There comes a time when an actor has achieved a certain level of success that they can establish their very own production company, so that can solely concentrate on the their own interests and projects.

That’s exactly what Adam Sandler did when he started tickling box offices in the right direction, which led to him forming Happy Madison: the ‘Happy’ taken from 1996’s Happy Gilmore and ‘Madison’ from 1995’s Billy Madison, both of which were Sandler vehicles.

The company has since gone on to produce a number of Sandler projects, as well as a few that saw him take a producing credit.

And although he appears in this film, he steps aside to allow his daughter Sunny Sandler take centre stage in her first leading role in this coming of age comedy.

Within the Jewish community, the biggest event in a young girl’s life is the Bat Mitzvah, which she has at 13, and is a ritual celebrating her new independence. It’s an exciting time that comes with many responsibilities, none more so important than the party that comes with it.

For best friends Stacy (Sunny Sandler) and Lydia (Samantha Lorraine), it’s something they’ve been planning in their heads for quite some time, because you only have one shot at getting it right.

It’s supposed to be the best time of their lives, but when a boy gets in the way of things, it not only throws their Bat Mitzvah plans in doubt, but more importantly their entire friendship.

Sandler is used to having the term nepotism associated with his projects, as he’s not shy of getting members of his family involved in them. But with four Sandlers in main roles here, this one certainly takes the biscuit. Not only does his daughter Sunny have the lead, but Sandler himself, his wife Jackie and their other daughter Sadie all feature too.

To be fair, Sunny is superb, and even though she may not have had to work her butt off for the role, she makes the most of her opportunity. She embodies a young teen at an awkward time of her life with real aplomb, and definitely shines as her name suggests.

There’s also real chemistry with her co-star and BFF in the film Lorraine, who as far as anyone knows, isn’t related to a Sandler, not closely at any rate. The two of them play off of each other really well, and deliver a truly believable friendship on screen.

That was the good news. Now for the bad. Although there’s a sense of originality in that it’s not often that Bat Mitzvahs get much time screen, especially when compared to Bar Mitzvahs, which have a sub genre in cinema all of their own as is their representation on the big screen.

And yet the themes covered here are so very formulaic, with a boy that both girls fancy affecting their friendship. It could be said that that’s the point, that Bat Mitzvahs may well be seen as exclusive rituals, but at the end of the day, they are just an excuse for a party, where anything can happen, and really are no different to other coming of age parties. It’s a valid point, but the film has gone too far the other way in demystifying and normalising the event, making it sadly feel fairly bland overall.

It also doesn’t help that they all come from a prestigious background, with no hardship existing in their perfect bubble lives. The fact that the biggest drama here is when someone sees their best friend being kissed by the boy they like, tells you all you need to know.

There’s a scene where there’s a nice nod to the king of coming-of-age films John Hughes, with the family visiting a cinema that has a festival on of all his work. In a sense the film is not only paying homage to his classic works, that include Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, but also trying to associate itself with those films; unfortunately though, this is just too darn squeaky clean to be compared to such classics of the genre, and in truth has more in common with a safe, trite Disney teen film than anything else.

Much like a Bat Mitzvah, the film works well as a coming of age party for Sunny Sandler, who does show some promise in her bright performance. But for the film itself, it really has nothing else worth celebrating.