Mistletoe and Menorahs

Christy (Jakle) loves Christmas.  She loves the traditions and goes all-out each year.  This dedication also applies to her job in sales at a toy company.  She is up for a promotion and needs to land a big account.  Her love of the holidays impresses client David Berger (Shore), who invites her to his annual holiday party.  Christy is thrilled by the invitation, until she learns that it is a Hanukkah party.  She needs to become a Hanukkah expert in a week.

Her best friend Samantha (Lee) offers a solution, her son's teacher Jonathan Silver (Epstein).  Jonathan celebrates Hanukkah, but wants to learn about Christmas to impress his girlfriend Heather's (Kathryn Kohut).  Despite a shaky start they agree to team up: Jonathan can teach Christy about Hanukkah, and she can teach him about Christmas.  They meet each day to share the history, culture, food, and traditions of the seasons.  But can all their hard work pay-off in time?  And will their respective relationships survive?

This is a Lifetime holiday film.

The Good:

The film takes both Hanukkah and Christmas seriously, devoting equal amounts of time to explaining the holiday traditions.  With Hanukkah, it is the history and why things are important.  It works without feeling overly preachy.  The leads work well on their own and together.  Kelley Jakle has a beautiful voice and gets to showcase it at the party.  Jake Epstein also has the opportunity to sing in the film and does so with gusto.

The Bad:

Not overly memorable.  Some of the side characters (the boyfriend, the girlfriend, the "villain", and the grandma) don't have much personality.  They aren't bad, just boring.

Other Comments:

-Originally titled "A Merry Holiday", but I think the official title "Mistletoe & Menorahs" fits better with this story - both mistletoe and Menorahs are plot points.

-It's a Lifetime Christmas Movie, so you know what to expect.  OK, but not great.

Mistletoe & Menorahs (2019) 85 minutes

Director: Max McGuire
Starring: Kelley Jakle as Christy Dickinson

Jake Epstein as Jonathan Silver

Cory Lee as Samantha Ames

Jon McLaren as Peter Carlson

Xavier Sotelo as Pat Stone

Michael Gordin Shore as David Berger

Damien Doepping as Edgar