Le Noël des héros

Riley Finn returns from the secret mission he left Buffy for all those years ago, to find Sunnydale much more Christmassy and Buffy to be replaced by Audrey, a local coffee shop owner and generally the nicest person on the planet!

Okay, so it is Marc Blucas but he plays Staff Sergeant Matt Evans and he still reminds me of Riley and if he appears in uniform then he is Riley and will forever be! Matt has been getting letters from one of his soldiers' sisters for the last year (not sure if his friend new about this or approved but let's not worry about that!) and when he is sent stateside, he goes to see here. Audrey(Melissa Claire Egan- an American daytime TV star turned Hallmark heroine), the letter writing sister runs a local coffeeshop and wants to expand but in the meantime she is trying to give a Happy Christmas to as many servicemen and women as she can, but is having problems getting the venue and money to do it. Her and Matt get on fantastically well, even better in person than in ink but she's busy and he's trying to decide what to do with his life, so we are going to have some bumps before the end. But it is a Hallmark movie and one that is based on returning soldiers and love and Christmas, so I'm not worried, it will all be alright in the end and Riley might not get his Buffy but honestly Audrey is nicer and less likely to stab him with a stake.

Homecoming for heroes, Christmas, love story, Hallmark you're crying, I'm not, it's you. You just think I'm crying through the tears in your own eyes!

It is just one of very good Hallmark Christmas films. Because it propose more than the nice story, the familiar actors, the sweet humor and the chaines of cliches. A good story about militaries on operational fronts, comunity, siblings, small business, coffee and a story of love wise crafted. A real special film from Hallmark because it ignores some borders, defines a not easy theme and gives a decent , in delicate manner, portrait of the characters.

'Holiday for Heroes' is not the only Hallmark Christmas film to have a military theme. This didn't matter to me, as the military deserve so much credit for what they do and there should be no limit to show any appreciation. Which all the Hallmark Christmas films to have this theme do, some more so though than others and shall always appreciate the good intentions those films showed (others that spring to mind being 'Christmas Homecoming' and 'Operation Christmas').

Of those three, to me 'Operation Christmas' was the better overall film as it connected with me more emotionally and the central chemistry was better. When it comes to military representation accuracy, of the three 'Holiday for Heroes' perhaps fares best with it being the most layered and human. 'Holiday for Heroes' was a nicely done and very well intentioned effort with lots of admirable things. As well as a few things that could have been done better. As far as Hallmark Christmas films go overall, this is close to being one of the better ones and is easily one of the best of the 2019 Hallmark Christmas film output.

As said, 'Holiday for Heroes' is not perfect. The pace in the first third or so is a bit erratic, sometimes it jumps about but it also takes a while to get going.

Likewise with the chemistry between Marc Blucas and Melissa Claire Egan, which seemed disconnected to begin with but did warm significantly once the relationship developed. A bit stilted in the dialogue early on too.

Conversely, Blucas and Egan are both very well cast and very good here. Blucas especially and he is wholly deserving of the universal praise he's gotten for his beautifully restrained performance. Egan has had more of a mixed reaction for understandable reasons, she does start off rocky with some of her line delivery but once she settles she is very affecting and easy to like. The two came over realistically as characters, with flaws not being taken to extremes while showing some growth. The supporting cast do very well, with the standout being Latarsha Rose.

Furthermore, 'Holiday for Heroes' is a pleasant looking film with the scenery standing out in particular, while the soundtrack matches the spirit of the holiday and the film's themes very well. The script is neither too corny or over-serious, and doesn't come over as muddled tonally. Really liked its sincerity and heart. The story is very heart-warming and moving, even if it could have been tighter, and a good job is done showing the human side of the military and its loyalty.

In conclusion, not great but well done. 7/10.

6/10 - sweet Hallmark flick will be one to come back to in future years

This was such a good movie!! I love the Christmas movies on Hallmark and Lifetime every year. Each year they have some hits and some duds and this one, for me, was definitely a hit. It was just the right amount of sentimental, has great chemistry between the characters, and a really good storyline. Sometimes their military movies are overly sappy, but this one was perfect. Again, in my opinion. Definitely recommend!!