44 | DECEMBER 29 • 2022
CHANUKAH FOLLOW-
UPS, A MOVIE, A
MUSICAL SPECIAL,
ROOTS AND MORE
Here’s some follow-up
info on my previous “all
about Chanukah” column.
First, due to bad advance
publicity, I said that singer
Lisa Loeb, 54, played
the romantic female lead
in the Hallmark Hall of
Fame film Hanukkah
on Rye (premiered Dec.
18). Yael Grobglas, 38,
played the love interest of
Jeremy Jordan, also 38.
Groglas grew up in Israel.
She’s a very good actress.
Overall, Rye was
surprisingly good. It’s
schmaltzy, as holiday
movies almost always are,
but it was often moving.
Yes, much of the plot
was familiar. But that’s OK.
Rye was a retelling of an
oft told “Jewish” story. In
1940, there was the hit film
Shop Around the Corner
which “begat” the hit film
musical In the Good Old
Summertime (1949) and
the hit stage musical She
Loves Me (1963). These
three begat the hit Tom
Hanks’ film You’ve Got
Mail (1999). All of these
“remakes” stem from an
original 1937 Hungarian
play by (the Jewish) Miklos
Laszlo. Jews wrote the
scripts and the songs for all
these “remakes,” including
Rye.
Problem: The Hallmark
Movie Channel (HMC)
streamed Rye once on Dec.
18 and I can’t find it on
the site/app (on-demand).
However, the Peacock
channel has it prominently
displayed among its
on-demand offerings ($5
for a monthly Peacock sub).
On the plus side, I did
discover Love, Lights,
Chanukah!, a 2020
dramatic film on HMC. It’s
not nearly as good as Rye,
but not horrible. It stars Mia
Kirshner, 47 (The “L” Word).
Next week, I will relate
a very good news “secret”
about Kirshner that I
stumbled on because of
this film. If you can view
Love, do so.
As predicted last
week: the Chanukah
Sessions on YouTube
feature rock stars who
were recorded at a Dec. 5
concert.
Weird news: On Dec. 17,
Mason Disick celebrated
his bar mitzvah. His father
is Scott Disick, 39, a
“reality” TV series star and
the ex-husband of Mason’s
mother, Kourtney Kardasian.
Kourtney’s sister, Kim, was
formerly married to Kanye
West. They had four kids. I
imagine Kayne didn’t get a
bar mitzvah invitation.
Damien Chazelle has
had a very good record as
a writer and director. His
films include Whiplash — a
modest box office hit that
critics loved — and La La
Land, which everyone
loved. Chazelle got the best
director Oscar for La La
and the film won five more.
(Fun Fact: While Chazelle
was raised Catholic, he
went to a Jewish day
school for four years. His
parents thought it was the
best local school.)
Chazelle is the director
and writer of Babylon,
which opened in theaters
on Dec. 23. The film is
about the transition to
talking films in the 1920s. It
stars Brad Pitt and Margot
Robbie. Jeff Garlin, 60, has
an important supporting
role. Irving Thalberg,
the head of MGM film
production in the ’20s and
early ’30s, is a character in
the film.
The film’s score is by
Justin Hurwitz, 37. He won
an Oscar for best score
for La La Land. He and
Chazelle were Harvard
roommates.
Dionne Warwick: Don’t
Make Me Over is a special
CNN documentary that will
air, live, on Sunday, Jan. 1,
at 9 p.m. It will be available,
on-demand, starting on Jan.
2. Of course, it is about the
legendary singer who had a
long string of popular hits in
the ’60s through the ’80s.
She is still performing.
Many celebrities will
appear on the special,
including songwriter Burt
Bacharach, 94, and Clive
Davis, 90, a truly legendary
record producer and record
company head who is in
the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame.
Three hit songs sung by
Warwick are in the Grammy
Hall of Fame (“Walk on
By,” “Alfie” and “Don’t
Make Me Over”). All three
were written by Bacharach
(music) and the late Hal
David (lyrics).
By 1979, Warwick’s
career had stalled. It was
revived when she signed
(1979) with Arista Records,
a new-ish record company
founded by and run by
Davis. Davis personally
guided her career, and she
quickly had another big hit,
“I’ll Never Love This Way
Again.”
Finding Your Roots, the
PBS celebrity ancestry
show, returns for a
10th season on Jan. 3
(check local listings for
time. Also on PBS app/
website). The “big” name
guests include Carol
Burnett, Julia Roberts,
Michigander Jeff Daniels,
and David Duchovny,
62 (he’s the secular son
of a Jewish father and
non-Jewish mother). Also
profiled is veteran character
actor Richard Kind, 66
(trust me, you know his
face).
CELEBRITY NEWS
NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST
ARTS&LIFE
IDOMINICK
Yael Grobglas
CHRISTOPHER PETERSON AT ENGLISH WIKIPEDIA
Clive
Davis
COURTNEY FROM VANCOUVER, CANADA
Richard Kind