Sunny Sandler has been making a name for herself as an actress, particularly in the past couple of years, starring alongside her dad Adam Sandler in movies like You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah and Happy Gilmore 2. And just like her dad steps away from comedy every once in a while for more serious pieces, Sunny is flexing her dramatic muscles in Don’t Say Good Luck, which has a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score as it hits the Netflix schedule.Don’t Say Good Luck stars Sunny Sandler as 16-year-old Sophie, a theater kid who’s preparing for her school’s production of Waitress when her mother Elizabeth (Melanie Lynskey) gets a devastating cancer diagnosis. Angie Han of THR is amongst the critics contributing to that 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, as she says the actresses shine as mother and daughter in this story of coming of age amidst grief. Han writes:The drama by Julia Hart (Fast Color) traces the intertwined journeys of Sophie’s play and her mother’s illness with an observant eye and a warm touch, sensitive to the bittersweet fact that just because the world is ending on one front doesn’t mean the rest of it stops turning, too.Guy Lodge of Variety agrees that Melanie Lynskey brings her signature sincerity, while Sunny Sandler captures her character’s “needy girlish terror and exploratory adult curiosity.” Don’t Say Good Luck is an “honest four-hanky weepie,” Lodge says, so have the tissues handy. His review reads:As a teenager likewise stepping into the spotlight for the first time — and, in rather more bittersweet circumstances, facing the end of childhood — [Sunny Sandler is] the warmly gawky, thoroughly believable center of Julia Hart‘s sensitive, open-hearted theater-kid portrait. She’s matched beat for beat by Melanie Lynskey, no revelation but reliably affecting and emotionally generous as our heroine’s doting, ailing mother. Coming-of-age films with variations of these characters and dynamics come around pretty often; rather more unusual are those written and played with this degree of care and compassion.William Bibbiani of The Wrap says Don’t Say Good Luck is successful in capturing bittersweet human emotions. It’s genuine, except for a few moments that feel slightly contrived, Bibbiani writes, and while Sunny Sandler may be wonderful as the main character, it’s Melanie Lynskey who deserves the flowers. According to the critic:Sunny Sandler got the limelight, and she warrants the attention, but Lynskey deserves the standing ovation. Everything in Don’t Say Good Luck revolves around her and the delicate, believable choices she makes. … It’s a decent movie, by which I mean that it’s kind, not mediocre. The flaws are distracting, but they don’t pull our focus for long. Hart knows how to elicit wonderful performances from her cast, and a few unexpected hiccups aside, her cast never lets her down.Pete Hammond of Deadline says this 2026 movie release confirms talent runs in the Sandler family. Sunny Sandler and “the incomparable” Melanie Lynskey give this coming-of-age story such emotional depth, Hammond says, writing:Hart’s sensitive direction deftly balances the trials of a mom facing the end of her life much too soon with a major moment in the life of a teenage daughter just hitting her stride at the same moment in a family turned upside down. Shifting from the dynamics of the making of a high school musical, the budding attraction to her leading man, and the anguish of her mom’s worsening condition just as it collides with what should be a joyous time is at the crux of this surprisingly mature and engaging film that ultimately shows the healing power of art against the raw reality of the curves life can throw at you.Jocelyn Noveck of the AP rates it 2.5 stars out of 4, writing that Don’t Say Good Luck is aimed squarely at those who get goosebumps at the thought of starring in the school play, and Sunny Sandler is a pleasure to watch. Noveck continues:Every movie about a theater production ends, of course, with the performance itself. Earlier in the action, the empathetic teacher (Stephanie Beatriz) who directs the show had mentioned that Sophie’s rendition of ‘She Used to Be Mine’ is ‘not quite there yet.’ Wanna take bets on whether she ends up making it work? ‘She’s imperfect, but she tries,’ go the lyrics. The movie, too, is imperfect, but the effort — and young Sandler’s easy charm — will go a long way toward satisfying the theater geek inside many of us.I couldn’t even get through all of these reviews without tearing up, so I’ll definitely be prepared for a good cry when I fire up my Netflix subscription for this one. I mean, 100% of critics can’t be wrong, right? If you also want to check out the latest project from Adam Sandler’s progeny, Don’t Say Good Luck is streaming now on Netflix.