Bad Shabbos

Bad Shabbos is a 2024 American comedy film directed by Daniel Robbins and written by Robbins and Zack Weiner. The film stars Kyra Sedgwick as the matriarch of a Jewish family as tensions come to a head during a Shabbos dinner. It debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival where it won the Audience Award.^[3][4]

Bad Shabbos
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Daniel Robbins
Screenplay by	Zack Weiner Daniel Robbins
Produced by	Adam Mitchell
Starring	Kyra Sedgwick Method Man Jon Bass Milana Vayntrub
Cinematography	Matt Clegg
Edited by	Kait Plum
Music by	Eli Keszler
Production company	Carnegie Hill Entertainment
Distributed by	Menemsha Films
Release dates	June 10, 2024 (2024-06-10) (Tribeca Festival) December 6, 2024 (2024-12-06) (United States (limited)) May 23, 2025 (2025-05-23) (United States (wide))
Running time	84 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$2 million[1][2]

The title is a play on the phrase "good Shabbos," which is used as a traditional greeting on Shabbos.

Plot summary

David and his fiancé, Meg, are visiting his traditionally affiliated Jewish family for a Friday night Shabbos dinner in New York City where her parents will meet the family for the first time. Meg was raised Catholic in Milwaukee and she is converting to Judaism. David's father, Richard, is a yente and as they make their way to his parents home, they encounter first the supermarket owner and then the building doorman who have been informed about this planned event, with everyone asking David and Meg if they're ready. Jordan, the doorman, is friendly with the family, especially Richard, who talks to him about everything from family politics to the talmud.

When they get upstairs, we meet both of David's parents, Richard and Ellen. While Richard seems to be very easy going and accepting of Meg's Catholic upbringing, it's clear that Ellen is not as comfortable with it. By analogy, she tells Meg that she feels like she's gotten a houseplant as a gift from her mother, who in turn got it from her mother, all the way back 100 generations, and is now being asked to give it over to someone who took an online course on gardening. We also meet Adam, David's unemployed younger brother who is on various medications for physical and mental ailments and who has aspirations of joining the IDF, and Adam's sister Abby, who arrives with her boyfriend Benjamin. The religious dynamic is such that while rigorous ritual observance is not upheld, traditions are important to the parents, and so moderately respected by the children, who are less concerned. For example, Ellen is particular that Meg was going to use a dairy knife to prepare for the meat meal (which is a violation of kosher standards according to strict interpretation of the law), but David and Abby discuss among themselves how they do not really observe Shabbos unless the parents are watching. Abby and Ben drive to dinner, vape and feign purchasing a bottle of wine that they actually brought themselves, but pretend to have taken an Uber; the latter would be a rabbinical violation, which is deemed acceptable, while actively driving is a more severe biblical violation, which the parents would not find appropriate.

Meg's parents text her to inform her that they are running late due to heavier than expected traffic, while the rest of the family is not using phones because it's Shabbos. While talking, Ben and Adam get into what appears to be a regular pattern of insults, and as pay back, Adam spikes Ben's drink with 3 laxatives from his medicine collection. Ben soon has to use the bathroom, and in the hurry to unbutton his pants and use the toilet, he tries to open the seat with his foot, slips on the rug, and hits his head on the sink while falling and his fate remains unknown until he is discovered soon. In his absence, the family asks Abby why she's still with Ben, as she had indicated that she intended to break it off, and she admit to be stalling for some unspecified reason. While discussing Ben, Abby mentions that he has colitis and Adam, worried that he spiked Ben's drink with laxatives, goes to check on him. He finds him locked in the bathroom, dead on the floor and having experienced involuntary loss of bowel control.

One by one, Adam involves his family to deal with the problem, as they discover that Ben is dead and they need to get rid of the body before Meg's parents find out and also to avoid detection so as not to be caught.

Cast

• Kyra Sedgwick as Ellen
• Method Man as Jordan
• Jon Bass as David
• Milana Vayntrub as Abby
• Ashley Zukerman as Benjamin
• David Paymer as Richard
• Meghan Leathers as Meg
• Catherine Curtin as Beth
• Theo Taplitz as Adam
• John Bedford Lloyd as John
• Josh Mostel as Saul

Release

Bad Shabbos premiered on June 10, 2024, in the Spotlight Narrative section of that year's Tribeca Festival.^[5] It was released in the United States on May 23, 2025.^[6] The movie was later released on Netflix in October 2025.^[7]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 35 critics' reviews are positive.^[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 53 out of 100, based on six critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[9]

Accolades

Award	Ceremony date	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Tribeca Festival	16 June 2024	Audience Award	Bad Shabbos	Won	[10]