A recently laid off lawyer ends up at a nearby bar in Hanukkah on the Rocks following a search for her Bubby’s coveted Chanukah candles.

I don’t like that I have to nitpick things about this movie. But if you’re going to set a film in Chicago, I’m going to nitpick, especially when it is CLEARLY not being filmed in Chicago. A few establishing shots but that’s to the extent. Everything else you see is in Winnipeg. You never see any of the leads driving in a car, riding public transit, or taking an Uber/Lyft. Hallmark confirmed to me that both the JCC and the sister’s home are near Old Town–they really get it wrong in this instance. I’ll have more on this in a moment. But all the nitpicking aside, this is a film that sticks to the Hallmark Channel formula. It would be nice if Hallmark didn’t premiere this film on a Friday night when observant Jews do not watch TV.

Expecting to make partner soon at Wackowitz, Schwartz, Greenberg & Goldblatt, corporate lawyer Tory (Stacey Farber) finds herself in a predicament. The company announces that they are merging with GJC&L and layoffs are expected. The next thing you know, Tory finds herself without a job. Maybe it was for the best because working in corporate law cut her off from the rest of the world. Keeping her employment status to herself, she fakes personal days and working from home to visit with Bubby (Marina Stephenson Kerr) or sister Becca (Cora Matheson) and nephew Parker (Braden Blair). Tory hides her news from her Bahamas-vacationing parents, Estelle (Sharon Bajer) and Walter (Felix Montgomery).

At Rocky’s Tavern, Jay Rosen (Daren Kagasoff) is trying to convince his grandfather, Sam Rosen (Marc Summers), to leave Chicago and join the Rosen family in Florida. Jay’s family had left Chicago some 25 years earlier. Sam is rather insistent on staying put in Chicago as we soon learn why. Unlike other retirees, he chooses not make the move to Florida. Anyway, both grandparents instruct their grandchildren to find the Cohen’s brand of Chanukah candles.

Tory: “Isn’t a candle just a candle?”

Jay: “There are good Chanukah candles? Aren’t they all the same?”

My thoughts exactly. But it turns out, at least for dramatic purposes, this is apparently not the case. As Bubby and Sam put it, the candles are not “cheap drugstore candles” that drip everywhere or cause the smoke alarm to go off. Before you know it, Tory and Jay have their meet-cute at The Party Store–not a store in Chicago–for what turns out to be the last box of Cohen’s in Chicago. Unlikely, but okay, we’ll go along with this preposterous premise. Anyway, Tory eventually follows Jay to Rocky’s, where her bartending experience in college leads to Lottie (Lauren Cochrane) offering her job after another bartender suddenly takes off for Cabo. It’s through w0rking at the “dive bar in Old Town” where Tory gets to know Jay better. But first, Sam decorates the bar and Chicago soon has its first–swing and a miss–Chanukah bar.

As Tory and Jay get to know each better, they learn they have things in common. It turns out that their grandparents know each other. Meanwhile, both went to the same sleepaway camp, Camp Shalom. I have no idea if one exists with this name. There are a number of overnight camps that Jewish parents from Chicago will send their children during the summer. But anyway, they both realize they need a change in their lives. Regardless, she needs to tell her parents about her new job status. She cannot just keep it a secret through the end of Chanukah! When one starts letting their family believe they are taking that many personal days, someone is going to realize the truth sooner than later.

Rocky’s is one of the main settings and we get to know some of the characters who frequent there. Anthony (Dan De Jaeger) is approaching two years since quitting his accounting job to write a novel. He wants to people to know him for writing books on cocktail napkins. Stacy-Lynn (Verity Marks) is a waitress who is preparing for a Second City audition. But apparently, it is somehow movie law that Jews only drink Manischewitz wine. If you ever attended the same Shabbos dinners or lunch as me, you would know that this is not the case. Sure, it’s an affordable wine but personally, I would rather go for a fine Bartenura Moscato D’Asti wine. I beg of you to please normalize Jews drinking other mevushal wines in movies.

