"Holiday for Heroes" is part of Hallmark Channel's 2019 Countdown to Christmas marathon. Apparently they have recently started showing military appreciation Christmas films. My worry and your worry should be that these films, including this one, would end up as a recruiting tool. Of course, it's going to be sentimental.
A coffee shop owner, Audrey Brown, from a small Minnesota town writes her brother letters and sends him care package while he serves overseas. One January, the brother gives a care package to a serviceman, Matt Evans, without a family. The two correspond during the year and you get the feeling he would like to meet her. She experiences a lot of romantic peer pressure from her co-worker about this mystery man. Of course, he is stationed there through no effort on his part.
Melissa Egan as Audrey and Marc Blucas as Matt are experienced actors you may recognize from other films and tv shows. Hallmark doesn't usually have two talented actors in the same film. It's a treat to see their interaction. She portrays Audrey as a passionate, overworked woman who is afraid to spend time on herself. Evans seems settled down into his life, disinterested in doing anything different. The interaction between these two feels natural even if it isn't well written. The actors make the most of the limited script.
The film is permeated with the sadness of separation from your loved ones. The main characters try to stage a supportive event called "Holiday for Heroes" in support of those serving overseas. The local city sponsor won't support it, but you don't get the impression that the film is making a lazy anti-corporate stance. Sometimes city council just does what it thinks it is best.
The film has a deep devotion to the human side of the military. In spite of that, people want to be with their family at Christmas. The mandatory love story ties into this as well. In final review, the film manages to be charmingly inoffensive.
A coffee shop owner, Audrey Brown, from a small Minnesota town writes her brother letters and sends him care package while he serves overseas. One January, the brother gives a care package to a serviceman, Matt Evans, without a family. The two correspond during the year and you get the feeling he would like to meet her. She experiences a lot of romantic peer pressure from her co-worker about this mystery man. Of course, he is stationed there through no effort on his part.
Melissa Egan as Audrey and Marc Blucas as Matt are experienced actors you may recognize from other films and tv shows. Hallmark doesn't usually have two talented actors in the same film. It's a treat to see their interaction. She portrays Audrey as a passionate, overworked woman who is afraid to spend time on herself. Evans seems settled down into his life, disinterested in doing anything different. The interaction between these two feels natural even if it isn't well written. The actors make the most of the limited script.
The film is permeated with the sadness of separation from your loved ones. The main characters try to stage a supportive event called "Holiday for Heroes" in support of those serving overseas. The local city sponsor won't support it, but you don't get the impression that the film is making a lazy anti-corporate stance. Sometimes city council just does what it thinks it is best.
The film has a deep devotion to the human side of the military. In spite of that, people want to be with their family at Christmas. The mandatory love story ties into this as well. In final review, the film manages to be charmingly inoffensive.