Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Jewish family unites to save its bakery in mediocre film.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Menorah in the Middle
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In MENORAH IN THE MIDDLE, Sarah (Lucy DeVito) grew up helping out at her parents' small-town California Jewish bakery. Now, she's coming for Hanukkah from her home in Chicago to introduce the family to her non-Jewish fiancé, a finance guy named Chad (Cristian de la Fuente). Chad seems insensitive to the needs of Sarah's overbearing family, most blatantly by rejecting their invitation to stay at the family and booking a hotel room instead. The bakery, in the family for generations, is failing and all seems lost until Sarah's old boyfriend Ben (Jonah Platt) and two local sisters (one played by comic Sarah Silverman) offer to help.
Is It Any Good?
Like other standard examples of the American holiday movie, this Hanukkah-focused offering is as mediocre as it gets. In Menorah in the Middle, most hearts are in the right place, but the crushing blandness of the enterprise makes it tough to watch at times, especially when a random troubadour enters singing cutesy lyrics about Jewishness and "goyim." ("Chad the boy, he's a goy.")
For the most part, this feels like an unfunny episode of Bob's Burgers, trying to keep an eatery afloat but without the humor or memorable characters. Jonah Platt, Lucy De Vito (Danny's daughter), and Adam Busch, as Sarah's brother Jacob, do a fine job. The rest strain to be both overly "Jewish" (whatever that is) and somehow clueless about this new thing called the internet. This just proves it is possible to make a Hanukkah movie every bit as meh as most Christmas movies.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the holiday movie genre. Could this exact story be told if a Christian-owned family business had been substituted for the Jewish bakery? Would the movie feel significantly different? Why or why not?
What are the benefits of using film to show the habits and beliefs of different religions and ethnic groups? Do you think when people see how similar they are to one another, there might be less prejudice in the world?
What aspects of Jewish family life seem similar to family life of other ethnic and religious groups?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : October 4, 2022
- Cast : Lucy DeVito , Jonah Platt , Adam Busch
- Director : Jordan Kessler
- Studios : Hulu , Hallmark Entertainment
- Genre : Romance
- Topics : Faith , Family Stories , Holidays ( Hanukkah )
- Run time : 90 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : December 11, 2025
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