JEWTOPIA

Once upon a time there was a play that ran Off Broadway for 3 and a half years. Most of the play’s humor involved jokes about Jewish stereotypes with occasional humor about body parts and bodily functions, and it made numerous references to the Jewish online dating website, JDate. The play’s two authors  Bryan Fogel and Sam Wolfson were on to a good thing as they got to star in it too. Then they had the bright idea of turning it into a movie for which they penned the screenplay, and Bryan Fogel directed a stellar cast of some very talented and well-known actors. But somewhere along the way something got seriously lost in translation, or simply what people considered amusing on stage was not so funny on the silver screen.

The movie is Jewtopia and it is without question one of the crassest and appalling unfunny movies that I have ever had to squirm my way through. It’s not just insulting to Jews, but to any Gentile with an ounce of intelligence and taste.

The story is of two young men who are best friends, Adam is Jewish and doesn’t want to marry his pushy fiance as he cannot bare the idea of having the same life as his parents.  Christian on the other hand as his name infers is not of the faith, but he wants to pretend that he is so he can marry a demanding J.A.P. so that he will never have to make another decision for himself again. It would have been so much easier if they simply had swapped parents & identities and had done with it, but no, Christian persuades his pal to ‘jew-ify’ him so that he can end up being bossed around for life.

There are very few stereotypes that Fogel didn’t manage to squeeze in and offend in this farce, and I felt for the cast who struggled to do the best they could …. they included Rita Wilson, Wendie Mallick, Jamie Lynn-Siegler, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Tom Arnold and Jon Lovitz.  They at least got paid, whereas I got nothing for my trouble except sheer embarrassment and more than a little annoyance.

No Stars.