2020, Netflix
Anyhoo.
Erica (Kat Graham, Vampire Diaries) works on Capital Hill in Washington DC for a Congresswoman Bradford (Virginia Madsen, Dune), an aide of some kind, hoping to get an upcoming Chief of Staff position. Its near Xmas but she has to Work Hard(er) and is using it as the excuse to avoid her family for the holidays, there being a Dead Mom and a Step Mom and all that baggage.
Meanwhile in Guam, Captain Claws Jantz (Alexander Ludwig, Vikings) is preparing for the Operation Christmas Drop, like he has for many an Xmas past. The idea is that the airforce base on Guam gathers together supplies and needed items and just plain Xmas Cheer for a bunch of islands in the South Pacific that are in need. Think big planes flying over, tossing boxes with parachutes into the sea, to be gathered by the smiling, waving islanders. Let's skip right past the America is Great propagandic aspect of this, and just see Claws and his crew as doing a Nice Thing.
Congresswoman Bradford is tasked with Saving Money and decides that Christmas Drop needs to be cancelled, and if that doesn't save enough money, then closing the single air force base on Guam might be required. I doubt that would be considered, as the US probably still needs some sort of presence in the region, but whatever, its fiction and you need Impending Doom and Misguided Bad Guy. Erica is sent, only a week before Xmas, to fly from DC to Guam. That's a 16 hour flight, not counting connections and layovers. Erica should have arrived in a much more ratty state than she did.
Captain Claws is a nice guy, everyone loves him and he is doing Good Things. But Erica isn't going to be charmed that easily, so the relationship is kicked off with mistrust and dislike. He wants to distract her with beautiful beaches and she just wants to read expense reports. The island really is quite lovely. I am pretty sure the writers have seen Death in Paradise, the British-French murder-of-the-week series that is set in the Caribbean, as they use many of the tropes from the show, including New Harry, a CGI gecko that inhabits her living quarters.
As he continues to lead her around the island, she learns of the Operation, why it is exists and why it has to continue, but primarily how little it relies on the US Govt to fund it. Most comes from donations, all the work is done off-hours, and the fuel, flights and actual military required activities are done as part of training exercises. Even the General running the base is All In.
All the while, we see Erica dial down on her fervour to cut costs, as she sees all the smiling islanders so very thankful to the Large Blonde White Man. Sorry, while I did enjoy this movie, the whole White Saviour aspect, so very prevalent in Hallmarkies, gets to me, especially in this one where the male lead is so obviously of Nordic descent, despite being from Vancouver. And the female lead is black. Anywayz, she lets her hair down (literally, lovely hair that it is) and switches out heels for flats.
The penultimate Xmas Event is an Xmas dance put on for all the contributers and helpers of the Operation, a dance on the beach where Erica shows off her dancing skills, and one of the airmen whose name is Sunshine plays a mean fiddle Xmas carol. But the real Xmas Event is the actual drop, which is almost cancelled due to inclement weather and a Congresswoman who shows up all angry and ready to Cancel Xmas. Not sure why, in her bid to Save Money, she would fly an aid to Guam, and then fly there herself. Anyhoo, Erica convinces her to join the event, to see what it does, and the bunch climb on their planes, to throw gift boxes out the back. Big gift boxes. On parachutes. That float, apparently, and hopefully are waterproof as they are all tossed over water.
And when they return, Erica tosses Claws his own Xmas Miracle, as she has pulled one of his own numbers (where he would pull strings and accomplish a seemingly impossible task) and flown in his family, from their somewhere-in-the-midwest farm to Guam, for a real Xmas Event. And she gets a little Santa herself, as the newly reformed Congresswoman the job she always wanted, and Xmas Miracle unto itself, Erica accepts it. She doesn't stay in Guam.
The Draw: Well, for one, Kat Graham, and secondly, a tropical island. While the recurring dream (real dream, not i want to be on an island dream) of being on one has faded away the adoration for places I have never seen have not.
The Formulae: OK, girl in the Big City has a upwardly mobile job, but ends up at a PST instead of staying in the city. OK, the PST is actually a air base on Guam, but its still pretty fucking picturesque to me! She meets a guy who she instantly dislikes, but he's a Good Guy. She's mostly uptight to begin with, but she finally relents and relaxes, and likes him. He is also All About Xmas. His name, while they did some stupid acronym with Claws is really, well, you know... Claus? GET IT? There is an Xmas Event, even a couple for that matter. And in the Great Tradition, the increasingly attracted pair do not kiss until the very end of the movie.
Unformulae: No, the placement on a tropical island is not the greatest break from formula. The fact that she gets the Big Job Offer but KEEPS IT is so fucking amazing. Perhaps they have a reunion sequel in mind?
True Calling? Well considering the movie is named after an actual, IRL thing that goes on, yeah true true true.
The Rewind: Pause to look at the pretty pretty gecko.
The Regulars: Kat Graham has done a few of these. Janet Kidder, who plays an officer in this one, has done a few. That's about it.
How does it Hallmark? While breaking the mould somewhat, I liked it. It was heartfelt, and while Claws was a big lug, I bought into his whole Santa Schtick. And well, Kat Graham can always smile my bad mood away. And the whole American Saviour, while annoying me, is still a pretty nice thing to do for people who are isolated.
How does it movie? Do these ever?
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