Snow Day
USA/Germany 2000
Reviewed by Edward Lawrenson
Synopsis
Our synopses give away the plot in full, including surprise twists.
US, the present. Fifteen-year-old Hal Brandston has a crush on his classmate Claire Bonner. His 10-year-old sister Natalie wishes for snow the next day in the hope that her school will have to close. That night, her father Tom, a television weatherman, forecasts snow.
The next day the town is covered in a blanket of snow. Hal and Natalie get a day off school. Natalie conspires with her friends to scupper the attempts of the resident snow-plough operator - known as Snowplowman - to clear the snow from the streets in the hope of securing another day off; Hal resolves to ask Claire out; Tom broadcasts weather reports dressed in ludicrous outfits (much to his shame); and Tom's wife Laura takes a day off work, where she had an important meeting, and looks after her youngest child Randy.
Snowplowman takes one of the children hostage; Natalie negotiates his release. Making use of an interruption during one of Tom's live weather reports, Hal woos Claire on-air; later, having been pursued by her boyfriend Chuck, he kisses her, but then realises he's actually attracted to his friend Lane. Hal tracks down Lane to ask her out. Laura loses a big contract but realises she should spend more time with her family; Natalie and her friends prevent Snowplowman from clearing all the streets free of snow. Having exposed a rival weatherman - who claimed he forecast the freak snow storm - Tom earns respect in his job.
Review
Towards the end of its short-lived existence, the UK film magazine Neon ran a regular item which asked celebrities to name their favourite Chevy Chase film (the majority went for Caddyshack). Chase might seem an unlikely hero, especially considering the straight-to-video freefall his career recently experienced, thanks largely to a string of sloppy and forgettable efforts. But Snow Day, a hit in the US, reminds us that Neon's tribute wasn't so misplaced after all. A natural physical comedian, Chase brings a nicely unruffled elegance to the various pratfalls and acrobatic shtick the script requires of him. The gags might be as unsubtle as those in the innumerable kids' cartoons the television channel Nickelodeon - one of Snow Day's backers - broadcasts, but they're at least given a lift by Chase's reliably deadpan performance.
As the deceptively stoic weatherman Tom Brandston, Chase recalls the father he played in National Lampoon'sVacation. But whereas the National Lampoon movies from the early 80s revelled in frat-house humour and casual sexism, Snow Day is geared towards the family audience. To this end, the film has its fair share of wholesomely anodyne moments (notably, Tom's son Hal's teen romance with Lane). But appropriately enough in a film that celebrates children at play, debut director Chris Koch introduces an endearing unruly streak into the mix (Tom's daughter Natalie's rotund friend can't help breaking wind when faced with even the slightest of dangers; Natalie has, in her armoury of snowballs, one that's coloured urine-yellow). While the pre-teen crowd is likely to appreciate these irreverent moments (at times, the film plays like watered-down Farrelly brothers), there are enough incidental pleasures to keep adults amused: notably Iggy Pop as an Al Martino-obsessed DJ and a deliciously tacky sequence where Hal fetishises his would-be girlfriend's bracelet in his bedroom to the soft-rock chords of Foreigner's 'Waiting for a Girl Like You'.
Breezy and good-natured throughout, Snow Day's one sour note is its portrayal of Tom's career wife Laura. Rushing off to yet another meeting, she happily admits to her family, "OK... I'm a terrible mother." Whereas the rest of the Brandstons end the film having achieved their stated goals (Tom gets respect in his job; Hal a girlfriend; Natalie another day off school), it's Laura who has to make a sacrifice - she loses a big contract at work - in order to prove her worth in the family.
Credits
- Director
- Chris Koch
- Producers
- Albie Hecht
- Julia Pistor
- Screenplay
- Will McRobb
- Chris Viscardi
- Director of Photography
- Robbie Greenberg
- Editor
- David Finfer
- Production Designer
- Leslie McDonald
- Music
- Steve Bartek
- ©MFF Feature Film Productions GmbH & Co. KG
- Production Companies
- Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present in association with MFF Feature Film Productions GmbH & Co. KG
- Executive Producer
- Raymond Wagner
- Co-producers
- Grace Gilroy
- Will McRobb
- Chris Viscardi
- Associate Producer
- David Kerwin
- Production Co-ordinators
- Anisa S. Lalani
- Laurette Bourassa
