Embarquement pour Noël

In the archive room Billy sees a photo of what I believe was the A1 Skyraider but he identifies it as a B-29. Other than that, I enjoyed this one more than most. But I'm a sucker for anything that flies. Some cool footage of the cats at work.

6/10 - following the new trend of mixing a new and old romance, this Hallmark flick is pleasing if forgettable

Expectations were a bit mixed when sitting down to watch 'USS Christmas'. There are a fair share of good Hallmark Christmas films, and there were some surprising near-gems in 2020. The plot did sound sweet though not overly exciting. Jen Lilley and Trevor Donovan are a bit take and leave for me and it is dependent on the characters they play, Lilley in particular has had characters with very exaggerated character flaws which she can over-compensate.

Was a bit mixed in regard to 'USS Christmas'. Hallmark did do better in 2020, both of the Christmas films and and in all their seasonal blockings combined. They also did worse on both counts, as there were a small batch of below average efforts. 2020 was a very variable year for Hallmark (not surprising) but considering the circumstances the films generally could have turned out a good deal worse than they actually did. 'USS Christmas' is worth a one time watch but not in my view enough for repeat viewings.

Did feel that the two leads were on the uneven side, both not immediately settling into their roles and taking a while to warm up. Lilley does have another one of her characters that has exaggerated character flaws, the pushiness especially is excessive, and Lilley does at first tries too hard and comes over as neurotic. Donovan does relax into his role later, but when in Grinch mode he did come over as very stiff and bland.

Although their chemistry is there eventually, it does take too long to develop and when it does start to it feels underdeveloped and underwritten. Would have liked more development to the characters in general, not enough of them feel fleshed out enough.

Both Lilley and Donovan do fare much better though later. Lilley does tone down and becomes charming and not too sugary. Donovan loosens up later too, like his character who is the most developed of the characters, and is understated and easy going enough while having the right amount of command for the job. Their chemistry becomes warmer and more natural later, just wish that it was more consistent and that it occurred earlier. The supporting cast are solid.

Furthermore, 'USS Christmas' is a pleasant looking film with the scenery standing out in particular, while the soundtrack matches the spirit of the holiday and the film's themes very well. The script is neither too corny or over-serious, and doesn't come over as muddled tonally. Really liked its sincerity and heart. The quite gentle story is very heart-warming and moving with a warm glow later, even if it could have been tighter pace wise to begin with.

Concluding, a little above average that takes a while to find its feet in some areas but becomes pleasant enough. 6/10.

I was in the Navy, so I noticed quite a few things that weren't exactly accurate, not the least of which was the sister Navy flyer proudly showing off her plane which clearly said "Marines" on it. Well, he did teach her to go down a ladder correctly. The story itself was ok, if typical Hallmark. You know how it ends before it even starts, so the rest is a ride you choose to take. Always like Jen Lilley, she's very pretty, but somehow two hours of her is enough. The chemistry was a little iffy, I thought. This is not the best Hallmark movie this year, but it's not the worst either, and anything beats the news in 2020...!

Although he starts out quite gruff at the beginning, it's easy to see how he mellows throughout the film, thus proving that Trevor Donovan is not only gorgeous, but a good actor too. I've seen a lot of these films lately and quite often the actors haven't been able or directed to get this change from "Grinch" to "Santa" to flow naturally and as a result they have seemed highly unlikely to have that crucial change of heart that the formula of every Made For TV Christmas Film demands and some of them are just downright horrible. She annoyed me a bit though, I'd have dragged him off to a room alone somewhere after the first meeting.

It's a cute story, although it is just a variation on the theme, but it is nice to see a different setting this time, even if they do still end up in New York. The idea of a Navy ship was clever and they didn't go over the top with the "We must honour our troops" thing.

I may be biased because Trevor looked so good in uniform and in Black Tie, but I did like this one and I look forward to watching it again next Christmas preferably before February, but there are so many to watch aren't there.