Ambrose, Kaufman charm in Hallmark Hall of Fame's 'Loving Leah'

It's an unusual to start dating: after you're married.

"Loving Leah" is a tender, funny love story about an after-the-fact romance kindled between the young Brooklyn widow of an Orthodox rabbi and the rabbi's brother, who learns he's obliged to wed her. Huh?

Best known to viewers as the rebel daughter from "Six Feet Under," Lauren Ambrose transforms herself for the role of Leah, who, after her husband's sudden death, wants to break from her sheltered past by enrolling in college and finding a career. But under an ancient Jewish law, her brother-in-law, a non-practicing Jew, is expected to marry the childless Leah to carry on her late husband's name.

"You're kidding, right?" says Jake (Adam Kaufman), a handsome Washington cardiologist who already has a girlfriend, when informed of his unexpected duty.

The solution he and Leah settle on: Get married, remain secretly platonic, and live their separate lives.

Of course, these opposites attract, especially while residing under the same roof in Jake's cramped Georgetown apartment.

Ambrose and Kaufman ("Without a Trace") are joined in this charming "Hallmark Hall of Fame" by Susie Essman, Mercedes Ruehl, Natasha Lyonne and Ricki Lake. It airs 9 p.m. today on CBS.

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'Loving Leah': A lot to like, if not love, about 'Loving Leah'

"Loving Leah" has the commonest of plots — two unlikely people falling in love. But because the story unfolds amid a background of Hasidic Judaism, this Hallmark Hall of Fame production holds some surprises, too.

Jake, played by the magnetic Adam Kaufman of TV's "Without a Trace," is a career-driven cardiologist who lives in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. He's also a commitment-phobe, with a girlfriend he takes for granted.

It's been six years since the nonreligious Jake has seen his brother, a Hasidic rabbi in Brooklyn. Jake has a dream that his brother is seeking him — and his brother dies later that day. Jake returns home for the burial.

The rabbi's devout but feisty widow, Leah is played by the marvelous Lauren Ambrose of TV's "Six Feet Under." Under an ancient law of his brother's faith, Jake is expected to marry the widow if his brother has died childless. (The practice, known as a Levirate marriage, is mandated by the torah, with many Old Testament examples.)

Here's where the viewer is asked to take a colossal leap of faith with the plot of "Loving Leah" (9 p.m. Sunday, Chs. 5, 46).

Instead of hopping on the next plane out of New York, Jake agrees to take part in a Halizah — a ceremony that will let him avoid his duty to marry Leah. As part of the ceremony, Leah removes Jake's shoe, throws it across the room and spits on the floor in front of him. For murky reasons, probably involving
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feelings of guilt and disgrace, Jake stops the Halizah and requests a timeout.

Alone with Leah, he proposes to marry her, take her back to Georgetown with him, live in separate bedrooms — and probably divorce her within a year. She agrees.

If this sounds preposterous, it's probably because it is.

So why is it enjoyable? For starters, the movie, based on a play by P'Nenah Goldstein, depicts a culture that's foreign to most of us, but also intriguing.

More important, for those willing to make the leap of faith, Ambrose and Kaufman have chemistry, which invites viewers to overlook improbabilities. We enjoy watching Ambrose domesticate her new husband-roommate — who has a pool table in his living room. And as Leah becomes a bit more worldly and Jake a bit more spiritual, the ending is as predictable as it is moving.

With the two leads getting solid support from the likes of Mercedes Ruehl as Jake's mother, Susie Essman (of "Curb Your Enthusiasm") and Natasha Lyonne as Leah's mom and sister, "Loving Leah" is easy to like.

"Loving Leah"

Airing: 9 p.m. Sunday,
Chs. 5, 46

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