★★
In a small town on Christmas Eve, a snowstorm brings together a group of young people.
Classification: 12A
Even with all the holiday charm and a young, vibrant cast, Netflix's latest Christmas rom-com is another victim to stereotypical storytelling and clichéd character. Let It Snow has all the makings to be another forgettable film and if not for the talented cast this sweet Christmas adventure would have very little offer audiences. Essentially following a series of interconnected stories of teenagers in a small town during a snowstorm, Luke Snellin's film charts the themes of love and friendship as each character's day is changed by the snow.
Fortunately, the characters and romances to Let It Snow are enjoyable if not entirely predictable. Isabela Moner and Shameik Moore go for the standard celebrity regular person star-crossed lovers storyline as Moore, a famous singer finds himself endeared by Moner's no-nonsense attitude to his fame. Moore and Moner both extremely talented performers can give some depth to their dimensionless archetypes as Moner provides the film with its few honest emotional moments. It's not that the film isn't captivating but the obvious routes to the storytelling rob any tension to the will they won't they to any of the relationships in the film.
The other romances mainly consist of this one trope in different forms; Mitchell Hope's Tobin being in love with his tomboy friend called The Duke played by Kiernan Shipka and working up the courage to tell her how she feels. Waffle House waitress Dorrie who had a tryst with a closeted cheerleader who ignores her when around her friends, in fact, Dorrie's character arc is the most positive for audiences. Both for its inclusion of LGBT storylines, dismissing arbitrary social barriers but also connecting into her friends Addie's storyline who becomes obsessed if her boyfriend is cheating on her. Let It Snow successfully delivers a message that self-worth shouldn't be dependent on romantic relationships and that personal happiness isn't contingent on your crush liking you and that you should never settle for disrespectful treatment. Of course, however, everyone gets their happy ending at the end including Dorrie and Addie with romantic interests rekindled making their proclamations a little contradicting.
Filling the time with cute Christmas and holiday paraphernalia including an amusing pageant celebrating all manner of religions and traditions featuring appearances from a guitar-playing rabbi, Vishnu and a Chinese Dragon. As the title suggests there is plenty of snow that serves as the scenery for many life lessons, realisations and those all-important moments that define your life. Whether it's stealing a beer keg from a pair of bullies then making an ill-advised getaway in a station wagon or setting up an impromptu party inside a waffle house that becomes the talk of the town its a very cute film to get swept up in. Snellin is doing his best to imbue the spirit of classic rom coms and John Hughes into how he executes the story but it never reaches those lofty heights of brilliance.
It's a standard, unsurprising series of stories that do manage to remain sweet and festive but it's a film that rests entirely on the shoulders of its talented performers. Let It Snow and the filmmakers seem to acknowledge this and don't try to create any distractions from the main players that seriously help audiences buy into the film. Even having Jacob Batalon basically play the same character from the Spider-Man films even pays off because the film just banks all of its credibility on actor chemistry. It's easy for the audience to buy into and root for all the different relationships but none are able to put a fresh twist on their obvious inspirations beyond the casting. The film just doesn't seem overly concerned in making its own way as a unique story but there is enough appeal and glamour to make the Let It Snow a pleasant little love story worth watching.
Director: #LukeSnellin
Cast: #IsabelaMoner, #ShameikMoore, #KiernanShipka, #OdeyaRush, #LivHewson, #MitchellHope, #JacobBatalon, #JoanCusack, #MatthewNoszka
Release Date: November 8th 2019
Available exclusively on Netflix
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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