13: The Musical

IN A NUTSHELL:

After his parents’ divorce, Evan Goldman moves to New York City to a small town in Indiana.  As his 13th birthday nears, he must master the complex social circles of his new school and win friends by turning his Bar Mitzvah into the coolest party ever.

The movie is based on the popular Broadway musical that featured an all-kid cast for the first time ever.  The play was based on the book by Dan Elish and directed by Tamra Davis.

THINGS I LIKED:

• The adorable lead is Eli Golden who does a fantastic job.
• Other talented cast members include Josh Peck, Debra Messing, Rhea Perlman, Gabriella Uhl, Jonathan Lengel, Liam Wignall, Frankie McNellis, Shechinah Mpumlwana, and more.
• For young performers, there were some great dancers and singers.
• Due to their youth, there is a lot of energy and enthusiasm in each scene.
• A few times, I felt a vibe similar to Dear Evan Hansen. That’s a huge compliment.
• There’s no big villain, but just Tweens trying to grow up and figure out who they are.
• In order to help kids fall in love with the song, Netflix uploaded all of the musical numbers to its kid’s YouTube channel before the movie premiered.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

• A few times, you can see that the audio and video don’t quite sync when people are singing.
• I’ve been a fan of Debra Messing for many years, but I was really distracted every time she was on screen, trying to figure out what plastic surgery she did to her face.  She’s always been beautiful and didn’t need to do anything to her face.
• I didn’t feel the genuine emotional beats I was hoping for.  Everything, including the emotion, looked very polished and rehearsed.
• Some have complained that the movie is too sugary-sweet.  While that may be true, is that such a bad thing in today’s angry, cynical world?
• The big challenges for the kids are how to get that first kiss and who will attend the Bar Mitzvah party.  In other words, the story is simple.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:    

• No profanity
• Some LGBTQ+ kids are represented.
• It’s explained in the beginning that the boy’s father had an affair and now his parents are divorced.
• If you’re not Jewish, talk to your kids about the Jewish faith and some of the customs and traditions you see in the movie.

THEMES:

• Jealousy
• Divorce
• Friendship
• Romance and getting that first kiss
• Finding yourself
• Forgiveness
• Coming-of-age
• Becoming a young man
• Jewish culture and traditions

You can see the full review on the Movie Review Mom YouTube channel.

tmc.io contributor: MovieReviewMom

I review movies at MovieReviewMom.com and on my Movie Review Mom YouTube channel!