Hanukkah on the Rocks

Hallmark's 2024 Hanukkah on the Rock's was one of the better releases this season. The leading actress, Stacey Farber who plays Tory was very good and hopefully we'll see her in more leading roles in Hallmark movies, but the real star of this movies was Marc Summers as Sam Rosen. My wife and I were pleasantly surprised to see him in this movie because we were fans of his old Food Network show Unwrapped for many years. He's was superb in this movie. We enjoyed the story a lot despite several tropes, because it was really heartwarming and festive and a nice change of pace watching mature adults enjoying Hanukkah inspired cocktails in a grown up's bar versus "hot cocoa stands" and "building snowmen". The only reason I'm giving this 8 stars versus 10 is because the brief "misunderstanding" trope towards the very end really felt like a square peg in a round hole and was totally contrived and unnecessary in this movie.

Excellent writing with several chuckle-worthy moments. Overall a fresh movie with only minimal use of standard Hallmark tropes. Throughout the movie we are treated to a believable story, and several fun and original moments. Acting is very good and the lead couple is believable. Another aspect which I greatly appreciated is that there were no groan-worthy moments with unrealistic story elements. Kudos to the producers, writers and actors. And, I would stop writing here except that IMDB requires a ridiculous long minimum word/character count so I guess I will just keep typing until...wait for it.. now.

6.6 stars.

The best word to describe a story set in a bar with a bunch of random people celebrating Hanukkah is: strange. I can't imagine a bunch of bar flies would be acting like normal, upstanding, sober people all through the holidays while they're celebrating Hanukkah in a dive bar in the big city. Where is the raucous behavior and the lewd comments? Where are the loud drunken conversations that become so overbearing that you have to vacate the bar at some point? None of the realistic stuff that happens in bars actually takes place in this film. Everyone is on their best behavior. Everyone is quiet, everyone is easy-going. It's a dive bar in the middle of a city!

This is why you don't see movies like this, because it's completely unrealistic to imagine a bunch of drunkards hanging out in a bar all day every day getting along and singing Kum ba yah.

All the above outrageousness aside, it's not a bad fabrication.

As a 90s baby, I was a big fan of both Degrassi: The Next Generation and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. When I found out that Stacey Farber and Daren Kagasoff were the leads for this Hannukah film, I knew I had to watch it. When I saw Marc Summers playing sweet grandpa Sam, I started smiling ear to ear. After my viewing, I am happy to report that I loved it! This little movie was full of charm, tradition, community, family, romance...all the things that my Hallmark faves are known for. As a Christian who celebrates Christmas and the birth of Christ, I thoroughly enjoyed this Hannukah film. At its core, it had themes that everyone can relate to and enjoy, whether they are religious or not. I hope Hallmark Channel will continue to cast Stacey Farber and Daren Kagasoff in future projects because they are great actors with a sweet chemistry. Viewers will find themselves rooting for them every time.

Here our lady MC loses her job at a law firm due to a merge and downsizing, and by a coincidence decides to work as a bartender for a while, as she had experience at the job while in college.

Of course, she doesn't want her parents to know, which is a little unhinged because she'd not looking for another job in the law immediately.

That's not the real focus of the movie, which contains plenty of interesting and sometimes amusing slice-of-Hanukkah life moments.

The writers came up with an interesting set of regulars at the bar, Rocky's, which serve for both plot activation and comic relief. Definitely worth a watch.