Lemonade Blessing Review
Lemonade Blessing (2025) Film Review from the 24th Annual Tribeca Film Festival, a movie written and directed by Chris Merola and starring Jake Ryan, Jeanine Serralles, Skye Alyssa Friedman, Miles J. Harvey, Michael Oloyede, Todd Gearhart, Barbara Rosenblat, Nicholas J. Coleman, Alexander Jameson, James Freedson-Jackson, Tiffany Ho, Keith William Richards, John Churchill, Bree Klauser, Dina Drew and Taryn Gates.
With Lemonade Blessing, filmmaker Chris Merola delivers a funny and moving new film about a young man’s unusual experiences with a wild girlfriend. Merola hits the bullseye with many of the movie’s sharp observations about the quest for companionship and love while in high school. This film centers around two students in a Catholic high school and the picture has some scenes that could be offensive to devout members of the religion, yet the choices Merola makes are always justified within the context of this very unique and touching dramatic comedy.
Jake Ryan stars in the film as John Santucci, a high school student who is trying to masturbate in the tub when we first meet him. His overly religious mother, Mary (Jeanine Seralles), suggests she stands by the bathroom door in order to ensure he gets out of the bathroom quickly and without dilly-dallying. We learn that Mary is separated from John’s dad, Pete (Todd Gearhart). We also meet John’s friends who he associates with at school. Those friends seem to watch porn on their phones while claiming to know the ins and outs of dating despite possessing little experience themselves.
All bets are off when a girl called “Lilith” comes on to the scene at school. John offers to give his seat up for her, but she claims she doesn’t mind standing. “Lilith” is played by Skye Alyssa Friedman who is clearly the stand-out in this clever, frustrating and wildly entertaining movie. Lilith and John end up “hooking up,” so to say, as John takes an interest in her quirky personality and cute looks. He’s initially drawn to her because she says her parents are separated too, but we soon find out Lilith is lying about more than a few things as the plot progresses.
Meanwhile, John wants to become a Eucharistic minister at the suggestion of his mom and John asks a Brother at the school (played by Michael Oloyede) for guidance in this endeavor. The plot thickens as the wildly unpredictable Lilith asks John to do cruel things such as burn a bible and pee on communion to keep dating him. John cares for Lilith, but must confront his faith, his family values and what he thinks is the right thing to do under very unusual circumstances.
Jake Ryan is phenomenal as John as he gives off an awkward appearance that makes us believe his character would fumble in the dating game when it comes time to kiss Lilith and, eventually, go to third base. Ryan adds depth to his role that makes him relatable and worthy of sympathy. As his mom, Jeanine Serralles is excellent too as she creates a very plausible mother who wants the best for her son. This mother just wants to see a girl make her son happy, but the plot gets complicated when Lilith shows a nasty side as she asks the mom if her marriage was officially annulled.
This movie ultimately belongs to Skye Alyssa Friedman, though. She’s pretty much the whole show when it comes to formulating the essentials of the movie’s plot and her character’s unpredictability drives the film towards a heartwarming conclusion that doesn’t answer the difficult questions about the mental instability that Lilith displays as she tries her best to deal with the awkwardness of being a high school student. This movie feels like it’s a true original and has scenes that explore Lilith’s pains and passions in a satisfying way. This is Skye Alyssa Friedman’s coming-into-stardom role and we’ll hopefully be seeing more of her in future projects.
The supporting cast is solid too. Miles J. Harvey as John’s friend, Angelo, has some difficult scenes as the character’s dad seems to have suffered from liver cancer. Harvey adds the right amount of humor and depth to this role and Angelo is the most sympathetic of John’s friends. The other most memorable supporting performance is that of Todd Gearhart as John’s dad. Gearhart wisely plays this role realistically to make us understand why John needs to be close to both his mom and his dad to find true fulfillment in his life.
While Lemonade Blessing could have been more optimistic in regards to the future of Lilith and John’s relationship, there is quite a bit of ambiguity for the characters’ futures that could leave the audience pondering questions that will provoke thoughtful conversations. Also noteworthy is that the director doesn’t shy away from difficult subject matter that feels authentic and will be easy to understand for anyone who has gone to Catholic school and tried to come to terms with the rules of the church versus their own needs and desires. Lemonade Blessing is a satisfying coming-of-age tale with an edge that will make you laugh-out-loud throughout.
Rating: 8/10
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