I’ve always defended my love of Hallmark movies — the Christmas trees, the meet-cutes, the small-town businesses struggling to avoid being taken over by people from the big city. But there’s no denying that they are of a type, shall we say, and many times, their precise pleasure is that you wouldn’t mistake them for anything else. Furthermore, even as Hallmark has expanded its vision with changes like introducing LGBTQ+ characters and stories now and then, their efforts to expand beyond Christmas into Hanukkah have sometimes felt a bit tentative.
Imagine my delight at finding Round and Round, a lovely new entry that’s a solid light romantic comedy that you wouldn’t be surprised to find somewhere else besides Hallmark, and that also embraces Hanukkah as its theme in a way that feels complete and thoughtful.