31 Candles (2025)

-Written by Marty Coney. 

Leo Kadner (Jonah Feingold) is a thirty-year-old guy who on the surface has it all. A successful career as a Christmas movie director, a good looking guy, and a close-knit family that loves him. His situationship is grinding to a halt after he tells her he loves her and she wants to call things off. A chance encounter with his childhood friend Eva Shapiro (Sarah Coffey) at a family party sparks feelings in Leo. Now he believes that he may have found the woman to complete his life.

Leo learns Eva is a struggling Broadway actress who also teaches people to prepare for their Bar Mitzvah as a means to pay her bills. Leo comes up with a plan to have his own Bar Mitzvah for his upcoming 31st birthday and have Eva teach him and hopefully fall in love in the process. 

It’s a bit of a stretch as plots go for a romantic comedy, and Leo is told this multiple times throughout 31 Candles by the people in his life. Why not cast her in one of his movies? It’s been established that she is a struggling actress, and with his job it makes sense. But he goes through with the stress of learning for a Bar Mitzvah he only intends on going through with if she falls in love with him. 

Chemistry is another reason why 31 Candles doesn’t work for me. There is zero chemistry between the actors on screen. Leo is falling over himself for Eva after two seconds and it feels forced; he is on a mission to fall in love and it doesn’t feel organic. They just feel like old friends who are now getting to know each other again because one of them is offering a service. 

The script is so bloated and heavy with dialogue that every scene feels like it takes an age to get to the next. From inner monologues, to a scene where Leo talks to a rat and the rat gives him advice on love, to breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to the viewer; and for all the talking that goes on, it takes forty-five minutes before Leo even tells Eva that he likes her. He ultimately has to tell her, because the lack of chemistry makes it impossible for anyone to understand that he is in love. 

The jokes don’t have time to land either because there is no time between dialogue for anything to sink in. Someone is always saying something for the sake of filling space. There is no time to sit in the moment and reflect because someone has to say the next line. 

31 Candles was written and directed by Feingold who also is the leading actor. Maybe it would have been best served casting a different actor for the lead role and staying behind the camera. If you don’t have chemistry between the leads in a romantic comedy then what is the point? 

Written & Directed by Jonah Feingold.

Starring Jonah Feingold, Sarah Coffey, Caroline Aaron, Djouliet Amara, Seth Barrish, Joey Dardano. 

3/10 = WORTH THE RISK, BUT YOU’VE BEEN WARNED