Hallmark Channel Premiere | December 12, 2020
In this movie, Christina has lost her mother (she was adopted, which is important to the story) and is now running their Italian restaurant on her own. She takes a DNA test, which tells her that she is 50% Jewish. Immediately, she is contacted by a close DNA match who wants to meet in person. I find this all kind of weird and creepy, but I guess it is needed to make the plot work.
Nonetheless, the DNA test leads Christina to a wonderful new family that welcomes her with open arms. The matriarch quickly confesses that she had a child in college that she gave up for adoption, creating an extremely awkward brunch in which she explains that she once loved a handsome Italian named Georgio. When Christina gets over the shock of meeting her biological mother, she joins the family for 8 nights of Hanukkah and becomes quite close with her new mother, sister, brother, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew. She also starts dating a family friend, a food critic who gave her a bad review. For what it's worth, I like the idea of pairing a chef and a food critic, but this romance didn't work for me. Oh - and Christina's mother tracks down Georgio in Italy, who is remarkably calm and composed to learn that he has a grown daughter he never knew about.
I love the fact that Hallmark made a Hanukkah movie, and I think that they should do more. However, this was not what I wanted it to be. There was a whole lot of Christmas, and I would have liked it better had it featured more Hanukkah traditions instead. In addition, the scenes in which the characters explained Hanukkah to Christina felt very unnatural, and the awkwardness of the DNA/adoption/family secrets took some of the joy out of the plot. Finally, the romance left a lot to be desired. Marilu Henner is great, however, so there is that.
Hallmark gets an A on: the latke puns; Marilu Henner (Ruth); the way that Christina's new family welcomes her with open arms
Hallmark gets a D on: the characters taking turns explaining Hanukkah traditions; the fake snowman; putting too much Christmas in a Hanukkah movie
Grade: C
* Note Grading Scale:
A = This is seriously a good movie. It will remain on my DVR for the season.
B = Totally exceeded my expectations. I'm happy to recommend.
C = This is an average Hallmark movie. Good holiday fun.
D = I'm disappointed... but I watched it. Why not?
F = I actually had a hard time getting through this one. And that says a lot.
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