''When Do We Eat?'' is a 2005 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Salvador Litvak and starring Michael Lerner,

Lesley Ann Warren Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946) is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in 1963, aged 17, in '' 110 in the Shade''. In 1965 she received wide recognition for playing the title role in the television musical prod ...

Jack Klugman Jack Klugman (April 27, 1922 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. He began his career in 1950 and started television and film work with roles in '' 12 Angry Men'' (1957) and '' Cry Terror!'' (1958). ...

Shiri Appleby Shiri Freda Appleby (born December 7, 1978) is an American actress and television director. She is best known for her leading roles as Liz Parker in the WB/UPN science fiction drama series '' Roswell'' (1999–2002) and Rachel Goldberg in the L ...

Mili Avital Mili Avital is an Israeli actress. She built an international career, starting in her native Israel, starring on stage, film and television. She won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1991, moved to New York in 1993 to stu ...

, Ben Feldman, and

Adam Lamberg Adam Lamberg (born September 14, 1984) is an American former actor, best known for his portrayal of David "Gordo" Gordon in the Disney Channel series ''Lizzie McGuire'' from 2001 through 2004, and in ''The Lizzie McGuire Movie''. Early life ...

Synopsis

''When Do We Eat?'' is the story of a dysfunctional

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family's Passover Seder. This is the family's first Seder in three years and the tension is high. Before the Seder, Zeke ( Ben Feldman) slips his father Ira ( Michael Lerner) a pill that he believes to be a combination of ecstasy and

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

. As the night continues, the family releases secrets that cause fights but bring them closer in the end.

Cast

* Ben Feldman as Zeke Stuckman, Ira and Peggy's autistic youngest son and a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

student who enjoys

recreational drugs Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

. * Michael Lerner as Ira Stuckman, the family patriarch who manufactures and distributes

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

ornaments for a living. **Arman Manyan as Ira as Young Boy **Caleb Armstrong as Ira as a Toddler **Joshua Weinstein as Ira as Young Man *

as Nikki Stuckman, Ira and Peggy's daughter and a professional sex surrogate who assists men in getting over their fears of intimacy. ** Victoria Justice as Young Nikki *

Max Greenfield Max Greenfield (born September 4, 1979) is an American actor. He appeared in recurring roles in ''Veronica Mars'' and ''Ugly Betty''. He co-starred as Schmidt in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'', for which he received nominations at the Primetime Em ...

as Ethan Stuckman, Ira and Peggy's eldest son who became a

Hasidic Jew Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

following his failed business ventures. **Kane Ritchotte as Young Ethan *

as Lionel, the youngest of the Stuckman family who is stated to have autism and a fascination with the number 7. *

Cynda Williams Cindy Ann "Cynda" Williams (born May 17, 1966) is an American actress. Early life and education Williams was born Cindy Ann Williams in Chicago, Illinois to Charles, a police officer and Beverly, a medical lab technician. She was raised in th ...

as Grace, Jennifer's

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

girlfriend who is attending her first Seder. *

as Artur Stuckman, Ira's father and a survivor of the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. He carries a suitcase wherever he goes in case the Nazis come and he has to run. **

Jeremy Glazer Jeremy Glazer (born November 1, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Letters from Iwo Jima'', '' Save Me'', ''On the Ride'' and '' Rust Creek''. Glazer's performances include big-budget blockbusters and inde ...

as Young Artur *

as Peggy Stuckman, Ira's wife and a stay-at-home mother who raises money for autism

awareness Awareness is the state of being conscious of something. More specifically, it is the ability to directly know and perceive, to feel, or to be cognizant of events. Another definition describes it as a state wherein a subject is aware of some infor ...

. ** Beth Ann Warren as Young Peggy *

Meredith Scott Lynn Meredith Scott Lynn (born March 8, 1970) is an American actress, producer, and director, best known as Anne in ‘’Days of Our Lives’’ (2012-2017). Early life Lynn's mother is a former teacher. Lynn attended the High School of Perform ...

as Jennifer Stuckman, Ira's eldest daughter from a previous marriage who types

closed-captioning Closed captioning (CC) and subtitling are both processes of displaying text on a television, video screen, or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information. Both are typically used as a transcription of the audio po ...

for a living and is estranged with her father due to her lesbian relationship. *

as Vanessa, a first cousin to the Stuckmans and a celebrity

publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for a work such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists who ...

who previously had an incestuous affair with Ethan. *

Mark Ivanir Mark Alexandrovich Ivanir ( he, מארק איווניר; uk, Марк Олександрович Іванір; russian: Марк Александрович Иванир) is a Ukrainian-born Israeli actor known for his character roles on America ...

as Rafi, a one-eyed Israeli and a professional tent builder invited to the Seder.

Critical reception

Awards and nominations

*deadCENTER Film Festival in Oklahoma City: Winner - Best Narrative Feature *Napa/Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival: Winner - Best Comedy *Reno Tahoe International Film Festival: Best Pick and Winner - Best Director *

San Diego Film Festival The San Diego International Film Festival (SDIFF) is an independent film festival in San Diego, California produced by the non-profit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in the autumn at venues in the ...

: Winner - Best Screenplay (Nina Davidovich & Salvador Litvak)

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, 10006270 2005 films 2005 comedy films American comedy films Films about dysfunctional families Films about Jews and Judaism Incest in film 2000s English-language films 2000s American films