Leo Kadner earns his living directing Christmas movies for streaming platforms, an oddly specific lane for a 30-year-old Jewish New Yorker who moves through his own days with the same autopilot efficiency. He can manufacture scripted holiday cheer on demand, yet his off-camera life keeps circling the same dead ends: unfulfilling dates, stalled momentum at work, and a general sense that adulthood is happening in the next room.
The story jolts him out of that loop at a social event, where he reconnects with Eva Shapiro, his childhood crush from summer camp. Seeing her again reactivates feelings he has kept tucked away, and the film treats that reunion as the moment his emotional clock starts ticking again.
That pressure turns into a sudden, very public choice: Leo decides to have a Bar Mitzvah at 31. The decision has a romantic motive, since he wants Eva back, and it carries a wider personal motive, since he wants a direction that feels real.
The film builds its structure around this delayed rite of passage, using it as the cleanest possible story engine for a man attempting to grow up in plain sight. Set in a grounded, contemporary New York City, it follows Leo as he tries to line up cultural identity with modern anxiety. The premise gets laughs from the particulars of Jewish tradition, and it also holds onto a familiar, relatable goal: finding purpose before the calendar flips again.
Faith as a Maturity Test
The plot advances through the practical and emotional work of Leo’s preparation. He commits to a Mitzvah project that pushes him to look back at a history of failed relationships, and that reflection points straight at his arrested development. The film gets a lot of mileage from placing him in classes with pre-teens who carry themselves with more composure and emotional awareness than he can manage. It is funny in the moment and quietly cutting as a narrative device, since the scenes keep reminding the audience that Leo’s problem is not information. It is follow-through.
His father contributes the bluntest voice in the film, offering unvarnished advice to get a hobby and find a real job. The line lands because it is plainspoken and because it punctures Leo’s dreamy fixations without needing a speech about responsibility. The screenplay keeps returning to the idea that Leo has built a life around low-stakes connections. He floats through modern situationships, and he clings to the convenience of internet-era dating, even as he starts to crave the weight of traditional commitment.
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Hebrew lessons and scriptural study give the story a weekly rhythm and a visible measure of progress, which is helpful for a character who has spent years drifting. The film resists easy sentimentality by putting time on the clock: changing yourself after a decade of inertia takes work, and the work is awkward.
Leo’s parents’ divorce hangs over that process as an ongoing influence on his fear of committing to adulthood in any lasting way. The Bar Mitzvah becomes a concrete goal inside the plot and a sincere attempt at self-actualization inside the character arc, with both tracks moving in step.
Banter and Braces
Jonah Feingold plays Leo as a flawed, occasionally grating presence, and that choice matters. He keeps the character’s self-absorption visible, which stops the film from trying to charm its way around Leo’s shortcomings. It also makes the softer beats feel earned, since vulnerability arrives as a development, not a default setting.
Sarah Coffey gives Eva a steadier pull. As Leo’s Bar Mitzvah tutor, she carries warmth and clarity, and her ambitions for the Broadway stage add a performance-minded energy that fits the film’s concern with identity and presentation. Her musical talent brings a light elegance to scenes that could have leaned too hard on cute awkwardness.
Feingold and Coffey also have a strong physical dynamic. The height difference plays cleanly on camera, creating small bursts of physical comedy that build their rapport without forcing it. The film uses those moments as pacing tools, breaking up the instructional beats with movement and banter that keep the relationship active.
The supporting cast adds texture in the right places. Judy Gold delivers sharp, irreverent humor as the Rabbi, and Caroline Aaron gives Grammy Lila a sincere emotional steadiness. Their presence helps the film feel inhabited by people with recognizable rhythms and temperaments, instead of characters built from rom-com shorthand. Eva benefits from that same attention. The writing gives her interiority and personal aims, so her role stays connected to her own ambitions, not just Leo’s pursuit.
An Autumnal New York
The film’s visual identity leans on a warm, autumnal palette that supports its cozy mood. The cinematography catches New York City in the transition from Thanksgiving into the winter holidays, favoring soft light and natural textures that make apartments and classrooms feel lived-in. One standout sequence stages a Shabbat dinner montage with graceful superimpositions, conveying tradition and community through image layering rather than exposition.
Stylistically, the film keeps a clean, classic look, and the editing maintains a calm rhythm that suits character-driven comedy. Grant Fonda’s score, built around flute and piano, guides the mood with restraint and folds in Hebrew vocals that connect back to the story’s themes of identity and ritual. As an indie production, it wears its sincerity openly, and a few budget limitations surface in the audio quality of the inner monologues.
Those imperfections have limited impact on the experience, since the film draws a lot of energy from the lively New York streets and from its commitment to a specific place. The city feels urgent and close, sharpening a personal story that needs the pressure of real sidewalks and real seasons.
31 Candles is an independent romantic comedy that held its world premiere at the Miami Jewish Film Festival in January 2025 before moving to a limited theatrical release in late 2025. Set in a vibrant, autumnal New York City, the story follows a 30-year-old filmmaker who decides to finally undergo his Bar Mitzvah to reconnect with a childhood crush. As of today, February 8, 2026, the film is available through Level 33 Entertainment in select cinemas and on various digital streaming platforms for home viewing.
Full Credits
Title: 31 Candles
Distributor: Level 33 Entertainment
Release date: January 11, 2025 (Miami Jewish Film Festival), November 7, 2025 (Limited Theatrical)
Rating: TV-14
Running time: 90 minutes
Director: Jonah Feingold
Writers: Jonah Feingold
Producers and Executive Producers: Jonah Weinstein, Hannah Welever, Sam Slater, David Bernon, Caroline Aaron, Spencer Barkoff, John B. O’Rourke, Marshall Sandman, Cathy Glick, Josh Glick
Cast: Jonah Feingold, Sarah Coffey, Jackie Sandler, Dale Moss, Caroline Aaron, Judy Gold, Lori Tan Chinn, Zoe Hoffmann, Derrick Delgado, Djouliet Amara, Catherine Cohen, Larry Owens
Director of Photography (Cinematographer): Lauren Guiteras
Editors: Jonah Feingold
Composer: Grant Fonda
The Review
31 Candles
31 Candles is a refreshingly specific entry in a genre that often feels repetitive. It trades glossy formulas for a grounded look at faith, maturity, and the awkwardness of adulthood. While Leo’s character can be frustrating, the authentic New York setting and Sarah Coffey’s magnetic performance provide a sincere heart. It is a thoughtful character study that proves growing up is rarely a linear process.
PROS
- A unique premise that centers on Jewish identity and late-in-life milestones.
- Strong chemistry and witty banter between the lead actors.
- Beautiful, autumnal cinematography that captures an authentic New York City.
- Sincere emotional stakes that avoid typical romantic comedy clichés.
CONS
- The protagonist’s immaturity can feel repetitive or grating at times.
- Occasional technical limitations in audio quality during inner monologues.
- Certain comedic side plots and dates feel less developed than the central story.
