Let It Snow

So, is it sentimental and formulaic? Certainly, but what they do with that formula is something special. And the sentimentality never crosses over into corny. The leads are charming and wonderful to look at, but intelligent & thoughtful too. Filmed in a beautiful location with sets dressed in a lovely non-cloying manner, this film sets itself apart from the "regular" holiday fare just enough to actually be effective. I quite enjoyed it.

Stephanie (Candace Cameron Bure) is an executive with no Christmas spirit who's sent by her boss (and father) to look at a family-owned lodge their company has just acquired. The plan is to turn the cozy rustic lodge into a ski resort, which is news to the family selling it. Stephanie spends the week before Christmas with the family, experiencing the holiday their way. If you think she'll fall for the handsome son (Jesse Hutch) and have a change of heart about Christmas, you must have seen a Hallmark movie before.

I'm always down for a good Candace Cameron Bure TV movie, especially a Christmas one. She's the same here as she is in every role: pretty, charming, likable. Alan Thicke is good as her not-so-likable dad. The fact that Thicke used to play Candace's brother Kirk's father on Growing Pains no doubt led to some back-patting for whoever cast him. Jesse Hutch is an actor whose face is very recognizable if you watch much TV, even if you can't remember where exactly you've seen him before. He's been a guest-star on just about everything that films in Canada. This is one of the bigger roles I've seem him in. He does well and has nice chemistry with Candace. Their meet-cute is funny. I wouldn't mind seeing him in more starring roles. Dan Willmott and Gabrielle Rose are his salt of the earth parents. It's pretty much impossible to dislike them. Oh, and just to preserve it for posterity in case someone changes it: Jesse Hutch's IMDb bio currently brags that he shares a birthplace with fictional comic book character Wolverine and tells a rather odd anecdote about him faking a hostage situation at his high school. Weird but amusing.

The Canadian scenery (subbing for Maine) is lovely. The cast is pleasant and fun. The story is predictable but who cares really? This isn't challenging stuff but it is enjoyable. It has humor, romance, and heartwarming family moments. It's a better than average Christmas TV movie that will make you smile.

Review Date 5/19/2019

I Have Reviewed OVER 500 "Christmas Films and Specials". Please BEWARE Of films and specials with just one review! For instance When "It's a POSITIVE" chances are that the reviewer was involved with the production. "If its Negative" then they may have a grudge against the film for whatever reason. I am fare about these films.

When Falcon Resorts acquires family-owned Snow Valley Lodge from retiring owners Karla and Paul, driven executive Stephanie Beck must spend the week before Christmas in Maine, preparing a proposal on the property's renovations. Determined to impress Falcon's president, her detached father Ted, Stephanie reluctantly departs her warm Arizona home to immerse herself in the lodge's property and decide how to change it to fit the hip, young Falcon brand. While preparing to rebuild the Snow Valley Lodge from the ground up, Stephanie butts heads with her property guide, Brady Lewis, Karla and Paul's son, who has decided to leave his family's business over creative differences with his dad.

A self-defined Grinch, Stephanie begins her stay at Snow Valley Lodge immune to Christmas sentiment. But as the lodge's festive traditions provide the Christmas Stephanie never had growing up with her distant father, Stephanie finds herself enjoying every minute. To complicate her professional duties even further, the combative feelings she felt toward Brady turn into romantic ones. With Stephanie's newfound Christmas spirit and unexpected holiday romance, she begins to question Falcon's overhaul. As her Christmas Eve deadline approaches, Stephanie must weigh her loyalty to her new friends against the complicated relationship with her father and decide if she should transform the lodge into a new winter hot spot, or embrace tradition and let it snow!

Now I do not know why this review keeps getting taken down? I thought the film is amateur hour in terms of story and acting but it is still worth watching because it captures the "Spirit of Christmas" so well.

A city girl not used to winter Christmases is sent to check out a resort her father is buying. There she meets the resort owner's son and you know what happens as she grows to love the snow and the resort. One good point is it seems really to have been filmed in the snow not a sound stage. Candace Cameron Bure is quite alright in this movie - not too perky not too cutesy. It is her territory the Hallmark Christmas movie. To balance things Jesse Hutch acts quite seriously so things are balanced out. Alan Thicke has a role as her father and it's quite poignant.

As has been said quite a few times, Hallmark's Christmas output is very hit and miss. Some though are above average level, and there are some surprisingly enjoyable ones amongst the average and less films that there is in a good deal of in their output. Have been on a roll for the past couple of years watching and reviewing as many Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas films every now and again and it has been interesting despite the quality being uneven.

'Let it Snow' is to me among Hallmark's better festive efforts and certainly for that year. It is light years away from being a masterpiece or flawless and will admit to considering bailing early on, but stick with it as it does get better. 'Let it Snow' was a pleasant watch and is really not bad when taken for what it is and judged for what it's meant to be. Which is an inoffensive if uneven and hardly unique watch and not a cinematic classic or milestone.

It is very professionally filmed and the locations are simply beautiful. A lot of Hallmark's Christmas films suffer from being over-scored, meaning being too constantly used and too loud. That isn't so big a problem here generally. While the characters are not meaty or original, none of them annoyed me and nor did they bore me. The leads were easier to connect to than expected. They also had personality traits that appealed and any negative traits were not exaggerated, which can be a common problem with female lead characters particularly in Hallmark's Christmas output.

Candace Cameron Bure is a big reason as to why 'Let it Snow' works, she has a likeable character worth identifying with and Bure is just beguiling. Jesse Hutch's character isn't as interesting but is an amiable and subtly charming presence too. Their chemistry is genuine and always at ease. Am not usually a fan of Alan Thicke, but this is one of his better performances where he manages to make something heartfelt out of a potentially annoying character. All the cast are fine in their own way.

While the dialogue is not what one would call amazing, it is not as cheesy or as forced as a lot of festive films or films with similar story types. The story is formulaic, but is also immensely charming and heart-warming. There is nothing mean-spirited about it and it is genuinely moving without going overboard on the sentimentality.

As said though, the story is very formulaic and the film is not for those that dislike cliche overload, with most of the characters and situations as cliched as they come it does make things very predictable.

Furthermore, the ending is on the too easy and corny side and maybe some of the music could have had more personality.

Overall, well done. 7/10.