One of the my fondest memories of growing up in central Virginia - where it did snow during the winter but usually not to any great extreme - was listening to the local AM radio station on the morning of any recent snowfall. As the news announcer rattled off the local counties in alphabetical number that were closed for the day, I, and certainly most every other kid, anxiously awaited the aural proclamation of a day off from school.
While we were always disappointed when our county wasn't announced, conversely we rejoiced when it was, spending the resultant free day sledding down our decently downhill-sloped street. That is, until the snowplow would arrive and not only ruin our sledding run, but also lessen or altogether eliminate the possibility of another day off.
Thus, I can completely relate to the cute and charming "Snow Day," a lightweight but entertaining family film that recaptures those fun moments along with awkward young romance and childhood pranks. Somewhat akin in spirit but not quite as good or as much fun as 1983's "A Christmas Story," this snow puff of a film plays off midwinter childhood imagination and exuberance while remaining accessible to young kids, teens and some adults.
Therein lies the film's "beauty," in that it's one of the rare family films that actually works and is enjoyable for most family members. For the younger viewers, there are the snowplow related shenanigans of Natalie, played with a great deal of spunk by Zena Grey ("The Bone Collector"), along with the usual bits of kid-based scatological humor and some slapstick material, both of which the kids seem to love.
More satisfying is the teen-based romance angle where the film's narrator, entertainingly played by Mark Webber ("Drive Me Crazy") tries to impress and win over the girl of his dreams (the alluring Emmanuelle Chriqui who was last seen in "Detroit Rock City") while being oblivious to the fact that his real dream date might be his best friend, ably played by Schuyler Fisk (Sissy Spacek's daughter who appeared in "My Friend Joe"). Although there's certainly nothing new here that we haven't seen in countless other teen romance flicks, it's played out in enough of a fun-spirited and charming fashion to make it quite easy to watch.
Then for the adults, there's the comic material relating to the adults' reactions to the snow, including that of Chevy Chase (the "Vacation" films) as the weatherman father (in the film's least successful material), Jean Smart ("Guinevere") as the busy executive mom who must deal with the audience pleasing antics of her toddler (played by Connor Matheus who makes his feature debut), and Chris Elliot ("There's Something About Mary") as the initially menacing and foreboding snowplow driver.
While little, if any, of the film is ever outrageously funny or particularly clever, for the most part, first-time feature director Chris Koch (with experience on several programs on cable TV's Nickelodeon channel) and screenwriters Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi (both Nickelodeon vets) deliver a near constantly amusing and certainly cute little film.
Some of the film's best scenes are those involving Elliot as the goofy, but comically menacing snowplow driver who must contend with the young kids' efforts at thwarting his work. Such moments may have turned out differently had someone other than Elliot been behind the wheel, and his antics are often decent examples of inspired thespian lunacy (although if you can't stand his style of humor, this performance won't change your mind). Similarly, the varied mischievous behavior of the family's four-year-old toddler - such as putting his entire fist into his mouth and running into the snow wearing only his underwear and a coat of preschool paint - are amusing enough to entertain both kids and adults alike.
Beyond being lightweight enough that a gentle breeze could blow it like a snowflake onto a drift of other forgettable films, the main fault here is that none of the individual stories gets the chance to develop into much of anything beyond the superficial and obvious. Although some families won't care since they'll finally have a mostly innocuous film that everyone can see together, those looking for something with any amount of depth or originality will probably be a bit disappointed in what the film has to offer.
Even so, there are enough amusing and charming moments to make the film worth recommending, a point that I found surprising since I went into it without any hope of it being even a halfway decent experience. While it's certainly not high art and will most likely fade from most viewers' minds as quickly as the snow melts in the spring (at least in Virginia), the film is enjoyable and contains enough fun to most members of the family entertained. As such, "Snow Day" rates as a 6 out of 10.
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