User reviews

I love finally having a Chanukah movie that made celebrating Chanukah seem like the norm. The conversations, the intonations, the references, the traditions - I felt like I was watching a movie about people who could actually be family. It just resonated with me. My only gripe was that when they were singing the prayers while lighting the menorah, the subtitles read "singing in Yiddish" when it's Hebrew. Otherwise, just a feel good Chanukah movie. It feels so good to write that! I didn't even realize I'd been waiting for a movie like this! We just don't have enough modern Chanukah movies and I've now found my new Chanukah movie to watch every year.

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.

I'm not Jewish, so I don't know how accurate this movie was or how authentic the scenes of Hanukkah celebrations are.

I can say that I enjoyed the movie more than any other Hallmark Christmas movie this year.

I have enjoyed three of the Hallmark Christmas movies this year, 2022. I liked this Hanukkah movie better than the three best Christmas movies.

The script has snappy dialogue and the actors perform it well and keep the story moving quickly. The lead actors did a great job and all of the other characters are played by talented actors as well.

The story moves a lot faster than most really boring Hallmark holiday movies. And it's actually somewhat believable.

I recommend this movie.

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".

Loved it. Well done Hallmark for a lovely authentic believable Hanukkah movie. Is it going to be up there with the great Jewish movies such as fiddler on the roof? No but it was very easy watching and the storyline resonated with my own family history. I was singing along at home to the Hanukkah songs and wishing I could taste the latkes. Very authentically done and true to the festival.

When the tv is full of schmalzy Xmas movies this is just what was needed.

Please can we have some more Hanukkah movies next year, not just one token movie.

I would definitely watch it again at Hanukkah time next year.

Sure this is a knock off on the famous movie You've Got Mail, but it is well done. And Jeremy Jordan and Yael Grobglas have sizzling chemistry. I really like Grobglas as Molly. There are so many parallels to the other movie, but about half way through things start going differently and get a little crazy. It occurred to me briefly how it might all turn out with the delis but I was like "nah".

The acting is good. The dialogue is excellent. There are a lot of funny moments. I really like how straightforward Molly and Jacob are about everything with each other.

This will be worth watching again.

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.

Cute movie, but the closed captions describe them singing the Hanukkah blessing in Yiddish. I'm not even Jewish and I know it's Hebrew. Is there anyway to fix that?

The direction is leadfooted, but this is a Hallmark movie, after all. It has about what you expect for snappy dialogue, too.

I was trying to avoid having to see how weak this movie really is but I am told that I have not written enough words. So, it's lighthearted and gentle and all that, and after all it is a Hallmark movie, but come on folks- how about some real dialogue? Like the sort of words that people actually speak.

Just a couple of winking allusions to a not really very important Jewish holiday doesn't cut it. I think I'm gonna go back and take off another couple stars.

This has been a very disappointing year for "christmas" movies. I have notebooks that I rate all the movies since about 2005. So far this year I've seen maybe five that I would rewatch. They are really running out of actors and screen plays. Now they think it's TV's job to integrate all of us. Next year will be even worse I'm sure as evidenced by the out cry over Candice Cameron Bure's interview about moving to GAC.

I'm an agnostic and absolutely loved the education I got on the Jewish faith. The movie was so well done I was amazed. As I'm writing this I'm tearing up thinking about it. I will watch again this year and every year. By the way it's not a sad movie.

Rather mediocre plotting and dialogue, though perhaps slightly above average for Hallmark. One big negative was that didn't really feel for the lead couple: didn't care awfully much whether they end up together or not. And the compulsory conflict (beyond the competing deli situation) felt extra forced and bit stupid.

However, the movie rolled on rather effortlessly, and was generally harmless. Extra stars for a holiday film about Hanukkah traditions which was more interesting for me - therefore mercifully avoiding cookie-baking, Santa, tree shopping, skating, etc. Didn't have as many other Hallmark cliches either, such as precocious kids or widows.

Not sure if showing all those food items was fascinating or cruel - definitely made me famished, and sorry that there isn't any Jewish delis near me!

I really liked this movie. I loved Yael in Jane the Virgin so was interested to see her in another role. I was not disappointed. She acts in such a natural way, she draws you fully into the story. Her character was very likeable. The same with lead actor Jeremy. I thought he played a down-to-earth nice guy and I thought he aced it. The story was good, too. The typical miscommunication/plot twist felt natural, not contrived and I appreciated that. It shows respect for the fan. I learned a lot about the Jewish faith and it was interesting and fun. This was a fun movie and I recommend it whole heartedly!

