A 12-year-old Jewish boy teetering on the cusp of manhood finds his eagerly anticipated Bar Mitzvah threatened by a lethal combination of World Cup fever, the loss of the family business, and the shenanigans of a mischievous elder sibling in a coming-of-age comedy directed by Paul Weiland and starring Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Rea, and Gregg Sulkin. The year is 1966, and Bernie Rubens (Sulkin) is about to become a man. As the date of his Bar Mitzvah draws nearer, however, it seems like the
stars have aligned to prevent it from being the blow-out bash he has always dreamt of. Not only is his wayward older brother drawing away all the attention in the family, but his father's business is slowly going down the drain as well. To make matters worse, England has finally fought their way to the World Cup Final, and the big game is scheduled for the very same day as Bernie's Bar Mitzvah. Will Bernie's friends and family be able to resist World Cup fever and make it to the celebration he has gleefully anticipated his entire childhood, or will the mania that has overtaken all of England pull a red card on the day that was supposed to be a clean-shot goal? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Sixty Six is also about accepting parents with all their frailties, coming to terms with the unfairness of life, and finding a way to switch the focus to the wonders we do have to celebrate.
Sixty Six may find a niche audience, but instead of depicting a boy's first steps toward manhood -- ceremony aside -- it turns into an uninvolving portrait of self-absorption.
Cleaves too closely to the pattern set out by more original films with similar subject matter. Its obvious distinctions of time and place come through in clever details, but these don't seem to serve Weiland's autobiography so much as situate it into a fa
Sweet if minor coming of age comedy drama with a winning performance from Gregg Sulkin as Bernie the young boy who has almost everything that can go wrong leading up to his Bar Mitzvah go wrong. Helena Bonham Carter and Eddie Marsan are effective as his parents. Drags a little but the ending makes up it.
November 13, 2009
jay nixon
Super Reviewer
A very sweet little film with a good cast, nice story and feel good factor. It wasn't as funny as I'd thought it would be, it's actually more sentimental than that but quite touching all the same.
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