2023 HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!
On the night before her wedding, Judy (Emily Nash) is transported back to the night before her Bat Mitzvah by a piece of apple cake. As she struggles with who and what she is, and her overbearing mother, she comes to realize that her version of Judy-ism is what is best for her and her fiance Jack (John Noble Barrack).
The concept of Judy-ism is a tad odd, there’s no way around that–and from the opening moments the cheesiness that exists in the story itself makes its way into all of the other aspects of the film as well. The acting is a bit overdone, the sound effects are a bit exaggerated, and the semi-fracture nature of the narrative is a bit frumpy. There’s both a lot going on in Judy-ism and nothing going on. It’s, in a lot of ways, the story of the way that everyone feels before the big day (any big day really). Judy is overwhelmed by the amount of things going on in her life, and her mother isn’t making things any better for her. We’ve all been there, where someone close to us, someone that should make things easier for us, piles on the stress that already exists. In this regard I believe that Judy-ism achieves what it's attempting to do–reach viewers on a personal level and express to them that they aren’t alone in these situations.
On the flipside, however, there is so much going on–and most of it is so specific. I can’t understand the stress of dealing with not wanting to play a role in the religion I was born into, I can’t understand the stress of trying to pick out the right cake for my wedding, and I don’t know what it’s like to lose a parent–all of these things finding success hinges on whether or not viewers have a personal connection to those things. Again, I don’t fully understand the things going on in this film–and I’m sure I’m not the only person to watch Judy-ism that feels the same. As a result of that much of what took place throughout the course of the film was difficult for me to connect with. With that it’s hard for me to comment on the validity of the things occurring on screen and the narrative as a whole–but I know that it created a level of separation that was never fixed.
I mentioned the fact that just about every aspect of Judy-ism is over exaggerated. The acting, the story (as far as I could understand), and just about everything else. As far as the acting goes, I don’t think this is on the actors so much as it is on Director Emily Lerer. With every single person dipping their toe into the pool of exaggeration, it seems that Lerer asked them to play their roles in this fashion, that she wanted them to be over the top throughout the course of Judy-ism. I can understand that some of the content could be heavy for those that could connect with it, and that the overacting would have helped to create some levity–but I feel that Judy-ism needed to pick a lane: comedy or drama, not a combination of the two. Tonally the film conflicts with itself, and I’m not sure that it ever really develops an effective balance in this regard. On the surface we have a story of someone being overwhelmed the night before a major, life-changing event–and Lerer should have leaned into simplicity in terms of the tone of the film as well, rather than doing too much and negatively affecting the film as a result.
Judy-ism is frumpy in more ways than one–and it hinders the film’s potential. Simplicity is the key here, and I think it could have worked wonders for the film. With all of that said, I believe that Judy-ism has the potential to reach viewers and connect with them on a personal level–but it has to be the right audience. I don’t think that I’m the target audience, as much of what was said and done throughout didn’t mean much to me or strike an emotional cord.
Directed by Emily Lerer.
Written by Emily Nash.
Starring Emily Nash, Tessa Michaelis, Sheri Effres, John Noble Barrack, Jonathan Fishman, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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