Is it really the holiday season until Candace Cameron Bure comes around with a new holiday flick? 

Of course not. 

Let the holidays begin.

She's back with the Great American Pure Flix original film My Christmas Hero, a film that represents everything we've come to expect from Great American Pure Flix for the holidays with an abundance of faith, family, and holiday cheer. In the film, Bure plays U.S. Army Reservist and ortho physician Dr. Nicole Ramsey. Based at the Joint Military Base in Lacey, Washington, Dr. Ramsey is a physician dedicated to helping support the military. Very early on, she meets cute with Major Daniel Ross (Gabriel Hogan), and the obvious yet chaste flirting begins between the two. They grow closer, she meeting his longtime best friend Captain Jennings (Robin Dunne) and he meeting her parents and eventually becoming a key to her mother (Teryl Rothery) finding out the truth about her father's death in Northern Italy during World War II. 

There's patriotism galore in My Christmas Hero, though the director Martin Wood, working from a script by Jim Head, wisely leans more into the military devotion and family drama elements rather than turning it into a true romantic drama. The romance, while definitely present, takes a backseat to faith, family devotion, and a fierce devotion to military service members and veterans. 

My Christmas Hero will mostly appeal to those who look forward every year to the Great American Pure Flix holiday season. It will, rather obviously, also appeal strongly to military families and those who remember the sacrifices of others during a season many refer to as the "season of joy." 

While the film's delayed romance is rather refreshing, I'll admit I did struggle a bit in terms of medical ethics -noting that there is a point where the relationship is detoured from doctor/patient to a more formal dating relationship. 

Everyone performs quite ably here, though the rather straightforward story doesn't demand much of a stretch. You know exactly what to expect from My Christmas Hero and for the most part that's exactly what you get. Candace Cameron Bure fans will undeniably be happy here as this is exactly the kind of role she does well. 

My Christmas Hero isn't necessarily the type of film that will draw people to Great American Pure Flix, though it's precisely the type of film that Great American Pure Flix audiences expect and absolutely want. With a warm heart and a holiday spirit, My Christmas Hero is a light, feel-good family and romantic drama and a great way for Great American Pure Flix fans to settle in for the 2023 Christmas season. My Christmas Hero starts streaming on Great American Pure Flix on December 1st and started on Great American Family on November 24th. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic