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Hallmark’s Hanukkah Film Is No Miracle
Marc Summers and the stars of “Hanukkah on the Rocks.” Photo: Hallmark.
I have fond memories of watching Marc Summers host the show Double Dare.
Unfortunately, nobody dared the Hallmark Channel to write a good Hanukkah movie. To be sure, credit must go to the network for opting to make Hanukkah movies in the first place. I’ve seen them all in recent years, and some have had some panache and sizzle.
It’s painful, however, to watch the new film, Hanukkah on the Rocks. It is so riddled with cliches, that even if the writers were drunk, that wouldn’t be a good enough excuse.
Summers, who is Jewish, stars as a man living in Chicago. His grandson, a handsome radiologist named Jay, is trying to convince him to move to Florida to be with him and the rest of the family. When Jay’s love interest Tory is let go from her job as a lawyer, she says she used to bartend and she helps out at the local bar where they make Hanukkah drinks and celebrate there. (The film is shot in Canada for some reason, but whatever. Maybe Chicago was too expensive.)
The film’s strength is the two leads. Stacey Farber (Tory) and Daren Kagasoff (Jay) both bring charm to their roles, and there’s some chemistry between the two. And there’s a good obligatory kiss at the end.
The problem is the script is dreadful to the point of being offensive. Throwing Yiddish words out randomly doesn’t make a good film. Characters say “bubbie” a few times, and the word “shmendrick” is said by someone who isn’t religious. That would never happen in real life. It would be nice to see an Orthodox person or even a yarmulke on somebody, but I get that the makers of these films don’t want it to be *too* Jewish. I wonder if the makers of Christmas movies are afraid of making it too Christian.
I also get that the film doesn’t care about the food being kosher, but is it necessary to have crème fresh (dairy) on the same plate as short rib? That’s slightly better than lighting the menorah over cheeseburgers.
Jay is supposedly awesome because he helps a young Jewish boy named Parker, who is about eight, with how to pronounce the word “Maccabee.” Of course, there is no explanation of what the word means for the viewing audience. I almost cried at this part of the film, not only because it was so terrible, but because I realized that many Jewish children likely don’t know what the word Maccabee refers to.
Farber and Kagasoff have talent, but even Judah Macabee couldn’t do anything with this script. There is one cute scene where the two play cornhole and are verbally feisty. Why not more scenes like that?
A character says a drink should be called “He-Brew.” Get it? So original, if not for the fact that it already exists, made by Schmaltz Brewing Company. He’Brew is the flagship brand.
It’s nice that they show the blessings over the candles. But that should be the floor of what we expect, not the ceiling.
There was not a single funny line of dialogue in the entire film. I did laugh at one part that was unintentionally funny. How long was Tory out of work? She almost cries as she says she hasn’t been working — for one week. One week! But she says she has a good severance package. I can’t imagine what viewers who have family members who have been unemployed for a year or more think of someone about to shed tears from being out of work for seven days.
Then there’s the big “twist” at the end, which ends up being meaningless.
With movies this bad, Hanukkah is indeed on the rocks.
The author is a writer based in New York.
The post Hallmark’s Hanukkah Film Is No Miracle first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.