I'm giving this six latkes, and I usually rate Hallmark holiday films five, and the past "Jewish attempts" closer to four. Hallmark holiday films are typically formulaic, with trite scripts and dialog. The script and dialog were markedly improved with this outing, and with better casting, this could have been great. I'm very pleased that the gentiles who watched enjoyed it, and were charmed by the accurate Jewish quirkiness; as with Mrs. Maisel, that makes us feel more loved and less alone in America. The casting was not on point, though. As an American Israeli, I really want to love Groblas, but her American accent is worse than Gal Gadot's - and that's saying something. She is really bad in this role. I didn't look it up, but as a Jew, both sets of parents do not appear via physical traits or seem by their mannerisms (or lack of hand gestures) to be played by Jewish actors - if anything, this is the Aryan-nation-Jewface casting that repeats the mistakes of Mrs. Maisel instead of correcting them. Why not cast an actual American Jew, like Sarah Silverman? There are tons of Jewish no-name actors to play the parents. Jewish or no, the grandmothers were ON POINT, but the fact that only. Jordan consistently pronounced bubbe correctly (it's BUH-BEE, and saying BOOBY is obnoxious!) was jarring and the use of the word was so frequent, given the plot line, that it felt like there wasn't a single American Jew on set to give the non-Jews their two cents and a smack on the tuchus. If you'll forgive the bad pun. I realize the world doesn't want to accept that Jewface is the same as Blackface, and will insist that 'acting' can make even Michelle WIlliams appear Jewish. OY YOI YOI - it is embarrassingly bad. It really is just as bad as RDJ in blackface in Tropic Thunder - it's just that, apparently, only Jews can see it. And if you can't see how this, M. Williams and Maisel are exaggerated gentiles in dress-up, then it's like you don't truly see us at all. Try casting Jewish actors next time, across the board. If we actually run Hollywood, how hard could that be?

This was better than the other Hallmark dreck, but...isn't it possible to do WELL? I could make a better latke than any of these ppl even dreamed of, blindfolded.

It was "just okay", but so many cliches - ugh.

Meanwhile, a question: how did the two deli owners made their "Ranch Dressing" that they both raved about? I ask, because if they made it the traditional way (with milk or buttermilk), both delis would NOT be kosher. But maybe they don't care?

Now, I have to write out 281 more characters to post this. Yes, it was cute; yes, it was mostly Jewish; yes, it was soooo "Hallmark" I could plotz.

The best character was the "matchmaker" (I tried to write the word in Hebew, but your system wouldn't allow it)... though they really didn't need her, since we all knew at the beginning what the ending wold be.

If you are going to make a REAL Jewish movie, make a real Jewish movie without all the cliches and Yiddishkeit!

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.

Very reminiscent of the movie "You've Got Mail" with the letter writing and competing businesses! I loved that movie and really enjoyed this one. I am not Jewish so can't speak to the authenticity of the traditions, but this movie was centered around family and love...and aren't those the most important things, especially during the holidays but also year round?

I really liked both the lead actors and thought they had great chemistry. The doorman was great! And the bubbies! They were both awesome! Without giving anything away...I enjoyed the whole matchmaker story line, and especially the twist at the end!

Made me want to go back to visit New York!

My favorite part was watching Thomas take a sip of his coffee while watching the soap opera of Molly and Jacob transpire before his eyes. Tim Nhlazane as Thomas is fantastic, he has great expressions and really uses his eyes well. Best supporting actor ever.

Zimmerman's from California has sent their grandson Jacob to the lower east side of Manhattan to open a Jewish deli down the street from Molly's storied family deli Gilbert's.

Simultaneously both of their bubbies enrolled them in the same match maker's service. The two begin writing to each other anonymously.

Fun and sweeter than I expected. It was nice to see a Hanukkah movie that was inclusive. I loved seeing Lisa Loeb, that was a pleasant surprise and her song was lovely.

This is a surprising recommendation from me.

The is a remake of the original 1940's "Shop Around the Corner," which was remade in 1949's "In the "Good Old Summertime," and then again in 1998's "You've Got Mail." The premise is still wonderful, only this time it's using a Jewish storyline during Hanukkah. Both Yael Globgras and Jeremy Jordan were in the CBS/CW series "Supergirl," which I enjoyed watching their characters grow in the series. As Yael and Jeremy were playing their parts, something looked very familiar with the plot. Yael and Jeremy play their parts well in "Hanukkah, and it was interesting watching the movie from a different perspective. I would recommend watching this version also.

