In the past three years, it seemed like the Hallmark Channel had gotten on board with the Hanukkah program, giving us some quality, adorable and wonderfully predictable Jewish romances.
In 2022, we got a romance about rivaling Jewish delis inspired by Jewish family and starring Yael Grobglas (“Jane the Virgin”) and musical theater icon Jeremy Jordan. In 2023, there was the best Hanukkah time loop movie we’ve ever seen, starring the oh-so-dreamy Bryan Greenberg (“The Mindy Project,” “How to Make It In America”). Last year, a movie that threatened to be just another Jewish girl with Christmas envy offered surprisingly warm Jewish representation, and the unlikely star of a bar with a Hanukkah pop-up was Nickelodeon’s Marc Summers.
This year, though, their offering has me going oy. Or, more exactly, “Oy to the World!” Because, yes, that’s the title of the film. It premieres on Dec. 14, the first evening of Hanukkah, and stars Brooke D’Orsay and Jake Epstein. The title may be my least favorite oft-embroidered-on-pillows “Hanukkah” pun of all time (because, let’s be real, it’s a Christmas pun) but this movie is an interfaith romance about a church and a synagogue sharing space, so perhaps the title does make sense.
And while I do just want to give into the urge to kvetch about this movie (I mean, they put “oy” in the title! It’s like they’re asking us to complain!!), I will say, I’m not angry about the premise here.
It’s an enemies-to-lovers story, a classic trope that is just so supremely enjoyable when done well. D’Orsay plays Nikki Roberts, the youth choir director of St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church, while Epstein plays Jake Cohen (not that Jake Cohen), the substitute choir director of the synagogue across the street, Temple Beth Am. The two are former high school rivals, but when a water line breaks at the the temple around Hanukkah time, St. Joseph’s opens its doors for an interfaith Hanukkah and Christmas Eve service (Hanukkah, in this film, falls on the same time as Christmas Eve, a rare occasion). And so, Nikki and Jake have to collaborate on a joint music program.
As the logline reads: “To lead a successful fundraising effort for the temple, Nikki and Jake have to put aside their differences and learn how to work together. In doing so, they discover teamwork can move mountains and open hearts, including their own. On their big night, Nikki and Jake find a way to unite people through the power of song and prove that coming together is the best way for everyone to celebrate the holiday season. ”
It’s just so cheesy — and I love it.
I will say, once again in the spirit of oy, that Hanukkah isn’t usually as big a deal at synagogues as Christmas is in churches, and synagogue youth choirs are not quite as ubiquitous as church choirs. And while I love an interfaith romance, I’m a bit sad that this seems to be Hallmark’s only Hanukkah film of the year, and we won’t get another lovely film about Jewish love.
And yet, I am genuinely excited for the chance for a Hallmark movie to finally feature some good Hanukkah songs. I wonder if they’ll go for classics like “Sevivon Sov Sov Sov,” “Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages),” “Hanukkah O Hanukkah” and “I Have a Little Dreidel” or branch out with some Ladino “Ocho Kandelikas,” or Matishyahu’s “Miracle.” (I would pay good money to have a Hallmark movie feature Adam Sandler’s “The Chanukah Song,” but I’m not sure if Hallmark would pay money for those rights!)
Like all Hallmark films, the movie was filmed in Canada, and even shot some scenes at Okanagan Jewish Community Centre/Beth Shalom Synagogue in Kelowna, BC with extras from the local Jewish community. Newly released stills from the movie feature some interfaith Hanukkah candle lighting with what appears to be a very good-looking salt-and-pepper-bearded rabbi (we are in the Hot Rabbi Golden Age, after all).
So yes, even if I am apprehensive, I am also hopeful that this movie will bring more joy than oy — is that too corny, or just corny enough for a Hallmark movie?
“Oy to the World” premieres on the Hallmark Channel on Sunday, Dec. 14, at 8 p.m. ET.
