I’m not someone who normally cries watching a movie — or in general — but “Don’t Say Good Luck” made me sob. For once, I needed tissues for something other than my allergies.
Released Aug. 14, Netflix’s latest coming-of-age dramedy, “Don’t Say Good Luck,” could’ve easily been another predictable story about a high school theater kid chasing her dream role. Instead, director Julia Hart uses that familiar setup to tell a much more painful story about growing up when life refuses to wait.
Sunny Sandler — the daughter of comedy legend Adam Sandler — stars as Sophie Birenbaum, a high school student who lands the lead role of Jenna in her school’s production of “Waitress.” But what should be one of the most exciting moments of her life happens alongside the return of her mother’s cancer, forcing Sophie to balance rehearsals, friendships, romance and the reality that her family is changing.
Sandler’s range is easily the film’s biggest surprise. After starring in “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” she proves in “Don’t Say Good Luck” that she can portray characters with significantly more emotional weight.
Sophie never feels like a character who exists solely to make the audience cry. She’s still awkward, funny, selfish and occasionally frustrating in the way teenagers can be.
That complexity becomes especially important because “Don’t Say Good Luck” understands grief doesn’t suddenly make everything all consuming. Sophie can be devastated about her mom and still care about getting the lead. She can worry about her family and still get caught up in a crush.
The movie allows those emotions to coexist rather than turning Sophie into someone unrealistically mature.
But Sandler’s performance works as well as it does because of Melanie Lynskey, who plays her mother, Elizabeth. Their mother-daughter relationship is the emotional center of the movie.
Lynskey avoids reducing Elizabeth to a sick parent whose only role is to push Sophie’s story forward. She’s funny and loving, but there’s an exhaustion underneath her performance that becomes harder to ignore as the film continues.
Max Greenfield, Steve Buscemi and Bebe Neuwirth help keep the movie from becoming unbearably heavy. The Mother’s Day dinner is a perfect example, with the family joking around the table and falling into the same banter they would under normal circumstances, despite Elizabeth’s illness looming over them.
It’s a small moment, but the casual humor makes the Birenbaums feel like an actual family rather than characters waiting for the next sad scene.
The use of “Waitress” is also more than a convenient excuse to make the movie a musical. As Sophie becomes more aware of what’s happening at home, the songs she performs begin to convey a different meaning.
By the time the movie reaches “She Used to Be Mine,” the performance feels less like a high school musical number and more like Sophie finally releasing everything she’s spent the movie trying to hold together.
At 95 minutes, the film knows not to overstay its welcome. In just over an hour and a half, it tells a story about a daughter, a mother and a family trying to continue living normally when nothing about their situation feels ordinary.
I like to think I’m made of steel. But somewhere between watching Sophie step onto that stage and realizing that growing up sometimes means facing things you desperately wish you could avoid, “Don’t Say Good Luck” proved me wrong.
Contact Aaliyah Evertz at aevertz@alligator.org. Follow her on X @aaliyahevertz1.
Aaliyah Evertz is a UF journalism junior and the Summer 2026 Opinions Editor. This is her third semester at The Alligator, having previously served as The Avenue's entertainment and general assignment reporter. In her free time, she likes to read, bake and listen to true crime podcasts.
