Viel Wirbel um Weihnachten

It almost works thanks to Lil Rel Howery, but 'Dashing Through the Snow' ultimately falls flat.

Howery does produce some good stuff as Santa, though he - as with the film in general, really - isn't given enough to work with to make it a success. There is mild amusement throughout, but the film needed more entertainment from its plot and much better pacing to be enjoyable.

The bad guys are particularly poorly written and used, while the Xmas vibes aren't really all that abundant. The cast, namely Howery, Ludacris and Madison Skye Validum, all do try and are the film's strongest element. I just needed more from elsewhere with this, I could feel my interest waning from around the midway point.

Honestly, I really liked Dashing through the snow. I watched it with my parents on Thanksgiving night. I am 30 and they are in their 50s and it was just a nice, clean, Christmas movie with quite a few laugh out loud moments. Santa was the perfect Santa with all the right comedic moments. The daughter was cute and adorable. Ludacris played the grumpy, unbelieving father really well! I loved his actual job of working as a crisis counselor. We need more movies showcasing the hard work of social workers. I would watch this again if I were with my young cousins or something. Sometimes we all need pure fun!

This is basically the identical plot to Catch Me If You Claus on Hallmark, which is like when Hollywood made Armageddon and Deep Impact and released them the same summer, like nobody would notice. I like Ludacris as a dad driving an SUV, not a "Furious" street racer. Overall, it's a tad slow and not as magical as I'd hoped. I watched with my first grader and he started working on his Christmas list through most of the second half which isn't a good sign for a movie with a real Santa Claus. The best joke in the movie is Santa's beard which is black and white. Spoiler alert he dyed it white because he's really old. The joke works. And, for a movie with the title "snow" there is a concerning lack of snow, in Atlanta no less.

"Dashing Through the Snow" is a Comedy movie in which we follow a stressed-out social worker who ends up on an unexpected Christmas road trip with a quirky family, leading to a series of comedic and festive moments.

What I appreciated about the film is its strong cast, particularly Lil Rel Howery, who brings his usual comedic flair to the role. In addition to this, Ludacris' interpretation also adds his charm as part of the fun ensemble, with Madison Skye Validum providing an endearing performance as the younger character who helps tie the family together. The dynamic between the cast is the movie's highlight, delivering moments of genuine warmth and laughs. However, the story itself falls into familiar holiday movie clichés, with forced family bonding, and predictable resolutions but the interpretations of the cast saved it. All in all, I have to say that "Dashing Through the Snow" is a perfectly fine holiday movie for those looking for a light, feel-good watch. So, if you're in the mood for something heartwarming and easygoing, this film is enjoyable and I recommend it to you.

I'm giving this a straight five out of ten. Incredibly mediocre movie. I can't even see children enjoying this, to be honest, regardless of it being a family film. Extremely average plot. So much so that it feels like Chat GPT wrote it in 30 seconds. The acting is so incredibly bland it honestly feels like a student film with a decent budget. The progressive car commercials are more engaging with their acting and that's saying something. There isn't a single character in this movie you're rooting for or care about and the motive of the film is so mundane and ridiculous you wonder if they came up with it like a school assignment you procrastinated with and wrote it the night before.

Very boring 5/10.