Round and Round

Each year Hallmark gives us a Hanukkah movie. For the last several years they have been a bit dry and focused on teaching the rest of the world what Jewish traditions are. Well forget all that. Round and round is a delightfully fun holiday movie that just so happens to feature a story that involves Hanukkah. Rachel gets stuck in a time loop and keeps repeating the same day over and over again. Through her loops she learns things about herself, meets a guy (often), and has a bit of caper-style fun along the way. This was a great movie that surprised me. I'd love to see Hallmark replay this one throughout the season. It's a keeper.

Although the basic Hallmark story lines are there , this was still a bit different. Each jump changed the story just enough , kept it really interesting and moving forward.

Leads were excellent, hadn't seen them before that I could remember, but hope to again. The secondary characters were great also. Especially liked the comic store owner , grandma and cousin. But possibly the biggest surprise was seeing Rick Hoffman again. Hadn't seen him since Suits , and in he was great as ever. And the ending was a complete surprise. Start to finish this was one of Hallmarks best in my opinion. Hope to see all the actors in future projects.

There is another movie that this movie echoes as well as Ground Hog Day but if I say what that is then it will give away the twist. Actually there are a couple of fresh plot points on GHD. It doesn't really give away much to say that Rachel starts enlisting the help of two other people as she repeats her 7th day of Hannukah. This adds a nerd factor to the story and it also gives a chance for them to mention other nerdy titles which include games.

I like Rachel played by Vic Michaelis who is completely new to me. Rachel has none of the faults that Bill Murray had to get rid of. It is actually suggested to Rachel that eliminating her faults is why she is in the time loop. Rachel is humble and has a servant mentality which is also suggested as one of her "faults". Michaelis and Bryan Greenberg have good chemistry.

The acting is good and there are a lot of good jokes. Lines are often delivered quickly which is difficult for me with a hearing problem but I still caught plenty of good ones.

Add another good Hannukah movie to the Holiday Season lineup.

Hallmark has stepped up their game this year. While the network has added more Jewish programming to its holiday slate in recent years, most of it has followed the same rubric of all the other films, only with far too many on-the-nose Jewish references (Delis! Bagels! Brisket! Nosey moms! Oy vey!).

Round and Round is a delightful surprise. The synopsis will immediately make you think it's just Hanukah Groundhog Day, and while there's an element of it, the film is meta enough (and aware of the Bill Murray classic's existence) to forge its own path, sometimes in unexpected ways.

The chemistry of the cast was quite good, and I found many of the jokes and sequences surprisingly postmodern for Hallmark and much smarter than one would expect.

Jewish or not, you'll get a kick out of Round and Round, which has just enough originality despite its time loop premise and a handful of Hallmark staples to feel fresh and inviting. Or better said, you'll enjoy it not for the predictable warm blanket of a Hallmark film you might expect, but because it's actually a smart little, well-written movie.

This was unexpectedly funny and an enjoyable story. Amidst the seventh night of Hanukkah celebration, Rachel meets Zach...twice. The first time he bumps into her racing for the train and ruins the jelly donuts from Goldberg's, the second time it's an introduction by her Grandma Rosie. Amidst all the nerd jokes and the Groundhog Day theme, there is actually a decent romance...set to a great 1980's soundtrack.

The parents have a great origin story, but this is really all about Rachel and Zack...and a little about Grandma Rosie. The supporting characters were fun and the only actor that seemed a bit miscast or awkward was Bex.

I also really appreciated the train stop busker who played both Christmas and Hanukkah songs, as well as the art exhibition at the senior center that had both Christmas and Hanukkah art displayed.

I think if you have a sense of humor, like romance, and appreciate Hanukkah...you might like round and round.