Hanukkah on Rye

I don't say that as critical of Hanukkah on Rye, it's just that the guy moving in with a "more modern business model" and the anonymous correspondence angle can't help but remind you of You've Got Mail, which reminds you of The Shop Around the Corner. :-)

This movie is great fun, with many warm moments and many amusing moments, including laugh out loud moments. It's also the first Hallmark Hanukkah movie I recall that was all Jewish. The other had one of the romantic leads pretending to be Jewish, or vice versa. We liked those movies too, as it turns out.

Watching this movie WILL make you hungry, as great looking and sounding food is displayed constantly in the delis represented. By the way, we're not Jewish, but we enjoyed this movie and will watch it again, more than once.

Who would have guessed that one of the best Hallmark all-around holiday movies of 2022 would be centered around Hanukkah, rather than Christmas? It is supported by tight scripting and a very capable cast, from the leads all the way down to the primary supporting cast and even down to the bit part players. From early on in the movie you can see that the roles are performed with pizzazz and a strong screen presence. Unlike many rom-coms, the plot doesn't dawdle once it gets rolling. You'll need to get through about 15 minutes of initial character and situational introductions, but by then the plot is already in second gear, and it starts accelerating from there.

This is one is of my Top 10 favorite 2022 Christmas movies of 2022. You can see my other favorite 2022 Christmas movies by clicking on my profile link above; then look for "2022 FAVORITE CHRISTMAS ROM-COMs" under "Lists".

It is very tempting to write than I like it. In fact, I expected it , as History teacher talking to students about the winter as frame for Christmas and Hanukah , as Greek Orthodox discovering , in childhood, the very small comunity of Jews from Gura Humorului , as grandson hearing the stories of my grandmother about her Jewish friends and the mornings of the trains to Transnistria.

Sure, a special Hallmark- my tears of emotion at final are reasonable proof - but the gift of this film is not the subject or the acting but the atmosphere , from the prayers lighting menorah, to the bubble authority, accents, way to New World at youth of XX century, letke recipe and the ...humor.

The romance becomes one of elements , not the axis and the result is charming at whole.

For a Hallmark film, I would give it an 9 out of 10, but rating on an overall film scale I would rate it a 7/6.5. Hallmark films tend to have the same test formula. This film does breaks the mold in several ways. The dialogue was much better and the plot was well executed. The film uses many of the same plot elements of "You've got mail."

The positive aspects of the film includes the following: The plot moves forward fast after the first 15 minutes, the main characters have a lot of chemistry, the small supporting characters worked well, such as the Apartment reception person, the delivery person, and the matchmaker. The movies does attempt to deal with issues that you would not normally associate in a Hallmark film, such as the decline of the Deli in New York City. Most importantly, the film delivers on what Hallmark movie fans, which is a fun romantic film with a holiday theme.

My many problem with the film is that it does not pay attention to details, such as labeling prayers are in Hebrew, not in Yiddish. In my opinion, there was too much use of Yiddish words that were forced and not correctly pronounced. In an age where the movie "Menache" was successful (which was in Yiddish and used all Jewish characters), I don't understand whey they can't cast all Jewish people for Jewish characters in a Hanukah film, use real dialogue that Jewish people would speak, and get the details correct.

I'm not Jewish, but I enjoyed this movie even though the Hanukkah syrup was poured on pretty heavy. My Jewish friends tell me Hanukkah really isn't that big of a deal for them but I appreciate Hallmark's continuing effort to be inclusive.

The coincidences, especially towards the end, were implausible, but French Israeli actress Yael Grobglas is beautiful and charming as Molly. Jeremy Jordan was also solid as Jacob. It was wonderful to see the mutual attraction of these two likeable characters grow based on their written words AND by getting to know each other in person. Without any annoying competition.

The anonymous "pen pal" storyline is one of my favorites. There's a great old black and white classic film about anonymous pen pals who know each other in real life (without realizing it) called The Shop Around The Corner starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan. That inspired the more recent rom-com classic, You've Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan ("I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you so badly.").

Hallmark has successfully used similar anonymous "pen pal" storylines in Bottled With Love with Bethany Joy Lenz and Andrew Walker (one of my favorite Hallmark movies) and in Love Always, Santa, and The Christmas Promise. I really enjoy a romance based on the exchange of thoughtful letters (or emails or texts). But, unlike the older classics, the Hallmark movies tend to turn the inevitable disclosure of the identity of one of the anonymous writers into a conflict that never really rings true. It seems to me that learning the name of the person who has been sending you anonymous letters, and learning that person is actually someone you know and like in real life, would be good news, as it was in the older classics. But nearly every Hallmark movie has an often contrived conflict pop up in the fourth quarter that gets resolved in the last 5 minutes. This was no different.

I liked the inclusion of the dancing dinner rolls from Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush, but watching outdoor movies in NYC in December would usually be too cold to be fun. The Jewish song competition was also a bit weird. It featured two awful performers (who were meant to be funny but weren't). Fortunately, they were followed by Lisa Loeb performing a lovely song called "Light". I was inspired to listen to it again on Spotify after the movie along with her big hits "Stay" and "I Do".

I thought the role of the doorman was a bit 2 dimensional. He was used a little too frequently for silent reaction shots and never seemed like a real person. One of his few lines is a line about not saying anything. I appreciate Hallmark's increasing commitment to diversity, but when the only Black character in a movie is a cardboard character, that undercuts their attempt at progress.

But, overall, it was a fun movie thanks, mostly, to the leads. I'd like to see more of them, especially Yael Grobglas.