Bad Shabbos (2024)

Bad Shabbos is a farce about a dinner that has to go perfectly and an accident that makes that impossible. David, played by Jon Bass, brings his fiancée Meg home to his observant Jewish family in New York for Shabbat dinner. Meg, raised Catholic in Milwaukee and now converting, is also introducing her parents to his for the first time. His mom Ellen, played by Kyra Sedgwick, has decided Meg is wrong for him. His sister Abby arrives with Benjamin, a boyfriend so rude the whole family wants him gone. Then a petty bit of revenge leads to an accident, and now everyone is hiding something enormous while Meg’s parents sit in traffic. Method Man’s Jordan, the friendly doorman who talks Talmud with David’s dad, is the best idea here. Even at 84 minutes, the farce starts circling. It won the Audience Award at Tribeca. A 6.3 because the cast commits to the chaos even when the jokes repeat. $1,498 says you hear a guest say they’re stuck in traffic this month and your eyebrows go straight up.

What works: The cast commits fully to the escalating panic, and the culture clash between the two families gives the farce real texture.

What doesn’t: Confined to one apartment and one night, the farce starts repeating its beats, and critics were mixed, with a 53 on Metacritic.

Who it’s for: Fans of dark family farces, and anyone who has ever met future in-laws while trying very hard to hide something.