Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsA Guilty Pleasure, Snow Day Kind of Film
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2021
It's undeniable that I would be happy watching Chris Elliott read the phone book. I've long been a fan of the under-appreciated Elliott and while his work here sure didn't make him a household name it was a nice use of his comedic talent.
This is your fairly run-of-the-mill family film made better by a quality cast including the aforementioned Elliott as a rather demented snow plow driver and the lovely Jean Smart as a distracted mother. In case it's not obvious, "Snow Day" is centered around a snow day. A school in upstate New York has an unexpected snow day and the kids band together to do whatever it takes, including hijacking the small community's snow plow, to keep the school closed.
Yes, there are too many story threads and some of them don't get near enough attention. Yes, the special effects are antiquated in the film from year 2000. Yes, you pretty much know exactly where it's going to go and it goes there.
It's just a fun, weird, goofy little film with a cast that seems to realize it's a fun, weird, goofy little film. While Chris Elliott pretty much steals the film, a relatively low-key Chevy Chase is here as a weatherman reduced to gimmicks to try to get ratings until he ends up being the only local forecaster who correctly calls this storm.
Emmanuelle Chriqui is here as a teenage love interest for the young nerdish Hal (Mark Webber) while, of course, there's a more reasonable love interest on the side waiting for things to happen.
There are basically four plots going on at all times, though it's when the kids are on the screen that the film picks up pace. This film was a box-office success making $62 million off a $13 million budget. It's become somewhat of a cult classic, or at least as much of a cult classic as a family film can be. Elliott seems to be one of those actors everyone loves, but he's just never really become the household name he's deserved to be.
I re-watched the film recently during a big winter storm here in my hometown and I laughed as much as I always do. Occasionally sweet and frequently silly, "Snow Day" is a fun little film for the kids that the whole family can enjoy.
