By Nate Bloom
Contributing Columnist
“A Minecraft Movie” is a live-action comedy-adventure film that opens in theaters on April 4. It is based on the Minecraft video game. Here’s the premise: four misfits find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled thorough a portal to the wacky Overworld. They have to do many things to get back home — to this end they are helped by Steve (played by JACK BLACK, 55).
Black’s late mother was Jewish and his father converted to Judaism. His wife, since 2006, is musician TANYA HADEN, 53, and they have two sons. Tanya’s mother was Jewish. A few years ago, Black said his sons went to Hebrew school.
I stumbled on a Hallmark Channel movie and realized, fairly quickly, that there are four connected Hallmark Channel movies. They premiere every week starting on March 22 (then March 29, April 5, and April 12).
I saw that actress MINDY COHN, 58, is in every film, but on-line articles didn’t explain why she is in every movie. I don’t subscribe to the Hallmark Channel, but much of the Hallmark content is also streamed on Peacock, a channel I do subscribe to.
It’s worth subscribing to Peacock for at least for one month ($8) because they are the only outlet streaming “Wicked,” the mega-hit musical, without any extra charge.
Well, my confusion (about Cohn) was all cleared up as I viewed the first film, entitled: “Hearts Around the Table: Jenna’s First Love,” on Peacock.
The premise is that Angie Hartman (Cohn) has a large, beautiful home, in or near Washington, D. C. Angie has fostered many children over the years and still has one foster child in her care. The foster family has a tradition. All the fosters (now adults) come to Angie’s house on Sundays and all sit at a big table. Food, cooked by Angie and some adult fosters, is served. Jenna, you might guess, was fostered by the wonderful Angie.
In the first film, we meet several adult fosters (at the table) who become the star characters in the other films. Josh is in the first two films, and he has a star turn in “Heart’s Around the Table: Josh’s Third Serving” (April 5 premiere).
Here is the “Josh” film synopsis: “When after school programs see their funding cut, teachers Josh and Ella turn to fundraising before banding together in search of a larger donation, falling hard along the way.”
Josh is played by JAKE EPSTEIN, 38, a handsome Canadian fellow. He grew up in a Conservative Jewish home. He isn’t a big star, but he has worked steadily in Canadian TV and in stage musicals. This includes a big role in “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” (the Broadway cast; 2016-2017).
Of course, Mindy Cohn doesn’t look like most of us remember — when she was a cast member on “Facts of Life” (1977-88). The young Cohn was a funny teenager and is now 58-year-old woman who has worked hard.
I give her a lot of credit — Cohn has managed to consistently find roles — mostly guest roles and voice roles. She always snared acting roles and she continued to work as she simultaneously fought breast cancer (diagnosed in 2013, and was determined cancer-free in 2017).
Cohn is a founder donor of WeSparkCancer Support Center in Los Angeles.
Cohn’s current look helps makes her performance as hardworking Angie more credible than any other actor playing a Hallmark “Hearts Around the Table” movie character.
“Doc,” a Fox series that premiered in January 2025, has done well in terms of ratings and reviews. It was renewed for a second season in February. I previously noted that one of the star characters (Dr. Jake Heller) came out as clearly Jewish in the series’ third episode.
I should have noted, before now, a star doctor of another new, hit medical series — “The Pitt” — came out as Jewish. “The Pitt” (HBO) is about a very busy emergency ward in Pittsburgh. The star doctor is Dr. Michael Robinavitch (called “Robby”). Robby is the head of the emergency room. NOAH WYLE, 53, plays Robby.
Wyle is the son of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother. I gather that he was pretty much raised secular with some exposure to Jewish and Christian holidays.
The weird thing is that Robby called himself Jewish — the only time this season — while he briefly commented about the book of Luke, from the New Testament.
My gut says that neither series will make the doctors’ Jewishness a constant thing. Maybe, just maybe, their Jewish background will become a focus of one episode.