Product Details

• Actors: Lesley Ann Warren, Michael Lerner, Shiri Appleby, Jack Klugman, Meredith Scott Lynn
• Directors: Salvador Litvak
• Writers: Salvador Litvak, Nina Davidovich
• Producers: Salvador Litvak, Amy Salko Robertson, Horatio C. Kemeny, Steven J. Wolfe
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English, Hebrew
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Arts Alliance Amer
• DVD Release Date: August 22, 2006
• Run Time: 86 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000FWHVL4
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,732 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "When Do We Eat?" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Its the worlds fastest seder gone horribly awry. Ira prides himself on running the fastest seder in the west. This year his son slips him a dose of ecstasy at the beginning of the evening in order to give him a new perspective. Mom brings a special friend to dinner & now the family is taking sides. Studio: Arts Alliance America Release Date: 08/14/2007 Starring: Michael Lerner Lesley Ann Warren

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny and Entertaining, October 25, 2006

By 

Zalmyman (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Do We Eat? (DVD)

'When do we eat?' For years Jews have been asking that same question at the Passover Seder (festive meal), a meal which tends to go on for a very long time, with all its prayers and traditions, the food being just about the last thing on the schedule.

In the family comedy 'When do we eat?', Ira Stuckman (Michael Lerner) tries to hurry things up as much as possible, when he gathers his unique dysfuctional family together for what he declares will be 'the fastest seder', but it turns out to be everything but.

From lesbians to druggies to sex surrogates, this family has it all. The oldest son, is an ex-yuppie, who has now become a Baal Teshuva (a seculer Jew who 'returns' to observant Judaism), a part played perfectly by Max Greenfield.

The script is clever and funny from beggining to end, although some of the sit-commish lines will make you roll your eyes. As the seder moves along, it seems everyone's got dirty laundry to air, and all sorts of bottled up feelings and revelations start surfacing. While some of it is way over the top, the film remains reasonably believable thanks to the actors, who stay within character and play out their parts well. The film manages to be funny without being too outrageous, and meaningful without being too preachy.

Some of the jokes may be too 'inside' for non-Jews to get, and too offensive for Jews to appreciate. As one critic put it 'If this film was not made entirely by Jews, it'd be considered anti-semitic'. Perhaps, but as a Jewish person myself I found it to be stereotypical in the same way that 'My big fat Greek wedding' stereotypes Greeks, but not offensive by any means (atleast not for people who have a sense of humor).

Bottom Line: The Movie is fun, entertaining and heartwarming and should not be taken too seriously.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Passover Sedar that's anything but ordinary, August 30, 2006

By 

Meryl K. Evans "Content Maven behind meryl.net" (Plano, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Do We Eat? (DVD)

You know it's going to be a bad day when you need two boxes of matzah on the night of the first seder. Sure enough, a family's biggest problems come to light during the Passover seder as they try to get through the "world's fastest Passover seder," which turns out anything but. Instead of rock 'n roll, prepare for sex, drugs and zany antics of the Jewish kind.

Ira and Peggy Stuckman (Michael Lerner and Lesley Ann Warren) head the diverse blended family consisting of a son addicted to drugs and Dad thinks he cured him; a yuppie-turned-Hassidic son who won't work with Dad in his Christmas ornament business; a daughter who is a sex therapist and Dad knows it; a daughter who is a lesbian from Ira's first marriage; and an autistic son. Bring together a family like that, and you know it's not going to be an ordinary or speedy seder.

Ira and his father Artur (Jack Klugman) lost most of their family during the Holocaust. Grandpa is still angry with Ira for not going into the family haberdasher business and makes him feel like the least favorite despite of being the only surviving child. Still, Ira urges his Hassidic son to go into the Christmas ornament business.

Out of respect for her recently turned Hassidic son, Peggy hires Rafi, a tough-looking Israeli with an eye patch, to build the tent so the family can hold a seder like the old days complete with pillows and lamb roasting on a spit. Before the seder begins, the drug addict fetches antacid for Dad and adds Ecstasy to give him a different perspective. That's only the beginning of the family's journey as Dad starts seeing things including Moses and starts believing he, like Moses, must lead the family out of darkness into the promised land of acceptance and forgiveness.

Though a spoof-style comedy, the story intertwines humanity and lessons without an overdose of sweetness. The family gathering can easily be seen as a Thanksgiving gathering, a Christmas dinner or any other family get-together where members clash over who they are and what they want others to be.

When Do We Eat? rolls humor, quirkiness, Jewish traditions, inspiration, spirituality and a dysfunctional family into a 90-minute funfest. Don't expect it to be the funniest movie ever. If you're OK with Jewish and drug humor, prepare for a good time as the movie contains plenty of laugh-a-lot moments and plenty of witty and animated dialogue.

Extras: not captioned or subtitled.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FUNNY STUFF!! Meaningful and Uplifting!, January 9, 2007

By 

anon - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Do We Eat? (DVD)

This is a wonderful film for a person of ANY faith tradition, especially if you have had to endure "difficult" family gatherings...but if you also enjoy Jewish humor, THIS IS IT! The creative, hilarious, and sometimes tender scenes are surrounded by the story of a "dysfunctional" family Seder.

Be sure to watch for a couple of minutes after the end credits begin rolling for a final scene. Also, don't miss the Rabbis who discuss the different layers of meaning to the film in the "special features" section. Their insights are universal in thought, entertaining, and quite meaningful for anyone. I watched the film again after viewing the Rabbis' commentary and enjoyed it even more. The soundtrack is fabulous, which includes the Moshav Band's "Higher and Higher" (the placement of the song within the context of the film is genius, and I am still laughing).

The film is extremely well done...a main course of hilarious scenes with side dishes of family dynamics and the true meaning of life. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!! Don't be meshugeh...buy it already!