Operation Christmas Drop (2020)

 

                    I managed to find another Christmas movie to review.  I’m having to dig deep now, so this one is actually more of a military movie.  There is definitely no combat in it.  But it does have a battle of the sexes.  Although on Netflix, it certainly has a Hallmark feel to it.  But unlike your typical Hallmark Christmas movie, it is actually is based on an historical event that is ongoing.  And it was shot on the location of that event, which was a nice touch.  The Air Force allowed the use of Andersen Air Force Base on Guam. 

                    Erica (Kat Graham) is the aide to a Congresswoman (Virginia Madsen).  She is very efficient and is looking forward to a promotion to chief of staff.  She’s not really looking forward to Christmas because her mom has died and she is uncomfortable with the new wife.  Still, she wasn’t planning on spending the holidays on Guam.  She is sent by her ball-breaking boss (nice touch that the stock role is played by a woman for a change) to inspect the base, specifically Operation Christmas Drop, and report that the base should be closed, wink wink.  Operation Christmas Drop involves dropping toys, supplies, etc. to islanders over a large area.  It’s officially good practice for paradropping military supplies.  The base commander knows Erica’s coming and since every base is paranoid about closure, he picks his most charismatic pilot to chaperone her and convince her the base is valuable and the operation is not costing any taxpayer’s money.  Andrew (Alexander Ludwig, Bjorn Ironside on “Vikings”) is charming in a snarky way (just like me!) and naturally they do not hit it off, at first.  Although he is able to show that the base is run efficiently and everything about the operation is on the up and up, Erica has been sent by a grinch to be grinchy.  And she does want that promotion.  The base is going to need a what?  (Correct answer: Christmas miracle.)

                    If you are familiar with Hallmark Christmas movies, you’ve seen this plot before.  Big city girl goes to a small town (island) to shut down/buy out a business.  Her boss is a scrooge and she is a scrooge minion.  She encounters a hunk and they work their way from cat and dog to female cat and male cat.  An assortment of colorful locals are thrown in.  She are going to kill their dreams.  And at Christmas time!  Spoiler alert:  if you have never seen one of these movies, a couple of people become a couple and the grinch shows up to have his heart grow several times larger. 

                    I have a Christmas tradition of looking for a list of the best Hallmark Christmas movies and then strolling through the TV guide to tape any on the list.  Over the years we have seen some that are cute, but most are enough to make you add rum to your eggnog.  This movie would be below average on the Hallmark scale of treacly.  The leads are good actors.  Their arc, while painfully predictable, is charmingly accomplished.  The rest of the cast is decent for a low budget movie.  The dialogue did not make me throw up in my mouth even once.  The setting on Guam is liable to cause some Northerners to cry.  There’s a difference from a Hallmark movie – no snow.  The love birds scuba dive.  This is undoubtedly the only Christmas movie with a gecko and tropical fish. The movie manages to squeeze in some Christmas songs, but with a Pacific flair to them.

                    The best thing I can say about the movie is it brings to light a nice Christmas event that will probably not lack for funding in the future.  Since 1952, Operation Christmas Drop has been delivering Christmas supplies to Pacific islanders.  Andersen Air Force Base on Guam and Yokota AFB in Japan (where I lived for three years as a boy) are still operating the longest running Department of Defense mission.  It is also the longest running humanitarian airlift in the world.  C-130s paradrop boxes weighing up to 400 pounds.  It does not rely on taxpayer’s money.  That’s right, the military that spends trillions can’t afford to foot the bill.  Okay, I’m being a bit of a scold there so let’s just be thankful that our extremely  wealthy military gifted its cooperation for this nice little movie.  Felis Pagua!

 

GRADE  =  C+