‘The Wedding Entertainer' is a comedy that will charm even nonbelievers - review

NOVEMBER 12, 2026 03:18Updated: NOVEMBER 12, 2026 03:22The Wedding Entertainer (The Tale of Moishe Badhan), which opened Thursday in theaters around Israel and which will open later in the US, is an enjoyable comedy with heart, set in the world of the ultra-Orthodox in Jerusalem.Even if you don’t know anything about the whole subculture of Hasidic wedding entertainers, and even if you are not particularly inclined to see a movie about the ultra-Orthodox, because of the continuing controversy about their refusal to serve in the military, you can still have fun watching this movie.That’s because The Wedding Entertainer is the latest collaboration by a very talented duo, director/writer Gidi Dar and actor/writer Shuli Rand, who have been working together for decades since they made Eddie King over 30 years ago.They are a kind of cinematic odd couple, since Dar is secular and Rand has been ultra-Orthodox for decades.But Rand grew up in a Modern Orthodox family and had a period when he was secular himself and starred in such films as Assi Dayan’s Life According to Agfa. But after he embraced religion and joined the haredi community, he eventually found his way back to acting and began collaborating on scripts with Dar, as well as acting in his movies.The movie features many terrific performances, led by Elon Gold, as the American interloper. (credit: Hadas Ezra/United King Films)The two have made several movies where Judaism is front and center, but which can be enjoyed by secular audiences.Their most recent film together, Legend of Destruction, which just became available to stream in the US, tells the story of the Jewish revolt against Rome and the fall of the Second Temple, and brings it to life through vivid pictures and a carefully structured script. Rand voiced the central character, as well as collaborating on the script.They also made Ushpizin more than 20 years ago, a movie that is similar to The Wedding Entertainer in that it tells a story set in the ultra-Orthodox world and has a fable-like quality.Ushpizin is about a newly religious, reformed criminal who was pressured into hosting some of his old buddies who wanted to draw him back into a life of crime, set during the holiday of Sukkot.The Wedding Entertainer tells the story of a reformed alcoholic who was once a successful wedding jester until his drinking ruined his career.Both are about men who, because of character flaws and mistakes, struggle to provide for their families, and are also true believers who see the world as infused with a divine spirit but are tripped up by the material side of life.The big difference is that while Ushpizin has comic moments, The Wedding Entertainer is extremely funny pretty much all the way through, although it also has an emotional core.It’s a perfect showcase for Rand, who is also a singer whose stage shows are filled with humorous patter.He plays the Moishe of the title, who was once a legendary wedding entertainer, or badhan, in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox community, where weddings are big business, until his drinking wrecked his career. Now, he is facing a crisis because he needs money to marry off his daughter, Sarah Leah (Malky Goldman).Sarah Leah is eccentric and makes everyone around her believe she has powers that border on magic, which adds to the atmosphere of Jewish folk tales of hundreds of years ago.Moishe badly needs a big gig, and when he learns that an old friend, Yisroel Bumchik (Tal Friedman), is planning a big wedding for one of his children, he thinks he has found the opportunity he needs.But it turns out that Bumchik has already hired a big-name entertainer from the US, Meshulam (Elon Gold). So, Moishe has to find a way to work with this much flashier, younger, and more arrogant clown to make the money he needs.Film includes larger-than-life characters and laughsDar and Rand made this plot into a suspenseful story, filled with larger-than-life characters and laughs.Although it has a big cast, featuring many of Israel’s best character actors, at its core it’s about Moishe and his quest for redemption, and Rand brings him to life brilliantly.The movie features many terrific performances, led by Gold as the American interloper. Gold, a stand-up comic who has appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm and in the Israeli Web series The Bar Mitzvah, steals many scenes with his brash, slick act.Goldman as Sarah Leah is also a standout, as are Friedman, Alon Neuman (who was in The City and the television series Motherland), Uri Hochman (who was also in Shtisel and, more recently, The Property), and many others in supporting roles.Rand’s real-life wife, Tsufit Grant, plays his long-suffering spouse here, just as his former wife, Michal Rand, played the part of his wife in Ushpizin.Jerusalem, shrouded in mystery and promise, provides the perfect backdrop to the story, which also makes especially good use of klezmer music. The film won an award at the Jerusalem Film Festival for its score last summer.There can be no greater testament to the power of this film than to say it was warmly received by the mostly secular, mostly left-leaning audience at that festival.Follow us on Google