Snow Wonder

'Tis the season for magical Christmas shows where we are whisked away from our dreary lives for a couple of hours of love and joy and hope.

The movie is actually 5 mini-stories woven together by a freak snow storm on Christmas eve - an aspiring writer (Eric Szmanda) looks for encouragement from an off beat aunt (Mary Tyler Moore); a woman's philandering husband (Jason Priestley) is "stranded" away from home; a would-be maid of honor (Poppy Montgomery) watches her friend's wedding self destruct; a divorced mom (Jennifer Esposito) agonizes over her young son going to his father's home for Christmas Day and a widow (Camryn Manheim) tries to block out last Christmas when her husband died. In each story, the snowstorm leads to some interesting changes to the character's lives.

The cast won't have to book time off for award shows but they all played their parts adequately and let us walk away feeling that all is right with the world. Two hours of non-demanding escapism to a happier place, ideal to relax with on a lazy holiday evening.

You know, I'm a fan of Connie Willis's fiction, which is the only reason I tuned into this dreck-fest of a film. I mean, it's a network made-for-TV movie called "Snow Wonder." The probability for awfulness was high from the get-go. But it was based on a short story by Connie Willis, so...I figured, what the heck, right? What a mistake. There's two hours I'll never get back. The story arc was awful--perhaps the fact that there were so many separate story lines had something to do with that, who knows? I never cared for any of the characters; almost all of them were tiresome to a fault. The cast was not so bad, but most of the actors seemed like they were flailing around without any direction. Camryn Mannheim and David Sutcliffe especially deserve better. I'm not sure what happened to Mary Tyler Moore... maybe it was just that the character she was playing was so stereotyped and tired..."Oooh, I'm so eccentric! Oooh, I wear a lot of scarves and drapey clothes--that shows how artsy I am!" Her storyline in particular was excruciating to watch. And I've never seen so many overused visual and verbal clichés that masquerade as storytelling in my life. If Connie Willis's short story is anything like this, I may have to revise my opinion of her work. Then again, look what happened to Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea when it made it to TV. Oh, the humanity. It's too late for me, but save yourselves and avoid "Snow Wonder" at all costs. I only give it a 2 out of 10 because it's not as bad as "Salsa" (truly the worst film ever made).

I don't know how anyone can give this movie a good review. It was terrible. Extremely cheesy, unrealistic, over-acted, embarrassing to watch. I love Poppy Montgomery, Jennifer Esposito (especially after "Crash")and the guy from CSI and I was so embarrassed for them that they were in this mess. It is about a freak snow storm that turns earth magical white Christmas . It shows about 6-7 different stories around the US that include a woman battling to keep custody of her son while the jerk of a father makes her life a living hell, a young man searching for the approval of his mother and estranged father - when his crazy aunt comes in early for their Christmas dinner to give him a new perspective, a young woman who is the maid of honor at her best friend's Christmas Eve wedding and the drama that ensues when it looks as if the wedding may be canceled due to weather not to mention the hidden feelings the young woman has for the groom-to-be, another woman who is trying to escape Christmas after her husband died last year at the same time, a conniving husband who is cheating on his wife while he tells her he is tied up at an airport, and finally the weather man who brings it all together during this once in a lifetime event. There was potential for this movie to be a cute yet somewhat cheesy hallmark type, and hey, since it is the holiday season I was fully prepared for that. But the movie was muddled by cheesy theme music, over done facial expressions and emotional outbursts. In the end some of the stories intertwine in a twist that's about as sneaky as an bull in a china shop. Sorry to be so harsh, but to me it seemed like this movie was 98% cheese and 2% absurd.

Sometimes you just need a cliché to get you through the X-mas days. I have now searched high an low about the lines, that Mary Taylor Moore's character said about family: about none of them understanding who you are.

Maybe the film is unrealistic and some of the actors did not deliver their best, but it actually put me into a little merrier X-mas mood - isn't that what counts? I actually love X-mas, just not with my family, but with my second family = my friends.

Or maybe it is the snow just having a magically, positive effect on a Scandinavian who does not have snow during most X-mas'es in the home country?!

This horrible movie was on at Christmastime this past year. I thought I was going to shoot myself just watching it. The acting was terrible and Mary Tyler Moore was so clichéd that I was hoping her character had a terminal illness. Poppy Montgomery looked good as always, but the two guys vying for her affection were awesomely annoying. Everything was complete smarm and overly convenient. I have seen episodes of Walker that looked like Hitchcock compared to this drivel. And instead of turning off the lights and enjoying the evening, my wife stayed up to watch the whole thing.

If you've ever felt lower than a Hallmark TV movie, then you have experienced crushing rejection.