Bernie Reubens, a young Jewish boy, is about to have his bar mitzvah. Initially, he meticulously plans a lavish reception to upstage that of his older brother Alvie, but as the family's finances lurch from one disaster to another, the family is forced to lower Bernie's expectations and stage the bar mitzvah reception at home in North London. When England reaches the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final, held on the same day, most of the guests make excuses not to come to the reception so that they can watch the game. In the end, Bernie's father saves the day by driving Bernie to Wembley Stadium to witness the end of the match.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 65%, based on 52 reviews, with an average rating of 6.00/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Likable but overly sentimental, Sixty Six has snatches of sharp dialogue but is ultimately too predicable."[3] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 57 out of 100, based on reviews from 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[4]
The Hollywood Reporter praised the film, saying "Although the subject might sound specialized, the picture is engineered with such skill that it transcends the ethnic details to become a universal story of a boy trying to find his place in an inhospitable world."[5]Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times reviewed the film as being "enlightened by Bernie's impassioned narration and by a gallery of small comic details."[6] The New York Times described the film as "A dolorous comedy that leans heavily, if inoffensively, on ethnic stereotypes."[7]
