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When Do We Eat?

Hollywood's first Seder

By MATT ASHARE | April 19, 2006

2.0 Stars

WHEN DO WE EAT?: It's a Passover miracle!

Until now, Hollywood has never tackled a Passover Seder. The meal is meant to be a highly organized affair (“seder” means “order” in Hebrew), scripted by a book (the Haggadah) that tells the ancient story with a little help from four questions, four cups of wine, a bunch of songs, and an unlimited supply of unleavened bread. When Do We Eat? — the implied fifth question — is also the title of Salvador Litvak’s predictable Passover farce. The Stuckermans exhibit more dysfunctions than a whole month of Dr. Phil. Repressed dad (Michael Lerner) makes his fortune manufacturing Christmas ornaments. His father (Jack Klugman), a Holocaust survivor, keeps a suitcase packed “just in case.” Then there are the kids: Nikki the sex therapist, Zeke the stoner, Lionel the autistic savant, Jennifer the lesbian from a previous marriage, and the newly Hassidic Ethan, whose incestuous feelings for first-cousin-once-removed Vanessa aren’t exactly unrequited. Not enough grist for the humor mill? Litvak throws a tab of ecstasy in dad’s antacid cocktail, crosses his fingers, and prays for comedy to ensue. Thanks to a competent cast and brisk pacing, he’s rewarded just often enough for this not to be a straight-to-video release — a Passover miracle of sorts.

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Topics: Reviews , Culture and Lifestyle, Food and Cooking, Ethnic Cuisines, More

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