Christmas. The period everyone is jolly again. Family reunions. A brown-baked turkey with a tasty filling that was squeezed through its smallest hole. Christmas trees full of sparkling baubles, angel hair and soft-yellow LED lights. Every few moments a Christmas song is being heard on the radio. Christmas presents are piling up. And everyone hopes that on this Christian holiday the sky will be filled with pregnant snow clouds that’ll cover the surface of the earth with a soft, downy snow carpet. Sigh, I’m getting lyrical. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case everywhere. If you have a moderate maritime climate, such as in Belgium, it’ll be drizzly and autumnal. And an additional phenomenon during these holidays is the broadcasting of well-known Christmas movies. And yes, on Twitter the annually recurring question “What’s the ultimate Christmas film?“, appears again. Unfortunately, Let It Snow won’t be mentioned often, I guess.
If, like me, you dislike Love Actually, I would definitely advise you to avoid this youthly version. Love Actually is a typical film that is shown on different television channels during the Christmas season. Perhaps the film adds that extra magic for some of us, during these winter holidays. For me, it causes an extreme form of explosive diarrhea every time I see the grin of Hugh Grant on the screen. And Let it snow uses the same concept as Love Actually. An entanglement of different storylines that come together in an ecstatic crescendo. Only now, the protagonists are all teenagers. Each with their own love-life-related-issues. Understandable because the film is based on the eponymous popular winter book, in which three authors bring a short story.
Unfortunately, after a few minutes, I realized that I’m not really part of the target audience. Not that I was bored to death. The stories eventually follow the pattern of a trillion other rom-com stories. They all walk the famous proverbial path of love, full of pitfalls, stumbling blocks, and obstacles. And at the finish, everything is peaches and cream. And peace and light. The feeling of love rises by a few degrees Celsius. In short, it’s as predictable as a story from Vicky the Viking. An ultimate feel-good film so teenage girls will sigh and moan empathetically while they watch at the screen with big cow eyes and see those romantic couples hugging each other. Well, my teenage period is far behind me. Hence the “Not being part of the target audience” feeling.
The most positive in this film are the participating actors. I didn’t know them all, because I’m not a fan of the Netflix series. Only Julie (Isabela Merced) I recognized immediately (Yes, I recently watched Dora and the Lost City of Gold with my two kids). She happens to have the most beautiful and convincing role. The way in which she presents responsible Julie is admirable. It’s the most endearing and sad part of the entire film. I even appreciated the pop idol Stuart (Shameik Moore). He fits wonderfully with the lovely, cuddly Julie. He’s a lonely, fame-ridden singer who spends Christmas all alone in a hotel room. Ultra sad. Even though he will wallow in all the luxury that he can afford.
I also thought the role of Tobin (For me, the unknown Mitchell Hope) was successful. But only because of his humor and timid attitude that fitted perfectly in this syrupy film. And here too, they found the perfect companion in the form of The Duke (Kiernan “The Silence” Shipka). The funniest character was that of Jacob “Spider-man: Homecoming & Far from home” Batalon as the hyperkinetic Keon.
Add a lesbian girl with love troubles and her girlfriend who doesn’t have her best day, and you have all the cliché types that a movie like Let It Snow needs. After that, let everyone wrestle the whole movie with his or her emotions and finally knit a happy ending to it. It’s not my taste, but who am I to complain about that. After all, it’s a Christmas movie. And shouldn’t a Christmas film be about happiness and love? Even though the corniness drips from it and it is so sugar-sweet that a spontaneous stomach cramp comes up. I want romantic souls to have it. So couples of this earth, unite and go and watch this film en masse. Oh well, next Movie!
You can watch Let it Snow on Netflix now!
