Christmas Movie Review: Let It Snow (2019)

Spoiler: The First of This Year's Batch I Really Enjoyed

I watched “Let it Snow” (2019) on Netflix the other night after stumbling across it desperate to find a Christmas flick I hadn’t seen yet. The plot revolves around of group of mostly high school seniors in an Illinois small town that converge during/following a snowstorm for a party on Christmas Eve, with pretty much no parental presence because hey----why spend a meaningless night like Christmas eve with your family when you can hang out with your all friends at the Waffle Town?  It’s clearly geared towards if not catered for the Generation Z demographic and it’s certainly not ambitious storytelling but honestly (and spoiler alert) that didn’t stop me from enjoying it. Here’s my takes:

PROS: This was an ensemble-type movie in the same lens as Love Actually, Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve among others where multiple stories ultimately intertwine with each other. Typically I’m not a big fan of so many things to follow at once, as it’s hard enough to be fully invested in one over the course of 90 (or so) minutes let alone four or more, but “Let it Snow” pulls me in enough to care about the outcomes of everyone. As for the specific primary stories you get a chance meeting of two strangers on a train (one of them a music star), the boy who secretly yearns for his female BFF, a girl trying to figure out why her crush is acting so hot-and-cold, and the overly stressed girl who’s in a relationship with a dude that doesn’t share the same feelings. They all manage to keep my attention because the story arcs are cute, charming and well-acted, even if I don’t know this cast (I suspect a lot of young people would).

Of course, I’m a stickler for Christmas movies looking AND feeling authentic and “Let it Snow” checks all the boxes. There’s too many holiday flicks out there where Christmas feels a secondary element if not a complete afterthought, but I never really got that sense here even though this movie could’ve just as easily taken place at any point of the winter if it wanted to.

Look, this film tugged at me a little to be honest. There’s pretty decent meat on the bone with stories and scenes to be had, especially Julie’s relationship with her mom, Dorrie giving her best friend Addie some hard truths and Tobin’s pining for the girl he’s been in love with for years (I feel at some point of our lives we’ve all been there).

CONS: Maybe it’s just me but the physical dynamic just didn’t feel right between Stuart and Julie. Stuart’s I’m assuming a couple of years removed from high school while Julie’s a senior in school. A few years age gap here’s perfectly acceptable. My issue’s Stuart looks older than portrayed while Julie just looks significantly younger, at least until the end anyway.  I dunno man, I got the vibes of someone in their young-to-mid twenties being smitten with a high school sophomore. Like I said, maybe that’s just me and to be fair Julie looked more age appropriate during the movie’s climatic scenes (FWIW in real life Stuart’s six years her senior).

Also, I love silliness in holiday romcom storylines as much as the next guy or gal, but in one scene Stuart and Julie both roughly fell off a sled—probably a good hundred feet or so apart, yet within a matter of seconds Stuart was able to save Julie from what would’ve been certain road kill. I mean, come on. Lastly Stuart’s such a big star, to the point he can’t enjoy a waffle in peace earlier yet there’s a point later on where no one seems to give a fuck about him being at their party, if they even know who he is.

Lastly, the Tin Foil Woman (Joan Cusak) was frustrating. I know what her purpose is and she definitely had some infinite words of wisdom to offer Addie at one point, but I simply found her annoying, especially with the bickering that resulted in accidental destruction of Addie’s property—I mean, I would’ve punched this bitch in the face if I were Addie.  Also, not having any literal explanation for her tin foil made her seem more cringe than prophet.

VERDICT: It’s not without flaws but “Let it Snow” goes great to give you the sentimental vibes of Christmas season. It’s surely predictable but listen, if you’re going to do predictable---do it well and I think this does with a cast likeable enough to revel in their happy endings. This won’t go down as a modern Christmas classic but it stayed true to the roots of the holiday spirit, I found it enjoyable and it’s the first among my first-time viewed holiday films this year that wouldn’t have my feeling tortured watching it again.  Grade: B