- Unit Production Manager
- Grace Gilroy
- Location Managers
- Robert Hilton
- Edmonton:
- Patti Tucker
- 2nd Unit Director
- Tom Glass
- Assistant Directors
- Richard Cowan
- Brad Moerke
- Katherine Ringer
- 2nd Unit:
- Matthew Kershaw
- Script Supervisors
- Nancy Joy McDonald
- 2nd Unit:
- Michele Patsula
- Casting
- Mary Gail Artz
- Barbara Cohen
- Canada:
- Stuart Aikins
- Voice:
- Barbara Harris
- 2nd Unit Director of Photography
- Peter Wunstorf
- Camera Operators
- Chris Hayes
- Underwater:
- Richard Mason
- 2nd Unit:
- James Jeffrey
- Steadicam Operator
- Donald Thorin Jr
- Wescam Operator
- Hans Bjerno
- Stop-motion Photography Unit
- Bowes Productions Inc
- Digital Visual Effects
- C.O.R.E Digital Pictures
- Video Elements
- Kaotics Animation Inc
- Special Effects
- Supervisor:
- Mike Vezina
- Co-ordinator:
- Gordon Davis
- Fabricator:
- Alan C.J. Waldron
- Snowmakers
- James Paradis
- Marc Vezina
- Gary Minielly
- Barry 'Bearcat' Cameron
- Jason Dolan
- Brent Findling
- Snowplow Fabrication
- Shaun Moore
- Rex Cooley
- Chris Jacob
- Linda Leon
- Art Director
- Ken Rempel
- Set Decorator
- Carol Lavoie
- Action Figure Sculptors
- Chris Bridges
- Brian Pfahl
- Costume Designer
- Wendy Partridge
- Costume Supervisor
- Diane Routly
- Costume Consultant
- Katherine Jane Bryant
- Supervising Make-up Artist
- Gail Kennedy
- Make-up Artist
- Prudence Olenik
- Supervising Hairstylist
- Iloe Flewelling
- Hairstylist
- Heather L. Ingram
- Title Design/Opticals
- Pacific Title/Mirage
- Instrumental Soloists
- Guitar:
- Laurence Juber
- Fiddle:
- Bruce Dukov
- Accordion:
- Doug Lacy
- String Bass:
- Ken Wild
- Orchestra Conductor
- Pete Anthony
- Orchestrations
- Edgardo Simone
- Additional:
- Marc Mann
- Steve Bartek
- Music Supervisor
- Bobby Lavelle
- Music Editor
- Will Kaplan
- Music Recordist/Mixer
- Robert Fernandez
- Music Recordist
- Paul Wertheimer
- Soundtrack
- "Love Letters" - Al Martino; "Heat Wave" - Cal Tjader, Carmen McRae; "Satellite" - Smashmouth; "The Big W" - Ernest Gold; "Drag Blob" - Simon Chardiet; "Waiting for a Girl Like You" - Foreigner; "Noise Brigade" - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones; "Ooh La La" - The Wiseguys (contains a sample of "Jim on the Move" - Lalo Schifrin); "The Reason Why" - LFO; "Come On Come On" - Smashmouth; "There She Goes" - Sixpence None the Richer; "It's Not Her" - Schuyler Fisk; "Fascination" - Al Martino; "Wasting My Life" - The Hippos; "Picture of You" - Boyzone; "My Heart's Saying Now" - Jordan Knight; "Say You Love Me" - Dina Carroll; "Switchblade 327" - The Brian Setzer Orchestra; "Still" - 98° "Lifetime Affair" - mytown; "To Each His Own" - Al Martino; "Another Dumb Blonde" - Hoku; "Luau Swing"
- Sound Mixer
- Garrell Clark
- Re-recording Mixers
- David E. Fluhr
- Adam Jenkins
- Supervising Sound Editors
- Cameron Frankley
- Beth Sterner
- Dialogue Editors
- Dave Williams
- Carin Rogers
- Sound Effects Editors
- Ron Eng
- Jeff Clark
- ADR
- Recordist:
- Dave McDonald
- Mixer:
- Bob Baron
- Supervising Editor:
- David Cohn
- Foley
- Artists:
- Sarah Monat
- Robin Harlan
- Mixer:
- Randy K. Singer
- Supervising Editor:
- Thomas Small
- Editors:
- Tammy Fearing
- Scott Curtis
- Stunt Co-ordinator
- Tom Glass
- Dogs/Birds
- Birds and Animals Unlimited
- Additional Dogs
- Keith Petkau
- Wendy Petkau
- Anne Gordon
- Cast
- Chris Elliot
- Snowplowman
- Mark Webber
- Hal Brandston
- Jean Smart
- Laura Brandston
- Schuyler Fisk
- Lane Leonard
- Iggy Pop
- Mr Zellweger
- Pam Grier
- Tina
- John Schneider
- Chad Symmonz
- Chevy Chase
- Tom Brandston
- Zena Grey
- Natalie Brandston
- Josh Peck
- Wayne Alworth
- Jade Yorker
- Chet Felker
- Damian Young
- Principal Weaver
- Connor Matheus
- Randy Brandston
- J. Adam Brown
- Bill Korn
- Emmanuelle Chriqui
- Claire Bonner
- David Paetkau
- Chuck Wheeler
- Chilli
- Nana
- Tim Paleniuk
- mailman
- Josh Sealy
- Ben's son
- Orest Kinasewich
- Ben
- Andrea Engel
- Phillis, TV newscaster
- Katharine Isabelle
- Marla
- Carly Pope
- Fawn
- Kea Wong
- Paula
- Desiree Lindsay
- Patty
- Lorena Gale
- radio mother
- Jeff Watson
- kid
- Daniel Cuthbertson
- Snowployboy
- Alex Hudson
- braces kid
- Renee Christianson
- make-up person
- Frank Takacs
- technician
- Dan Wilmott
- crossing guard
- Shaye Ganam
- sportscaster
- Gepert Myers
- dad
- Bob Chomyn
- editor
- Rick Ash
- producer
- Terry King
- diner Dan
- Stevie Mitchell
- scout 1
- Leon Frierson
- odd ball kid
- Chad Cosgrave
- Steve
- Colt Cosgrave
- Greg
- Certificate
- PG
- Distributor
- United International Pictures (UK) Ltd
- 8,030 feet
- 89 minutes 13 seconds
- Dolby Digital/Digital DTS Sound
- Colour by
- DeLuxe