My wife and I are Orthodox Jews addicted to the Perry Mason of our childhood. We couldn't resist watching Hallmark's presentation of levirate marriage, or yibum, but never expected we could stomach more than 20 minutes of it.The writers and directors certainly get credit for coming up with an original plot device to create romantic tension and resolution. This is Hallmark, after all, and we didn't expect all the dramatic unities to be observed, but we were pleased at the overall high quality of the research, writing and acting. There are Orthodox men who make a living outside the rabbinate, and non-Orthodox Jewish men who aren't cardiac surgeons, but avoiding these clichés might been too distracting. The mystical / romantic motivation was never made quite reasonable, but much worse was the simple fact that marriages religious and secular require sexual consummation in order to be valid. The whole point of yibum is that the wife should get pregnant with her brother-in-law's child and therefore continue her dead husband's family and name. Such a beginning would have ruined the plot and perhaps run afoul of Hallmark's standards and practices.One may quibble about this or that presentation of Jewish religious practice, but on the whole this movie did a good and conscientious job with remarkable few cringe-inducing mistakes. In the end it worked as a romantic comedy/drama which held our attention to the end.

First, I would like to thank Hallmark for putting on this movie because in doing so they took a chance that people could actually relate..and not be afraid to throw in a story with a religious element..the old adage is never talk about politics or religion. While it is true that we delve into some fundamental issues of the Jewish faith, this is first and foremost a story of friendship offered and love found. One review called this a romantic comedy..others found faults here and there but there will always be those that look for some shortcomings. I see this as a tender story of two people discovering that they have much to offer each other after Jake's brother dies leaving a widow. She has her ways steeped in tradition and Jake has his ways..not being home much and a girlfriend and working long hours at the hospital..did I mention that his girlfriend initially encouraged Jake (Adam Kaufman) to befriend the young widow (Lauren Ambrose)?After all, she's family. The first days and weeks thrown together as "roommates" are played in such a realistic and touching way, you are drawn into "their" story..and it is theirs and the memory of his dead brother..and mothers wanting what's right for their kids..this is a sweet, innocent and tender. Telling of simple love..there's no comedy here..but the facial expressions and the eyes say this is really some fine acting..I waited for this to come on and was not disappointed. And neither will you.It's that good.

To begin with, a real Orthodox Jewish woman, from an Orthodox Jewish community, would not bother making an oven kosher for use if she couldn't count on her own flatmate to try to keep it kosher, or even to know what's kosher and what isn't. She wouldn't go to a swimming pool where men are allowed in at the same time. She wouldn't even hold a conversation alone with a strange man on a rooftop. We're given to understand that the heroine of this film isn't the typical Orthodox Jewish woman anyway, because she likes to sneak out to the movies; but obviously the real reason for her atypical behavior is that without it, the plot of the film could never occur. Also misrepresented is Reform Judaism: a Reform rabbi explains soberly about the interaction between the living and those who have passed on, and although with enough effort you could probably find a Reform rabbi who would say almost anything, I think you would look hard before you found one who claimed that the dead soul goes through experiences, and harder yet before you found one who claimed to know exactly what those experiences are. All that said, what we have here is a well acted film albeit a doubly formulaic one-- formulaic both in the progress of its love story and in its reconciliation of ostensibly incompatible ways of life.

This title reminds me of a filipino actress: Lea Salonga. She had a show before title Love, Lea. and an album Leah in Love(1999). Well maybe that's how they came up with the title. Additional info: Leah Salonga sang as Mulan in Disney's Mulan Movie.it might not a high budget action movie. but will always be a favorite. well mine. I love this movie! by just watching this movie... i felt so happy all day. Leah isn't a usual woman. She lives her life w/ restrictions. She wants to live her life to the fullest you know. i'm not a jew but i can relate to her. She got what she wants in the end Freedom and L.O.V.E. Her journey is so romantic and liberating...