What a refreshing New Romantic Comedy movie that enjoyably highlights two Jewish families. I have slammed the last few new Hallmark movies made in 2022 but this is such a fun movie to watch.

The movie's cast is near perfect to bring this Jewish story alive. Especially the two grandmothers who bring a scary intensity to the movie. I especially liked the writing and the creative concept for this film. The writing was spot-on which really brought out many Jewish holiday traditions, culture, and speech. Something quite new in the Hallmark tradition versus yet another Christmas movie with characters throwing snowballs and drinking hot chocolate.

I am extremely surprised by the positive ratings for this absolutely abysmal film.

The only reason I gave it 2 stars is the grandmothers were mildly endearing, but for the rest of it, no, just NO.

The actor playing the leading man is clearly, shall we say, not a ladies' man. This made the whole 'romance' far-fetched in the extreme, and neither could, for me, convince anyone their feelings were genuine. They even managed to look uncomfortable together; not ideal in a romance.

Unfortunately, Hallmark is becoming formulaic in the extreme, and while the premise of this film differs slightly from that formula, which is why I watched it, it still disappointed.

This movie is in the spirit of other famous love-by-mail movies, The Shop Around The Corner (1940) and You've Got Mail (1998). This movie stands on its own, not a remake or reimagining. The lead actors are very good with convincing chemistry.

The deli food looks delicious. The street scenes are good to show the architectural locale. The secondary characters are good at filling in the surrounding story. I'm a little surprised that Lisa Loeb got such a high billing in my brief cable channel info description, but she does have a short appearance to sing a good song.

The plot and dialog go along smoothly (praise to the scriptwriters and the director) and this is one of the most enjoyable Hallmark movies this season. I'll probably rewatch this with a friend sometime.

A number of reviews mention this movie is similar to You've Got Mail. While true, that movie was based on the 1940 film, The Shop Around the Corner. Hanukkah on Rye has a good pedigree and is a fun movie.

The two leads have a lot of chemistry. An enemies to lovers romance is a great trope. Watching the movie did get me kind of hungry.

My one criticism is that some of the Jewish references are a little over the top. Reminded me of some goyim screen writers trying to sound Jewish, but missing the mark. Wasn't enough to stop me from watching. On the other hand, some of the references to the history of Jewish immigrants is nicely handled.

I loved this movie. Yes, it is yet another take on the "you've got mail" idea, but with the addition of a matchmaker and two meddling but caring extended families. The two leads were very appealing and their connection, both in person and in their letters, was fun to watch. I have also enjoyed the other movies this year with the Jewish faith and traditions shown, and in this one, the history of these families and how they came to their new country. The ending was just lovely, as the two families come together with much love and a shared experience. All in all, a great movie and will be one of my favourites of this season.

This movie is upbeat, sentimental and educational with a dynamite storyline. The letter writing matchmaking service complete with a courier is so romantic and adorable. I absolutely loved all of the deli foods and the close ups of the food as scene transitions.

Hanukkah on Rye Summary Molly and Jacob are matched together in a Brooklynn matchmaker service that connects the match with old-school letter writing and a courier that secretly delivers them in envelopes. The two fall into love through writing letters under the pen names Betha and David. Unbeknownst to them, Molly and Jacob's families have competing Jewish delis. In real life, Molly and Jacob bond over Hanukkah week celebrations and traditional Jewish foods.

Molly seeks to bring her deli into modern times, while Jacob seeks to bring his deli back to authentic traditions. The two learn from one another and grow.

MeetCute Jacob is new to the old-school New York apartment building that he is renting while he opens up the new location of his family deli, Zimmer's Deli. He cannot open up the mailbox and Molly, as a life-long tenant, shows him how to open up the mailbox with the key.

Molly tells Jacob that her family has lived here since they came from Ellis Island and gives him her number so that he can call on her as a good neighbor.

Jacob says that he is flattered and thinks Molly is hitting on him. She tells him her type is someone who can "open up a mailbox."

Later, Mizansky's Matchmaking Service matches them and the two write letters to each other without exchanging names or meeting.

Setting New York City The apartment building where they live and the delis are all on a Jewish neighborhood block. Old-school New York apartment building where both Molly and Jacob live. There are menorahs in almost every scene.

Gilbert's Deli is also old-school with big open windows in a corner New York City Street lot.