I was intrigued by the synopsis and bought the film on video for a £1. It was well worth the spend and my wife and I enjoyed watching it. We have had some exposure to the North London Jewish community, having attended several weddings and various other functions and although we didn't recognise the over-the-top histrionics of Suzie Gold's mother, most of the film was a reasonably accurate portrayal of the milieu. Rebecca Green's script was very good. The treatment of Suzie's on-off- relationship with a non-Jewish boyfriend is apparently superficial but it dealt with a difficult subject generously. Generally, the film pokes glancing fun at the community, such that whilst not holding it up to ridicule, it nevertheless shines light on aspects of Jewish life that non-Jews might find both revealing and interesting. I thought the ending was clichéd and lacked originality - it showed, more than anything else in the film,the weaknesses of the script and direction, but who cares? It was a bit of froth and everyone will recognise the homage paid to other films with greater merit.
15 Reviews
My Big Fat Jewish Wedding
Sonny-2329 August 2003
This is quite an entertaining little film, very much in the vein of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'. Like that hit movie, it deals with family and cultural expectations when it comes to marriage. Summer Phoenix stars as Suzie Gold, a true romantic who wants to marry for love rather than prestige.
I laughed a lot at the start of the film. A fine ensemble cast includes Miriam Karlin, Frances Barber and Stanley Townsend.
What lets the film down, in my opinion, is the total lack of chemistry between Ms Phoenix and Leo Gregory as Darren, the love of Suzie's life. You just don't believe that these two are crazy about each other which is a shame as it's otherwise quite fun.
I laughed a lot at the start of the film. A fine ensemble cast includes Miriam Karlin, Frances Barber and Stanley Townsend.
What lets the film down, in my opinion, is the total lack of chemistry between Ms Phoenix and Leo Gregory as Darren, the love of Suzie's life. You just don't believe that these two are crazy about each other which is a shame as it's otherwise quite fun.
Entertaining if clichéd
gsmishka1 September 2006
First off, I'm not Jewish, but I am British. Several people here have written about how clichéd the characters and situations are in this movie. But remember that this is a comedy and so much comedy relies on cliché and exaggeration for humour. We're meant to see many of these characters are stereotypes and well, I enjoyed it! It made me laugh and entertained me. I think I can understand that if you are Jewish you might not like the idea of such caricatures as being given exposure, but lighten up - we know that what we're watching isn't meant to be a documentary on one section of our society.
This is just one of several comedy films centred around so-called 'communities' to appear from the UK in recent years. Previous film offerings such as 'East is East', 'Bend It Like Beckham', 'Anita and Me' and TV series like 'The Kumars' all rely on stereotypes for humour but have focused on the Asian community. I think (I hope) it is a sign of a healthy society that we can laugh together with entertainment like this.
This is just one of several comedy films centred around so-called 'communities' to appear from the UK in recent years. Previous film offerings such as 'East is East', 'Bend It Like Beckham', 'Anita and Me' and TV series like 'The Kumars' all rely on stereotypes for humour but have focused on the Asian community. I think (I hope) it is a sign of a healthy society that we can laugh together with entertainment like this.
Its not as bad as you might think...
lolastareyes10 December 2004
I actually quite liked this film. It wasn't so over the top like "My big fat Greek wedding" a little less subtle in its approach . Yes, there are some stereotypes, but they keep the audience engaged and interested.
Summer Phoenixs' performance as the title character is incredibly impressive. Her accent is believable and she manages to pull of a few laughs as her character does, at times, make a fool of herself. This lovelorn character narrates the film connecting her even more with the audience and explaining some of the Jewish rituals.
A enjoyable film, even for those who aren't Jewish.
4/5 stars
Summer Phoenixs' performance as the title character is incredibly impressive. Her accent is believable and she manages to pull of a few laughs as her character does, at times, make a fool of herself. This lovelorn character narrates the film connecting her even more with the audience and explaining some of the Jewish rituals.
A enjoyable film, even for those who aren't Jewish.
