Synopsis
College student Danielle must cover her tracks when she unexpectedly runs into her sugar daddy at a shiva - with her parents, ex-girlfriend and family friends also in attendance.
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Cast
- Rachel SennottDanielle
- Molly GordonMaya
- Polly DraperDebbie
- Danny DeferrariMax
- Fred MelamedJoel
- Dianna AgronKim
- Glynis BellKatherine
- Sondra JamesMaureen
- Deborah OffnerEllie
- Rita GardnerMrs. Bronstein
Recommendations
- 91
The Film Stage
Shiva Baby is a blast of energy and from its first moment to its last Seligman finds the right balance. There is genuine suspense, if not horror; the score, by Ariel Marx, could just as easily fit a summer camp slasher flick. But the greatest feeling for the audience––after discomfort––is excitement. - 83
The A.V. Club
The style of humor in Shiva Baby can best be described as “sex-positive cringe,” in which the secondhand embarrassment comes less from the sexual situations themselves than our heroine’s collision with polite, conservative society. - 83
Original-Cin
Seligman’s tight script landed her on Variety’s list of 10 Screenwriters to Watch for 2020. She uses classic Jewish humour and archetypal characters here that echo 1960s comedy albums and TV sitcoms but freshens it with Generation Z angst and a cascade of emotional pileups. - 80
Variety
Having grown up in a tight-knit Jewish community herself, Seligman tightly orchestrates it all with loving cultural specificity and nuance, working her satirical muscles to a thrilling extent. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Anchoring it all is Sennott, deploying a stealthy, low-key timing that's perfectly suited to a character still struggling to figure out, and get comfortable with, who she is. The actress makes you lean in, her face a frequently blank canvas animated by sporadic squiggles of wit, neediness, resentment and longing that recede almost as soon as they appear. - 75
Slashfilm
Sullen, sarcastic, silly and seductive at various times, the film manages to walk a high-wire act of tone, making the act of mourning the least miserable part of the family gathering. - 75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
The concept and the laughs hold strong amid all the craziness because Seligman has such affectionate sympathy for her mendacious protagonist. - 75
IndieWire
Shiva Baby blends a claustrophobic Jewish humor with a sexy premise to deliver a lively debut.
