Atlanta Jewish Film Festival – Less Than Kosher

In this snappy, Toronto-set musical comedy, a wayward singer’s life takes a divinely uproarious turn when she lands a cantor gig in her family’s synagogue, sparking self-discovery, family mishigas, and unholy chaos.

Once a rising star, 30-year-old Viv (actor-musician Shaina Silver- Baird), now finds herself back in her mother’s basement, her once-promising career hitting a sour note. Despite her penchant for pot, munching bacon, and noshing on Yom Kippur, this self-declared “bad Jew” grudgingly assumes the cantor role, nudged by a rabbi who sees potential past her non-kosher ways. Though her shul stint becomes a wild escapade, complete with an illicit affair with the rabbi’s married son (David Reale) and overnight TikTok success, Viv maintains her irreverent reputation while giving her parents some long overdue nachas. As her sister’s Bat Mitzvah looms, Viv’s newfound fame as a popstar cantor soars, compelling her to confront her identity and carve a niche in a community she once shunned.

Set to an infectious Judeo-pop soundtrack, this cheeky mash-up of Shiva Baby and A Star is Born, with a bit of The Jazz Singer, shakes up traditional liturgy, to deliver a funny, flip tale of awakening, endearing as it is uproariously offbeat.