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(Kveller) – Last summer we reported that an Adam Sandler project was filming at Nana’s, a Jewish deli in New Jersey. (Our intrepid editor Lior Zaltzman even drove over to check it out; sadly she did not catch sight of any Sandlers.) In April, Netflix released more details about the project, a movie called “Don’t Say Good Luck,” starring Sandler’s daughter Sunny (who we fell in love with in “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah”) and a stacked ensemble cast. Today, Netflix released a trailer for the movie, and it looks like a beautiful tearjerker with some classic Sandler family humor.
Sunny Sandler plays Sophie Birenbaum, a high school student who is about to try out for the school play when she gets a butt dial from her dad (Max Greenfield), accidentally revealing that her mom (Melanie Lynskey) has cancer — and it doesn’t look good. Sophie auditions for the play with tears running down her cheeks.
From the trailer, we learn a few things: that Sophie and her mom are very close, that the family’s home has a mezuzah on the door, that Sophie’s father works in a Jewish deli (since the deli signage spotted during filming read ‘Birenbaum’s Deli,’ we’re assuming the family owns it), that Sophie gets the lead in the play opposite her crush (Jack Champion), and that we are definitely going to cry during this movie.
“Don’t Say Good Luck” is based on the real life story of author (and now screenwriter) Laura Hankin. (I highly recommend her novels “One Star Romance,” which is also based on a real life experience, and “A Special Place For Women,” which hopefully is not.)
“When I was in high school, I got the lead in my fall show (shoutout to Moby Dick the Musical) while my family was going through some really rough stuff,” Hankin wrote on her Instagram. “I wrote a script inspired by that time to celebrate my fellow theater nerds who brought me a lot of joy, and to honor my mother who I loved more than words can say (but I wrote an entire screenplay to try & capture that love anyway).”
“Don’t Say Good Luck” also stars Steve Buscemi and Bebe Neuwirth as Sophie’s grandparents, Stephanie Beatriz (of “Encanto” and “Brooklyn 99”) as a teacher at Sophie’s school, and Jon Lovitz as someone named Lenny (which sounds promising). Julia Hart (of “Stargirl”) directed the movie, and Hart’s husband and collaborator, Jordan Horowitz (producer of “La La Land”), worked with Hankin on the screenplay. Adam and Jackie Sandler are producers.
“Knowing that Julia and Jordan make movies together, and that all my family does is make movies together, made it a perfect match,” Sunny Sandler told Netflix’s Tudum.
“Don’t Say Good Luck” premieres on Netflix on Aug. 14th, and we can’t wait to watch! You can check out the trailer on Tudum.
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