Here’s what Don’t Say Good Luck actually signifies, as the Netflix title has a deeper meaning

Just when Sophie is preparing for the biggest performance of her life, Don’t Say Good Luck gives its title a pretty simple explanation, but as the film goes on, the phrase starts to mean a lot more than just a theatre superstition. So, here’s what Don’t Say Good Luck actually means.

The Netflix coming-of-age drama follows Sophie Birenbaum, a teenager who lands the lead role of Jenna in her school production of Waitress. She should be enjoying every second of it, but her mum Elizabeth’s cancer has returned.

So, what does Don’t Say Good Luck actually mean?

Sophie’s mum can’t say “good luck” to her, but why? The title comes from a theatre superstition. At the start of the film, Elizabeth wishes Sophie “good luck” before her audition. Sophie quickly corrects her because, in theatre, saying “good luck” before a performance is considered bad luck. Instead, performers traditionally say “break a leg”.

It sets up one of the film’s main ideas. Sophie is entering a world where she thinks she can prepare for everything. She rehearses, learns her lines, works on her singing and gets ready to perform. But what is happening with Elizabeth is something she cannot rehearse for or control.

The title becomes more important as Elizabeth gets sicker. At first, “Don’t Say Good Luck” is basically just a funny reference to Sophie being a theatre kid.

But as Elizabeth’s cancer gets worse, the idea of luck starts to feel very different. Sophie is trying to balance rehearsals and her normal teenage life with the reality that her mum is seriously ill. She wants to help Elizabeth, but there is no perfect thing she can say or do that will make the cancer go away.

And that is actually the point. Sophie has to learn that she cannot control everything that happens to her family. She can’t make her mum better. She can’t know exactly how much time they have left. What she can do is spend that time with her and continue being herself.

Sophie doesn’t have to give up her own life

Sophie spends a lot of the film feeling guilty about enjoying herself while her mum is sick. She has rehearsals, friends, a crush and the chance to perform in the musical, but part of her feels like she shouldn’t be doing any of those things.

Her mum, however, keeps encouraging her to carry on. That becomes especially important when Sophie starts feeling like she should choose being with Elizabeth over the musical. Elizabeth doesn’t want Sophie to put her entire life on hold because she has cancer.

And just before Sophie’s big performance, Elizabeth texts her, “Don’t say good luck.”

It also connects to what Sophie learns through theatre

Director Julia Hart explained that the whole point of the film is Sophie learning how to deal with difficult things through art. “The whole point of the movie is that Sophie learns how to work through the difficult things in life and channel her emotions through art,” Hart told Netflix Tudum.

She added, “It’s a reminder of the power of art. She made something that gave us all such a beautiful community and lifelong friends.”

So the title starts as a theatre joke, but it ends up fitting Sophie’s story pretty perfectly. She is dealing with something where saying “good luck” is not going to change the outcome. Her mum is seriously ill, and Sophie cannot control what happens next.

What she can control is how she spends the time she has with Elizabeth. That is why the ending does not need a dramatic death scene. Elizabeth is still alive when Sophie sings to her, and the film leaves her future uncertain.

Sophie cannot fix what is happening to her mum. But she can be there. And she can still sing.

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