Shiva Baby

Name: Shiva Baby
Genre: Comedy
Released: April 2, 2021
Duration: 77 min
Rating: 79
Cast: Danny Deferrari, Deborah Offner, Dianna Agron, Fred Melamed, Jackie Hoffman

2021

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 46 Ratings

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7.2

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7.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 46 Ratings

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Shiva Baby

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Movie Details & Credits

Utopia | Release Date: April 2, 2021 | Not Rated

Starring: Danny Deferrari, Deborah Offner, Dianna Agron, Fred Melamed, Jackie Hoffman, Molly Gordon, Polly Draper, Rachel Sennott, Sondra James, Vivien Landau

Summary: At a Jewish funeral service with her parents, a college student runs into her sugar daddy.

Director: Emma Seligman

Genre(s): Comedy

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 77 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Lauren J. Coates

Apr 2, 2021

Paced to perfection and grounded by a magnetic leading performance, Shiva Baby is as painfully awkward as it is impossible to look away from. Read full review

Jason Bailey

Apr 13, 2021

It’s rare for a film to simultaneously balance such wildly divergent tones, to interweave big laughs with gut-wrenching discomfort, but Seligman pulls it off. Read full review

Linda Barnard

Mar 25, 2021

Seligman’s tight script landed her on Variety’s list of 10 Screenwriters to Watch for 2020. She uses classic Jewish humour and archetypal characters here that echo 1960s comedy albums and TV sitcoms but freshens it with Generation Z angst and a cascade of emotional pileups. Read full review

Tomris Laffly

Sep 15, 2020

Having grown up in a tight-knit Jewish community herself, Seligman tightly orchestrates it all with loving cultural specificity and nuance, working her satirical muscles to a thrilling extent. Read full review

Ty Burr

Apr 7, 2021

From its title on down to the rugelach, Shiva Baby is an instant classic in the Jewish comedy of mortification, a genre that combines hilarity, anxiety, resentment and schmaltz. Read full review

Kate Taylor

Sep 16, 2020

The concept and the laughs hold strong amid all the craziness because Seligman has such affectionate sympathy for her mendacious protagonist. Read full review

Gary Goldstein

Apr 1, 2021

Unfortunately, writer-director Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby, despite its thematic acuity, loopy vitality and committed acting, doesn’t add up to enough in its too-brief 72 minutes (plus end credits) to warrant all the cross-wired mayhem that gets us over the movie’s dubious finish line. Read full review

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User Reviews

DawdlingPoet

Feb 16, 2022

This is a quite claustrophobic feeling domestic drama, with a really good use of stringed instrument type music to really bring home the tension felt in certain scenes. The camerawork used also really highlights the almost suffocating atmosphere the main character finds herself in. I thoughtThis is a quite claustrophobic feeling domestic drama, with a really good use of stringed instrument type music to really bring home the tension felt in certain scenes. The camerawork used also really highlights the almost suffocating atmosphere the main character finds herself in. I thought the main performance was very well done by Rachel Sennott. I also liked the way strong lighting/colours were used to again highlight the sense of I suppose intensity and tension present in scenes. Yes, I'd recommend this film as a good indie film, a good film about social judgements in a Jewish funeral setting I guess.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Itsmaya

Oct 31, 2021

This movie just felt so good, unique and fun!
The jokes definitely landed for me, the acting in this film was also incredible and so was the story which was so good and enthralling!
To come to the point I enjoyed this movie a lot and can absolutely recommend you to watch it.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

ChanekeCholo

Jan 7, 2022

The simple existence of a young woman representing one of the most stressful moments in life, when you have no way to go.
Shiva could be translated to what we know as a novenary in Mexico, but it isn't similar at all, it manages to create an atmosphere of strangeness and disorientationThe simple existence of a young woman representing one of the most stressful moments in life, when you have no way to go.
Shiva could be translated to what we know as a novenary in Mexico, but it isn't similar at all, it manages to create an atmosphere of strangeness and disorientation despite the film occurs in only one location, this done on purpose due to the main theme that is the acceptation.
What I love about this indie films is that the director always take advantage of what is available for their films, in this case, Emma Seligman made an excellent debut as a director and writer.
The performances were very organic in every moment, these being the ones that had me immersed in the film all the time. It has a great script, but when it's about the proof of a concept and not to tell a story as such, is difficult to enter and understand what the movie wants to show you, like the director said "This film is a bar joke".… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Brent_Marchant

Jan 20, 2022

We've all had those uncomfortably embarrassing moments where we'd like to run away and hide -- but can't. And director Emma Seligman's debut feature brings that concept front and center in this wry but hilarious, laugh-our-loud comedy about a young Jewish college student/"working girl" whoWe've all had those uncomfortably embarrassing moments where we'd like to run away and hide -- but can't. And director Emma Seligman's debut feature brings that concept front and center in this wry but hilarious, laugh-our-loud comedy about a young Jewish college student/"working girl" who attends a shiva filled with unexpectedly awkward moments involving her parents, a snarky onetime friend, and her primary client, a young sugar daddy who ends up being full of surprises. As the protagonist wrestles with the dirt that others have dug up about her, she simultaneously seeks to manage the equally damning secrets that she subsequently unearths about them during what is supposed to be a respectful, solemn event, one that itself is loaded with a boatload of cultural-based laughs. The rampant discomfort here is effectively brought to life by the fine lead performance of Rachel Sennott, coupled with an excellent supporting cast highlighted by Fred Melamed and Polly Draper, as well as a suitably dissonant background score and sound design. Admittedly, there are a few sequences that tend to drag slightly and an ending that feels a little underdeveloped, but these minor faults are more than made up for by everything else this wickedly delightful little indie gem has to offer. So pass the lox, bagels and cream cheese already.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

r96sk

Mar 7, 2022

A little light, though 'Shiva Baby' is a good watch.

It's cool to see the story expanded from the 2018 short, with additional depth added to the main character - as well as seeing a couple of new additions, of course. Rachel Sennott reprises the lead role and puts in a very solidA little light, though 'Shiva Baby' is a good watch.

It's cool to see the story expanded from the 2018 short, with additional depth added to the main character - as well as seeing a couple of new additions, of course. Rachel Sennott reprises the lead role and puts in a very solid performance.

I wanted a bit more from it in terms of content, as I was pleased to see the credits when the already brief run time (78mins) ticked over - it drags out the story a tad. No big deal though, it's still watchable for sure.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

paltareina

Nov 16, 2021

no one told me it would be a horror movie! the score and the cinemaphotography are really good and they create a very disturbing atmosphere. However, in the end I think the result is flat, mainly because of the script and how it drags on

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

JLuis_001

Apr 5, 2021

From what I had heard about this film, frankly I must say that I was expecting something much more substantial, and above all funnier, but it rarely succeeds.

Shiva Baby lasts only 77 minutes and is based on a short film of the same that it also directed by the same director. For me it'sFrom what I had heard about this film, frankly I must say that I was expecting something much more substantial, and above all funnier, but it rarely succeeds.

Shiva Baby lasts only 77 minutes and is based on a short film of the same that it also directed by the same director.

For me it's pretty clear that this story should have stayed that way, because even with the short duration, it's incredibly notorious how it tries to extend the narrative and can hardly do so in a way that justifies the whole thing.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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