Starring: Chevy Chase, Mark Webber, Chris Elliott, Jean Smart, Schuyler Fisk, Iggy Pop, and Pam Grier Directed by Chris Koch. Written by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi. Running Time: 89 minutes. Rated PG (for comic mischief).
"Snow Day" is a family comedy that can't decide what it is about, who the main character is, or what its problem is. The worst thing about this movie is that even if all of the above was clarified in depth, it still wouldn't have worked because the stakes simply aren't high enough. From the first ten pages of the screenplay the production was doomed; it brings new comprehension to the phrase "too much too soon."
"Snow Day" details the lives of a lot of characters, too many characters, over the course of a snow day, that eager sunrise where, local schools close to due unsafe driving conditions. There is Hal Brandstonb (Mark Webber), a high school teenager who has a desirable crush on a girl named Clare, Chad (John Schneider), who gets physical with any romantic competition, Laura Brandston (Jean Smart), who's occupation overworks her on a daily schedule, depriving her from valuable family time, Lane (Schuyler Fisk), a close friend of Hal, Tom Brandston (Chevy Chase) a struggling weather forecaster who wears childish costumes and does funny things, his executive (Pam Grier), who is angry that their television competition is phony, Snowplowman (Chris Elliott), a nasty snowplow driver whom the local children despise, and the school principal whom many kids bomb with snowballs.
Who is the main character here? Where is the defining or development of him or her? Everything is exaggerated and over the top, from the characters to the unbelievable plot. The principal is bombarded with snowballs from unseen assassin-like kids throughout the entire running length; the Snowplowman chases after elementary aged children with his truck attempting to run them over, the teenage crush in which the formulas are repetitive, the weather forecaster's family member's silly behavior, the stations competition with an individual who looks like he is from an infomercial, and even the snowfall itself, which is well over ten feet high. Some characters are used as plot devices, having no shape or development, just hinged by the scripts every need.
There is some fun with a few of the characters, and there are some very funny scenes and events that take place. Tom is hilariously portrayed by Chevy Chase, who offers the appropriate cynical personality for the goofy role. Other characters of interest are Snowplowman, Laura, the principal who contributes extravagant but slapstick parody, but never did I care about anything involving the teen romance. That subplot is contrived, typical, and contains so little chemistry. It is a dead end street, and is followed by an ending that would never occur in our wildest dreams. The characters are one dimensional, and lackadaisical; a complete waste of time.
Throughout the production of "Snow Day," I was continually asking myself questions. Questions like, is this movie about a snow day? A struggling weather forecaster? An overworked mother? A hapless teenage crush? Or perhaps the film was a portrayal of what happens when people are required to spend time together--taking the shape of a family comedy? In that case, we would need more information about each of the characters, so that we could care about them. Whatever the case may be, we still need a conflict in the story. Here, I wondered if the conflict was about a mother who couldn't get to work, a teenager who can't overcome fear to communicate with the girl of his dreams, or a horrible snow plow driver destroying the children's chance at having another snow day. With so many unanswered questions, an adolescent should rather spend time at school learning answers instead of wasting a valuable snow day away in the theater of "Snow Day" with their hands up waiting for answers that will never come.
Brought to you by Paramount Pictures.
