Shiva Baby – Movie Review
Director: Emma Seligman
Writer: Emma Seligman (Screenplay)
Cast
- Rachel Sennott (Bodies Bodies Bodies)
- Danny Deferrari (Oppenheimer)
- Fred Melamed (A Serious Man)
- Polly Draper (Demolition)
- Molly Gordon (Booksmart)
Plot: At a Jewish funeral service with her parents, a college student runs into her sugar daddy and ex-girlfriend.
Runtime: 1 Hour 13 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Shiva Baby starts when college student Danielle (Sennott) joins up with her parents Joel (Melamed) and Debbie (Draper) for a Jewish funeral. She learns that her sugar daddy Max (Deferrari) is there with his wife and to make matters even worse, Danielle’s ex-girlfriend Maya (Gordon) is there too.
As the event continues Danielle must keep up appearances around her future. All while trying to keep her secret affair away from taking center stage at the funeral service.
Verdict on Shiva Baby
Shiva Baby is a comedy that follows a young woman trying to figure out her life that is thrown into the spotlight at a funeral. This sees her biggest secrets thrown out as she must make up with burnt bridges.
The movie uses the funeral setting to bring up the story in a comedic sense. This feels like another point of view similar to ‘Death at a Funeral’. It works by showing how people are always trying to push people in certain directions in life and that the pressure of early adulthood is always on people. The movie is set to a chaotic series of events where nobody can overreact to anything that is happening or risk breaking the peace from the funeral. Rachel Sennott is the star of the show, containing her performance as things get out of hand.
Final Thoughts – Shiva Baby is a fun comedy that uses the funeral setting perfectly.
