USS Christmas

I'm not usually a fan of Trevor Donovan, his face yes, his acting not quite, but found him to be really good in this. I liked his character. I usually adore the lead actress, and this time felt she was a little too pushy and over the top. I felt for the guy because in real life she would've made his personality type so uncomfortable. She just kept chasing him and wouldn't let up, and she more than pushed him out of his comfort zone. I would've preferred a longer length of time for their love to grow and for her to ease him into showing another side of himself, and therfore a more natural method of their love forming. Honestly, it was just a couple days, and she might have love bombed him, and somehow their totally opposite and conflicting personalities work and they fell in love? Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but I watched the ending and thought hmm that won't last. I don't want to feel that at the end of a romantic movie. It wasn't believable. I liked the premise though. I was disappointed with the mystery though in a way. It felt a bit like a let down. It had been built up and in the end was just kind of meh and not anything to write an article about.

I would have given this movie a much higher rating if the option had been available.

This "learn about a story of romantic love" movie had a unique setting - aboard a naval ship. It is definitely family safe and worth a watch. Nicely done Hallmark.

Great Holiday Movie. I found it a little strange that the main character who was a reporter only wanted to do fluff/soft news stories. Heartwarming news pieces don't win you those awards. The chemistry between the leads could have been better.

This is an enjoyable movie, thanks to a likeable cast and some refreshing angles. The concept of a Tiger Cruise, like other reviewers, was new to me, and despite not usually caring for Hallmark's military-themed films, I enjoyed learning more about the Navy here. Jen Lilley and Trevor Donovan as leads Maddie and Billy both did a great job (Jen Lilley in particular always brings authentic emotions to the table). The relationship between the two of them, however, was on shakier ground for me. The timing of this film was essentially on light speed. Maddie and Billy spend a few days together and suddenly (after initially being rejected by her, no less), Billy's tracking Maddie down at her work and telling her that their whole lives have led to them meeting, that fate wants them to be together, etcetera, etcetera. It was honestly a bit cringeworthy for me, especially considering that the first few meetings between the two of them were unbelievably awkward with no palpable romantic tension. Once they fall for each other, though, Maddie has reservations about the relationship because of Billy's involvement in the Navy and fears living a life like her mother's, who married a military man and lost him when her children were still young. By the end of the movie, however, Maddie magically has no hang-ups about this issue anymore. She speaks to a few people who they both make arguments that I found less than compelling (essentially that loves matters more than anything else), and suddenly changes her mind completely about being with a Navy man. (Funny enough, Billy himself resents his military father for not being more present in his life; he makes a stiff remark during dinner about always getting his Christmas presents in the mail and never getting to see his father in person. Nothing suggests, however, that he would be any different as a father to his own family). Also a disappointment to me was the mystery of the couple Maddie chases throughout the movie. I was expecting something intriguing and surprising, but in the end, the mystery truly is that there is no mystery. The couple is just that -- a married couple! In the end, nothing stood in the way of their relationship at all. They're honestly as boring as two people could be, yet Maddie works a front-page story out of them for the paper she works at. In the end, this movie is sweet and certainly will squeeze the hearts of a patriotic audience. It could have used a bit more polishing around the edges, though.

There is a cute little Walt Disney book titled "Button Soup" It is a 1975 Disney's Wonderful World of Reading storybook featuring Daisy Duck and Scrooge McDuck. In this book, Daisy tricks her stingy Uncle Scrooge into making enough soup for the whole town -- using just one button. Using a similar approach to the Disney book "Button Soup" a pretty writer named Maddie Contino (Jen Lilley) begrudgingly agrees to go on what's called a Tiger Cruise with her mother Elizabeth (Barbara Niven). A Tiger Cruise allows a naval officer to take their family to work and in this case Maddie's sister is stationed as a fighter pilot named Lt. Amelia Breslin (Stefanie Butler) on a ship. Lt. Amelia Breslin, her sister Maddie, and their mom Elizabeth receive a dinner invitation from the ship's captain who invites his own son, Lt. Billy Jenkins (Trevor Donovan) to join them for dinner and reminisce about Christmas's past when the ships Captain Chet Jenkins (Brett Rice) used to work alongside Maddie and Amelia's father who is now deceased. As Captain Jenkins discusses the very first Tiger Cruise he lights a spark in Maddie's desire to write about a long forgotten romance of a couple who first met on that very first Tiger cruise. Captain Jenkins assigns his good looking fighter pilot son Billy to assist Maddie in researching her story by accessing the ships archives, and Billy initially wants nothing to do with Maddie's research or with the Christmas spirit. But as luck would have it, with every stone Maddie over turns (just like in the 1975 Disney book Button Soup) she draws the unwilling Billy closer and closer into the research and into falling in love with one another. Maddie and Billy's research leads to good things happening which I don't want to divulge and ruin it for any interested viewers but suffice to say the story took a lot of hard work, push and pull, and convincing but all works out in the end for all parties. I give USS Christmas a decent 7 out of 10 IMDB rating.

This was the worst movie I've ever watched with a military backdrop... what was your budget? 100 bucks..... Try not using the same background vehicles. I saw the same police car driving back and forth in every shore scene... and the acting was terrible

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

This was the worst movie I've ever watched with a military backdrop... what was your budget? 100 bucks..... Try not using the same background vehicles. I saw the same police car driving back and forth in every shore scene... and the acting was terrible

Sauce