What a shame.

This was my first interaction with 13 considering I have many friends who have performed the stage version before I knew them. They frequently mention their experiences with the show, so I have good associations with it.

I don’t know why the playwright botched the adaptation, but he did. As a Jew, I’m familiar with shitty, try-hard representation in the media. This is just obscene. I’ve never met another Jew who bases their whole personality around their B’nei Mitzvah. The fact that Evan is purely motivated by his party is just frustrating. I understand the desire for attention, but that’s not the way to do it. Plus, when Lucy stated that a Bar Mitzvah was when “everyone gets circumsized” just flat out made me cringe.

The directorial style was initially very interesting, making me want to watch the movie, but watching a 90-minute movie of it wasn’t worth it. Mixed with the overtly flashy cinematography, the movie feels tonally like a unicorn threw up on Falsettos.

I also noticed just how terrible the ILM Volume was during the title sequence was. You could flat out see where the physical set met the background, and it doesn’t blend well.

The cast did the best they could with a poor script and I respect that.

Poor JRB- he really got the shortest end of the stick.