Hanukkah on the Rocks isn’t without some poignant lines. As Sam Rosen says on the third night of Chanukah: “That’s what Chanukah’s all about, isn’t it? Shining light into darkness. With that light, all of a sudden, we see possibilities that we never saw before.”

I like that they spring in a solid amount of Yiddish throughout the film:

• Putz
• Chutzpah
• Tsuris
• Alta cocker
• Mishegas
• Schmendrick
• Punim
• Mentsches

Some of the drink menu names:

• Maccabee Mule (Moscow Mule with a hint of Manischewitz)
• Bourbon Shamash (elevated with jelly donut hole garnish)
• Hanukkah Hammer
• He-Brew

There’s also a Chanukah happy hour menu that Lottie cooks up. Unfortunately, the press screener did not have any subtitles when I turned on closed captioning. I’ll check the DVR recording after Shabbos and update.

This is a film that completely ignores the existence of The Graystone Tavern being the only established Chanukah bar in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood since 2019. Anyone doing their due diligence to research Chicago’s Jewish community would know of 8 Crazy Nights. After all, ChiTribe has been holding events there for a number of years. For those wondering, you will not actually find Gilbert’s Deli or Rocky’s Tavern operating in Old Town. Furthermore, most of the JCCs with programming for adults, let alone seniors, would be further north in Chicago or the suburbs. Some senior programming will utilize shuls instead. Old Town’s borders run from Armitage on the north to Division on the south and Halsted (to North)/Clybourn (to Division) on the west and Clark on the East. She’d probably live elsewhere but I can buy Becca’s house being in Old Town given that N Wells Street is 200 W.

I seriously wonder if anyone bothered researching the Chicago Jewish community and where most of the Jews actually live. There are plenty of Chabad centers throughout the city. However, I could not get a good read on the characters and their observance. Something tells me–from how they dress–they aren’t the Chabad-going type and the closest non-Chabad shul to Old Town is otherwise a traditional synagogue in the Gold Coast. If they are Reform, they would probably want to go further north for any religious needs. Aside from that, the good thing is that the leading cast members know the necessary Hebrew to recite the first two Chanukah blessings. Why the film doesn’t include the third blessing on the first night is beyond me.

As for Gilbert’s Deli, it’s a very popular restaurant in the movie. Hallmark confirmed that Gilbert’s isn’t kosher. I’d have moved it to another neighborhood but that’s me. According to the film, the deli is around the corner from the bar. It’s a good thing that Hallmark confirmed that the restaurant isn’t kosher because it is very hard to find kosher restaurants south of West Rogers Park. It’s even tougher finding kosher restaurants in the Chicago Loop because they just don’t exist the closer that one travels towards downtown. But regardless, the exteriors are in Winnipeg and probably in a different location than Gilbert’s Restaurant in Hanukkah on Rye. I probably should have checked for the address number to see if they swung and missed.

Let’s talk about these coveted Chanukah candles. The Cohen’s brand does not exist. A quick search for blue and white spiral Chanukah candles does turn up a listing for The Dreidel Company. If you wanting to use the same candles as the film, this is probably as close as it gets. They are direct-to-consumer, meaning you cannot physically buy them in a store. Otherwise, most of us will probably buy the most affordable Chanukah candles at the nearest grocery store.

I give Hallmark credit for making a Chanukah film that is not set in the New York City area. Yes, New York City features the largest Jewish population outside of Israel. However, Chicago features one of the largest Jewish populations. It would have been nice had they decided to actually film in Chicago rather than film on location in Winnipeg. This would have made for better authenticity, especially with not erasing the fact that there has been an established Chanukah bar in Chicago for quite a few years now.

Hanukkah on the Rocks sticks too close to the Hallmark formula and could do a better job with researching Chicago.

DIRECTOR: Séan Geraughty
SCREENWRITER: Julie Sherman Wolfe
CAST: Stacey Farber, Daren Kagasoff, Marina Stephenson Kerr, Verity Marks, Lauren Cochrane, Dan De Jaeger, and Marc Summers

Hanukkah on the Rocks premieres December 13, 2024 at 8 PM ET/7 PM CT on the Hallmark Channel. Grade: 3/5

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