4/5 stars
Not as engaging as Kissing Jessica Stein
oliver-12324 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Some comments on this film have been unfair, I think. It is not simply a transposition of the Big Fat Greek Wedding plot to Jewish London, although there are considerable similarities. There was a greater seriousness in elements such as the heroine's relationship with her grandmother, her feelings about the heavily traditional Jewish culture in which she has grown up, and her attempt to fit in with cultural expectations of her, reaching the point of what has to be one of the crassest ways to propose (by the "wrong man") ever shown on film.
In some ways it had more in common with Kissing Jessica Stein, but I cared a lot more about the characters in that, I have to say. I could not warm to the non-Jewish boyfriend, and many of the characters did not really come alive, though the repeatedly volcanic mother and the understated but ultimately forceful father were well played. Summer Phoenix certainly did a good job of playing the heroine, sounding as much of a Londoner as any of them.
In some ways it had more in common with Kissing Jessica Stein, but I cared a lot more about the characters in that, I have to say. I could not warm to the non-Jewish boyfriend, and many of the characters did not really come alive, though the repeatedly volcanic mother and the understated but ultimately forceful father were well played. Summer Phoenix certainly did a good job of playing the heroine, sounding as much of a Londoner as any of them.
Not worth even looking at the cover!!!!
kibrisli723 April 2005
I'm sorry i haven't given any film a rating like this before. But I've never seen a film thats so craaaaaaap!!!!!!! This has already been done in my big fat Greek wedding! That was a half decent film and if you've never seen it, it was a decent film to watch. This just tries to imitate the same thing with a Jewish family. I used to love British films. They had great stories and thrived on that rather than the big effects of Hollywood films. But this is so awful!!!! I cant believe its ratings are like a 5 at the moment.. I cant believe i was talked into watching this!! The jokes are so dry, they have been done and dusted so many times. There is nothing original in this film that i can say stands out from any other film. Therefore i don't see the point in watching it!
Its two-dimensional, unappealing and poorly formulated characters and storyline only partially account for the miserable wreckage that was this film
Darnley30 September 2005
I was very tempted to give it 1 star, but since I remember smiling once or twice during this alleged comedy, I thought I'd be lenient. There were one or two meaningful observations in this film (like the little brother who smoked marijuana and thought he was a gangster), but on the whole, the portrayal of north London Jewish life had no depth whatsoever. The script sounded as though it had been written by a fourteen year old for a religious studies assignment. I cringe when I think back to the scene in which they're having shabbat dinner at the start of the film, having one of the most contrived, would-never-sound-like-that-in-real-life debates. I won't even begin to go into the appalling chemistry between suzie and her apparent soulmate, or the pathetic caricatures that were her parents and friends. This film was full of stereotypes but had none of the warmth and likability that you had in my big fat Greek wedding, which was itself not lacking in stereotyping. Simplifying characters and family dynamics only works when there's an underlying truth, warmth and sincerity to it. Suzie Gold contained all the negative and un-insightful stereotypes of Jewish life but was too simply and narrowly conceived to portray the fundamental redeeming features of the Jewish family that have been able to sustain it. The love, warmth, and well-intentioned overbearingness of my big fat Greek wedding, that made it so enjoyable, were sorely missing from suzie gold.
OK, so it's too Jewish, but I liked it!
brian218 March 2004
This is the tale of Suzie Gold, a 20 something Jewish girl in North London. The film takes place in the months leading up to her sister's wedding to a nice Jewish boy. Her family are semi-orthodox, but have traditional views as far as marrying out of the faith. Suzie falls for a non-Jewish guy called Darren. However she cannot introduce Darren to her family because of their perceived attitude.
I and my partner are both Jewish. When we saw the film at the local cinema I suspect that most of the audience were Jewish. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed the film, but my girlfriend hated it thinking it was too stereotypical. To me the film reminded me a little of the excellent TV play The Barmitzvah Boy, and it had a stronger and more believable story than the other Jewish film of recent years, Leon The Pig Farmer.
I thought Summer Phoenix put in a very convincing performance as Suzie Gold - her North London accent was good enough to fool me, and the film was very entertaining.
