“Bad Shabbos” is a Good Time

After “Bad Shabbos” won the audience prize at the Tribeca Film Festival in the summer of 2024, this off-the-wall Jewish comedy caught on fire.

A sensation on the Jewish film festival circuit, “Bad Shabbos” went on to win the audience award at the Wilmington Jewish Film Festival 2025, the Pittsburgh JFilm Festival 2025, the Seattle Jewish Film Festival 2025, the Charlotte Jewish Film Festival 2025, the Cordillera International Film Festival 2024 and the Boston Jewish Film Festival 2024. It also won the Directors’ Choice Award for Best Feature/Comedy at the Sedona International Film Festival 2025 and the Next Wave Jury Prize at the Miami Jewish Film Festival 2025.

The surprise hit has also enjoyed theatrical runs at dozens of theaters across the country, a rare occurrence for a festival film set in a specific Jewish world and steeped in Jewish humor. “Bad Shabbos” comes to the Dairy Arts Center’s Boedecker Theater for a five-day run, September 3-7, with a talkback with Kathryn Bernheimer at the 7 pm screening on Thursday, September 4. Tickets.

Directed by Daniel Robbins, the movie takes place in real time during a disastrous dinner on the Upper West Side, where David (Jon Bass) and his Catholic fiancée Meg (Meghan Leathers) plan to introduce their parents for the first time. The outrageous plot involves an accidental death (or murder?) that turns the family dinner into a riotous farce.

Kyra Sedgwick – yes, she’s Jewish! – stars as the neurotic matriarch. David Paymer plays the hapless patriarch. Cliff “Method Man” Smith steals the show as the meddlesome doorman who gets pulled into the comic chaos.

Despite its popularity, the over-the-top film is not for everyone. Comedy, after all, is highly subjective.

As the Jerusalem Post observed: “Will it offend some people? Undoubtedly. But it will make many more laugh, and a lot of people will see themselves and their family members in the characters.”