USS Christmas (2020)
The Hallmark-DoD Collab You Probably Don’t Need
Once more, we find ourselves in a “movie set around Christmastime, but not really a ‘Christmas movie’” situation. In this case, it was a Hallmark-Pentagon collab under the Movies & Mysteries sub-banner, given the plot revolves around a mysterious letter and handmade ornament. This one also follows a central romance theme - he’s an uptight Grinch-type Navy pilot, she’s a spunky reporter in search of her next big scoop.
Really where this movie gets points is for a setting far beyond the Hallmark norm - in this case, a Navy warship “tiger cruise.” If, like me, you had no idea this was a thing, apparently it is. Google tells me it’s when family members of enlisted sailors are permitted to sail on a Navy ship, typically at the end of a deployment. In this case, the cruise in question takes place around Christmas, so some colourful, twinkling lights and Christmas decor helps to break up the military grey. It helps that it was filmed on the USS Yorktown, a WWII-era aircraft carrier worthy of its own IMDB entry.
There’s the typical family drama to go along with the romance plotlines, but even by Hallmark standards this was a pretty mild movie.
You’ll like this if…
You like fleeting glimpses of military machinery, and ultra low-stakes mysteries.