I and my partner are both Jewish. When we saw the film at the local cinema I suspect that most of the audience were Jewish. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed the film, but my girlfriend hated it thinking it was too stereotypical. To me the film reminded me a little of the excellent TV play The Barmitzvah Boy, and it had a stronger and more believable story than the other Jewish film of recent years, Leon The Pig Farmer.
I thought Summer Phoenix put in a very convincing performance as Suzie Gold - her North London accent was good enough to fool me, and the film was very entertaining.
One of the most trite Jewvies I have ever seen
RabbiZvi26 September 2005
Suzie Gold contains some of the most ingrained stereotypes that exist about Jews. The movie is the definition of trite. In addition, although I know that some of the scenes are based on real life, they were strung together to create what was not even a half challenging examination of the issues of the movie. If you want to see a film which is schlock and full of worn clichés this is the one. As I left the cinema about ten other Jews who had also had the misfortune to see it were complaining about the two-dimensional film. I would have scored it a 0 but was not offered the option. If you want to see a film which promotes Jewish values and examines dilemmas in the Jewish religion, then see The Chosen. If you want to see a film about the Holocaust see Schindler's List or The Pianist. If you want to see a film which trivialises Judaism, the Jewish community, Jewish Culture and intermarriage, then by all means see Suzie Gold. You might want to have a lobotomy first.
unfair rating!
tatararabuga3 December 2007
Warning: Spoilers
i had to fight the temptation of giving it a 10 just to see the avrg go up...gave it a 7 - good film - sweet and deep at the same time.
what's with all the rubbish about stereotype? it's a comedy! except for the boring anthony. if anthony was more normal, that'd've been a great touch as she'd have had to choose between love and 'absence of love' in every way.
what's best about suzie gold is - it puts so much importance on her 'identity' -something she couldn't walk away from....at the same time they showed the importance of loving ur heritage and following ur heart.
another, bit less good film is sabah. try to catch that too.
what's with all the rubbish about stereotype? it's a comedy! except for the boring anthony. if anthony was more normal, that'd've been a great touch as she'd have had to choose between love and 'absence of love' in every way.
what's best about suzie gold is - it puts so much importance on her 'identity' -something she couldn't walk away from....at the same time they showed the importance of loving ur heritage and following ur heart.
another, bit less good film is sabah. try to catch that too.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding...Part 2
charmed88-16 March 2004
This is very much a smilar story to 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding', but nevertheless was very fun to watch. There was great chemistry between the actors and even though it was very funny I have to say I do prefer 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'. That is just a classic!
It revolves aroung a young Jewish girl who, like 'Toula Portakalos', wants to marry for love. It will have you laughing, I have to say, and I think us brits have done a good job in making the film. It is almost as good.
This will have many nominations for awards in my opinion, but the letdown was actually the lack of chemistry between the two main actors, but all in all, very enjoyable. :)
It revolves aroung a young Jewish girl who, like 'Toula Portakalos', wants to marry for love. It will have you laughing, I have to say, and I think us brits have done a good job in making the film. It is almost as good.
This will have many nominations for awards in my opinion, but the letdown was actually the lack of chemistry between the two main actors, but all in all, very enjoyable. :)
Much better than I expected. Recommended.
john_eg_hunt16 September 2006
Happened upon this film late one night on the TV, when I might have been a tad pickled. I wasn't expecting too much but I thought I would give it 20 minutes or so before retiring to bed. Before I knew it, I was hooked, I was genuinely interested in what was going to happen to the main characters. Granted, it was riddled with stereotypes and clichés but enjoyable all the same. There was a time when I would never have showed my emotions openly but I cried three times during this film. I found it to be a sympathetic portrayal of the difficulties of living and working in a multicultural society when your parents, their parents and your 'community' expect you to behave in a certain way and to follow a path that does not deviate from the norm. I found redeeming features in all of the characters and although the film poked fun at some of their habits and actions, I thought it was done with affection rather than malice.
