Un Noël pas comme les autres

As the years go on, we seem to be flooded more and more with Christmas movies every year. Yes, it's a staple that Hallmark Channel movies are released weekly, but it also seems that all of the streaming services have gotten on the bandwagon. Disney+ has released a few, but I'm here to share my thoughts on Dashing Through the Snow. I have thought nothing of this film over the last couple of months but decided to give it a try. While it's not very good overall, this movie's heart is in the right place. Here's where I found some mild enjoyment in this aggressively mediocre holiday flick.

Eddie Garrick (Ludacris) is a social worker who always works on Christmas. Not this year though, as his daughter Charlotte (Madison Skye Validum) is left with him on Christmas Eve by his ex-wife Allison (Teyonah Parris). Having a traumatic childhood involving Santa Claus, Eddie's Christmas spirit has been absent his whole life. Well, when the real Santa appears in front of him and his daughter, the movie becomes a night on the town with Nick (Lil Rel Howrey). Along the way, Eddie just may start believing again and may even have a chance at earning his family back in the meantime.

The premise itself screams that it has all the right intentions. The main problem is that many other films, especially holiday films have tackled stories like this numerous times. Ludacris is fine as the lead, Lil Rel Howrey is quite amusing and easily the best part about the movie, and Ludacris' chemistry with Validum as his daughter was believable. It has all the hallmarks of a Christmas movie involving Santa and is very much the ending you expect it to have. I rolled my eyes countless times watching Dashing Through the Snow, but I will say that it was sweet enough that it held a smile on my face most of the time. So did I like it or dislike it? I'm honestly not even sure, and I have taken the time to think about it.

For families, I think there are far worse new options out there this year, but for adults, it's a lot like many classics that you already love. It looks very clean and well-decorated, as all Disney films do, but it does get bogged down in the final act by some CGI that clearly says this film was made for television. With a bigger budget and some risks taken in the story, this had the potential of being much better. It sadly just feels like a replica, and not a great one. Dashing Through the Snow is now streaming on Disney+ and it's a harmless watch. It's probably not one that I will revisit, but it was passable.

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!

Dashing Through the Snow is not a top 10 Christmas movie of all time but it's not trying to be. This film was in the middle of the road and is very family friendly since Disney is behind it. This movie made me smile from time to time as it does have some charm but ultimately very predictable with throwing a lot of cliches throughout. Lil Rel Howery as Santa was a very good casting choice as he plays the role very well and gives the character his own style. Ludacris plays the father/husband who is not a believer in Santa and dislikes Christmas very much. That all changes when his daughter and him meet Santa and experience one crazy night together. Like I said before don't expect any big suprises from this film but sit back and enjoy the show. Dashing Through the Snow gets a mild 6 stars out of 10 from me.

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.

Had a cute line or two, but mostly watching this was just painful. Poor writing, unnatural, choppy dialogue, and disjointed transitions between scenes made this difficult to watch. Unoriginal plot. Terrible acting by everyone (except the little girl and Nick), along with the dialogue made us laugh but not in a good way, I am amazed Disney would put their name on this. 10 times worse than a cheesy Hallmark movie. With more time with a quality director, better acting, and some subtle rewriting and editing, it could be believable and funny. Feels like it was it was thrown together in a week with no test audience or review. Like a made for after school special. Shots around Atlanta are a nice break from LA, NY, and Vancouver BC. Still, Two thumbs down. 👎