Shiva Baby

Hollywood has taken a lot of body blows recently; from COVID; from the endless demand for streaming content; and from audience pushback against Tinseltown's horrid culture of self-adoration. Viz, the historically low ratings for the award shows. The only content sector unaffected by all his is the indie category. And, with almost Biblical timing, along comes Emma Seligman, an indie writer/director with an ear for dialog and an eye for staging a scene. She faithfully delivers just the sort of fun ethnic romp which, only a few short years ago, would have been the exclusive territory of a "name" writer or director. Good for her! Recommended.

Shiva Baby is better than I thought it would be. I'm not going to say I was constantly laughing, far from that, but it definitely has something entertaining about it. Rachel Sennott did a great job playing her character. Watching her lie through her teeth all the time, and that whilst staying very charming (I think she's a real looker to be honest), it had to be done. The story is simple but effective. The funny parts are the older women gossiping in their Jewish way. The cinematography was not bad at all, with some really good shots every now and then. Shiva Baby isn't a long movie, rather too short, but for an indie production it's certainly worth watching.

Rachel Sennott plays a college girl who leaves a night spent with her sugar daddy to head to a traditional Jewish wake. At that wake, she runs into her not-so-secret "scandalous" ex-girlfriend... and that very same sugar daddy, fully in tow with his wife and newborn baby. The first-time feature from director, Emma Seligman, plays like an awkward comedy and a claustrophobic horror. Sennott is spectacular in the lead role... and the extensive supporting cast is fakakta brilliant.

Loved this film. I thought it was highly relatable as a gay-jewish man. Lots of family similarities. Each character was perfectly casted and realistic. Rachel Sennott was great, the audience really can empathize with her and feel her anxiety and panic rising with each scene. The way the soundtrack and music correlated with the scenes was perfect. I've been seeing some reviews compare it to a horror film, which is quite accurate, considering a family gathering can be horrific, traumatic, especially for a teenager / young-adult. I also found this film really funny, in a dark, unintentional way. Each character was just so absurd and an over-the-top caricature of what a nagging old Jewish lady could be like. The actress who played her mother was perfect as the over-bearing Jewish mother, with constant interrogation of her personal life, and crude jokes. I felt like the movie could have been a long pilot episode for a TV series. The ending was a bit abrupt, but other than that, it was an enjoyable film.

This is a solid horror film masquerading as a comedy.