“The Family That Slays Together, Stays Together,” is the title of one of the episodes of the iconic animated television series The Venture Bros. However, it might also be the perfect logline of Bad Shabbos, the wickedly funny and well-deserved recipient of the audience award at this year’s Tribeca Festival.

 

The film follows a young Jewish man named David (played by Jon Bass), who brings his Christian fiancée Meg (Meghan Leathers) home to his family for a dinner party. Now, this isn’t the first time Meg is meeting the family. However, this particular night - which also happens to be the Sabbath - does happen to be the first time Meg’s parents are coming over to meet his family. Understandably, the couple wants everything to go smoothly. But when a series of hapless events results in the death of one of the other attending guests, the entire family scrambles to cover it up before Meg’s parents arrive - and before the authorities find out.

 

This may not be the first film to follow a group of people comically trying to cover something up, but it certainly is one of the best. And it deserves to be deemed a classic alongside the likes of Heathers and Weekend at Bernie’s. What really makes it shine is its distinctive focus on the Jewish culture. It’s not just that the religious family is conflicted with their complicity, it’s that they are also actively running into humorous obstacles along the way too. For example, when trying to move the body, the family’s patriarch (played by David Paymer) points out that nobody should actually carry it because carrying anything is forbidden on Shabbat. Minutes later, he creates a loophole by placing a piece of bread on the dead body and saying that it might not count if the body is being used as a tray. 

 

Director and co-writer Daniel Robbins isn’t making fun of the religion’s rules. In fact, the film is as respectful as it is riotous. Although the family’s actions often contradict their beliefs, he is showing us just how far it’s willing to go to cover up this death under the umbrella of its own ideologies. 

 

While the story is fun, the ensemble’s execution is even better. Rounding out the cast is Emmy winner Kyra Sedgwick, Milana Vayntrub and Clifford Smith a.k.a Method Man. The latter nearly steals the show as the doorman who works inside of the family’s building and finds himself sucked into the family’s deadly dilemma. However, the entire cast has such great chemistry that it’s hard to not be sucked into their dilemma either. What’s particularly impressive is how well the characters branch off in the midst of dealing with the dead body to try and resolve other established conflicts. For example, the family’s matriarch (Sedgwick) makes it clear very early on that she doesn’t approve of Meg joining the family. It’s not because she’s Christian, but rather because she’s not Jewish enough (despite her earnest attempts to educate herself about the religion). As the night goes on, Meg feels a huge pressure to not only prove that she is good enough to keep a secret but that she’s good enough period. But the cast’s talent truly unfolds during the film’s central set piece, the actual dinner. This when Meg’s parents ultimately show up, and the family has to push through without a hint of suspicion. It goes without saying that the result is disastrously hilarious.

 

The film’s only con is that Robbins opts for a literal “deus ex machina” resolution to the family’s problem. While it is admittedly hilarious, it feels too convenient. But that is not enough to take away from the film’s overall enjoyable experience.

 

It should come as no surprise that Bad Shabbos won the audience award at this year’s Tribeca Festival. Similar to its NYC setting, it’s fast-paced, surprisingly profound and finds humor in unexpected places. Its true strength is that you don’t even have to practice religion to appreciate what it preaches: family matters. And while no family is perfect, the trials and tribulations we go through together are what truly make each relationship worth it.