Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story

I remember watching at least some of the movie, but I was so astounded by how stupid and unthoughtful the parents were, I had to shut it off. No movie, for TV or theater, should have been made about adults who put their children in harm's way due to restricted intelligence. For shame, Jim and Jennifer. For shame.

In fact, during the year this movie was released, I held a Stolpa party and one of my good friends came dressed as Jennifer. She had on ragged clothes and used a suit bag in which she put one of her daughter's dolls with a diaper smeared with chunky Skippy peanut butter mixed with frozen peas. She won the award for Most Stupid. Just my thoughts and remembrances.

This is about as good as a made for TV movie gets. The screenplay goes back and forth from the young couple stranded in their truck in a vast, frozen, and deserted wasteland to the desperate parents trying to find them. The movie draws you in as the various authorities, like the California Highway Patrol, search for days when the couple go missing-- with no luck. Meanwhile, Jim, Jennifer, and their baby are in a desperate life or death situation. They are 50 miles from the nearest town on a back road, in a blizzard, and no one knows they are actually in Northern Nevada. There is no one to help them. No people at all just sagebrush, snow, and rock across a wintry dark and deserted high desert valley. Having lived in Northeast California, I can attest to the frozen desolation the Stolpas faced in Northern Nevada. This movie captures that scenery well with the on location shots. The story is interesting, the acting and writing is decent, and the scenery is beautiful. The ending is incredible! I recommend this movie!

OK, the scenery is good and the freezing process is pretty realistic (even though no steam is coming from their mouths). But how do you treat your 5 months old baby in the deadly cold? Not by constantly keeping all the windows of the car open with the baby in it. Not by bumping him against any thing on the ground while carrying him in a sack and not by leaving this sack open all the time. Well, maybe a few minor details...

It's weird to see all the characters keep being friendly to each other under the worst circumstances. Man, this is a big crisis, and nobody loses his or her nerves just for once?? I know, this is just an other one of those God-inspired loving family TV films, but more down to earth dialogues would've made it a bit better.

I have just seen this movie on Danish national television (prime time) for the second time. The story of the Stolpas is really worth watching. I still can´t understand that they really went through all that... but I will not tell any details if some of you haven´t seen the film yet. The actors were just great, especially Kelli Williams. Check out the movie next time it´s showing on your television or rent or bye it to day.

I caught this on the late late movie and it was all right. My first complaint is it takes to long to get to the part where they are trapped in the snow. The second problem is a technical one. There are many scenes when they are trapped in the snow and they are talking and there is no steam coming out of their mouths. I had a hard time feeling they were really freezing to death. Also, there are times the movie seems unbelievable, but since it is a true story I guess I have to believe it. Now on the positive side the acting is pretty good and it is uplifting to see what someone willing to do to save their family. Final analysis: it is worth watching if you can't sleep.