Fiddler on the Roof 2004
kinch13 December 2004
_Suzie Gold_ takes the first act from _Fiddler on the Roof_, stirs in a little _Pride and Prejudice_, and tries to update this blend for 2004. While the Jewish traditions, and anxieties, have survived intact into the new millennium, the chief innovation for the young seems to be four-letter words. And while the plot revolves around the dilemma of "marrying out" (outside of the Jewish faith), it isn't clear why any of these nice Jewish girls should care about marriage, since they all are ready to sleep with their boyfriends, whether likable or not. This ribald caricature will prevent this film from matching the wide popularity of _Greek Wedding_, which is too bad.
If you can overlook these contradictions, the portrayals are charming, the ladies handsome, and the ancient faith is shown to be alive and well. Mom, Dad, and Grandma all come through for the perplexed little Suzie, although she does what she wants instead of what they would think she ought. Suzie's father is such a warm and wise fellow, that he could singlehandedly carry the story, and he indeed must ultimately make the right call for his little girl. The film is entertaining, but not because anything is really resolved in the end (and the plot is as old as storytelling itself), but rather because the people and events are fun to watch, and a few are worth emulating.
If you can overlook these contradictions, the portrayals are charming, the ladies handsome, and the ancient faith is shown to be alive and well. Mom, Dad, and Grandma all come through for the perplexed little Suzie, although she does what she wants instead of what they would think she ought. Suzie's father is such a warm and wise fellow, that he could singlehandedly carry the story, and he indeed must ultimately make the right call for his little girl. The film is entertaining, but not because anything is really resolved in the end (and the plot is as old as storytelling itself), but rather because the people and events are fun to watch, and a few are worth emulating.
Cliché, kitschy, and excellent
kenhe6 February 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Suzie Gold is certainly a niche film, the antics of a typical upper middle class Jewish family in Great Britain, but could just as well have been cast in the United States, or any country in Europe. Suzie Gold is certainly cliché, the overbearing Jewish mother, the passive Jewish father, the Jewish Princess daughter, and the whole social climbing Jewish social scene. The dialog was priceless, and very very accurate for that Jewish social group. The attitude towards the Jewish religion, that is, stylish, flexible, and comical, even though pretty much true to life, still bordered on kitsch. Summer Phoenix, not being Jewish, still did a great job in what was probably a very difficult role. The only trouble was that being a shiksa, she tended to act like one. I could personally relate to this film, the characters were really taken from real life, the situations were entirely believable, and conversations were the sort I have actually been involved in. And the dilemmas, that is, a younger daughter marrying before her desperate older sister, intermarriage, the whole Jewish mother shtick, the Jewish mother in law shtick, the Jewish daughter as princess, and the Jewish son as prince, they all rang very true, sadly in the case of the character of Anthony. I do doubt that non Jews would find this movie to be very entertaining, except in an exotic sense, or as a short look into a reality of a small part of the sometimes odd Jewish world. But then I felt that this was a movie made by Jews and for Jews, thus it would be understood and be entertaining only for Jews, and only for those Jews who can stand outside our own social, religious, communal, and ethnic scene, and laugh at and cry at our own foibles. I felt that Suzie Gold was overall a very sweet film.
Jewish witty and realistic bitter sweet comedy
ayaa11121 April 2011
The story of a Jewish girl who comes from a conservative family - and wants to brake free. But Not your stereotypical Jewish family - one memorable scene is in which the pushy mother Yells at rebellious son (who "thinks hes black" by Suzan - Golden comments) and start throwing his beloved tapes out the window. After acting totally insane she smiles to a next door neighbor and says "cids ey?" - cracked me up. The mom is superb at being a "caracter". Another scene the rebellious son doesn't want to go to a religious ceremony, because he "dosen't even believe in god" and the mother answers - whats that has to do with it.. ha ha. It's not so "Jewish" film if you can read between the lines you can see an accurate portrayal of hypocrisy within a "riligiose" family - maybe looking OK for the neighbors isn't the most important thing - Everyone have their dirty little secrets - and that's only humane. if you get the humor, you'll enjoy.
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