Stream It Or Skip It: ‘My Christmas Hero’ on GAF, Where A Military Man Helps A Doctor Find Family History and Lasting Love

Great American Family is back with a new movie in My Christmas Hero to continue its battle with Hallmark over who sits atop the throne as King of Christmas content. Candace Cameron Bure and Gabriel Hogan take the lead in this film that is part romance and part family tale, all set to the backdrops of the U.S. military and Christmastime. Does My Christmas Hero appeal to a wide array of watchers this holiday season, or is this a title that was meant for just a select target audience to enjoy?

MY CHRISTMAS HERO: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Nicole Ramsey (Candace Cameron Bure) is a US Army reservist and orthopedic physician helping military service members and their families at the Joint Military Base in Lacey, Washington. There, she meets Major Daniel Ross (Gabriel Hogan), who is in her office for a light knee injury sustained while playing a friendly game of basketball on base. The two immediately show attraction to one another that only grows as Daniel and Nicole share more of their lives, with Daniel meeting Nicole’s parents and Nicole meeting Daniel’s longtime best friend, Captain Mark Jennings (Robin Dunne).

As the holidays draw near, Daniel assists Nicole in giving her mother, Fran (Teryl Rothery), the ultimate Christmas gift: the true story about how Fran’s father John T. Medlen died in Northern Italy towards the end of World War II. Though the records prove hard to track down, Nicole is determined to find the answer to her mom’s long-held questions. Through it all, Nicole, Daniel, Mark, and Marilyn stay committed to helping their community’s military personnel heal mentally and physically through the holiday season and beyond.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: A Christmas Hero is like a combo of the military and slight PTSD/survivor’s guilt aspects of Thank You for Your Service with the wholesome Jesus-centric Christian vibe of a VeggieTales title like The Star of Christmas.

Performance Worth Watching: I like how Kapila Rego played nurse Marilyn with both compassion and self-awareness. It felt like she knew she was in a campy and slightly cliché Christmas movie at times (see “memorable dialogue” section below) which made her character all the more enjoyable.

Memorable Dialogue: “You’re right, it would be right out of a rom-com for the sidekicks to end up together too. That would be funny.”

A Holiday Tradition: First instituted decades ago by Nicole’s late grandmother, Dorothy, is the tradition of “Spirit Sweater Holiday Parties.” Every year, people gather at Dorothy and her family’s Christmas party wearing a festive garment, with the only rule being that no one can refer to the spirit sweater as “U- word” (ugly). Then everyone goes around the room saying why their respective sweater represents the best of the Christmas spirit to them.

Does the Title Make Any Sense?: At first I was confused because I thought that it meant Daniel would be Nicole’s Christmas hero (which maybe he is in some ways), but the title then eventually made sense and felt fitting as we learn that it’s Nicole’s late grandpa, John, who was the real main Christmas hero all along.

Our Take: One of my first big takeaways of My Christmas Hero was that Nicole’s mom, Fran, is a bit of a meddlesome menace, mostly just in the sense that she seems obsessed with matchmaking everyone around her… even people she barely knew, like when she tried to hook Mark up with Nicole’s coworker and friend, Marilyn (Kapila Rego), seemingly right after first meeting him. I’m sure she just was trying in her own way to help the people around her but please, lady, have some boundaries!

While the romantic aspect of My Christmas Hero may have seemed a bit rushed and pushy at times to me, where the movie ends up succeeding is the focus on the family story, namely Nicole’s search to uncover more of her late grandfather John’s life and legacy. Fran never even really knew her father since he died while she was just a baby, so you could feel how meaningful it was for the whole family to not only learn more about John’s past but also to discover that he risked his own life to save someone else’s.

Another aspect of the movie that I really appreciated was its emphasis on the importance of supporting military personnel, veterans, and their families, especially those who struggle with PTSD. Mark’s community center and Daniel’s organization “A Hand for Warriors” were additional refreshing depictions of how strong men and women who are in or retired from military service still face challenges and difficulties, but that a little help can go a long way. With all of this in mind, I think that this movie is certainly not for everyone, but that those who like Christian and American military-centric stories will find this a positive addition to their holiday watch list.

Our Call: SKIP IT. My Christmas Hero is made with a very specific target audience in mind. If you fall into it, you’ll likely really enjoy this movie (and should stream it) but if you fall outside of it, this won’t be a must-watch for you.