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Reviews
Snow Day (2000)
A Guide to the "Snow Day Virgin"
I have read every review on the IMDB about this film, and the results are 50/50. Half say it was miserable, half say "family fun". If you have not yet viewed this and are relying on reviews to guide you, please allow me to help you on making a decision.
The plot revolves around a snow storm hitting Syracuse during an unseasonaly warm winter. During the following 24 hrs., the people in the town (More so the kid than the adults) go on seperate quests- Weatherman Chevy Chase tries to prove that he is a better weather man then the local town celebrity; Jean Smart tries to balance an off-site meeting and her toddler brat; the school loser tries to school with the school babe after her jock boyfriend dumps her, while also trying to prevent the aforementioned jock from murdering him; And lastly the "heroine", a third grade girl, sister of aforementioned loser, tries to stop a snowplow driver from plowing the streets.
And now, the anaysis.
The blunt truth: 99.9% stupid kids stuff, .1% inside jokes aimed at adults.
Every adult in the movie, except perhaps for Chevy Chase, is portrayed as cold and with character flaws. The principal, whose sole purpose in the movie is getting hit with a barrage of snowballs in every scene, is the stereotypical "mean guy" who dances around in his shorts and laughs at the kids when it is 70 degrees in January, and is portrayed just as kids would portray their principal in a story- one dimensional and mean because he is the principal. Jean Smart is a fourth grader's conception of a mom who works at a large company- never any time for them, always on the phone. She, like the principal, is portrayed as a child would write the part. No sympathy is ever given to the fact she is a struggling career woman. Her role is seen only from a child's point of view. Perhaps the worst adult role in the movie is Chris Elliot's "Snowplow Man". He is portrayed, once again, like a child would write- the evil man who drives the snowplow. Not a second thought is given to the fact he is employed, paid, to drive that snow plow. He is seen as a one dimensional "mean guy" who doesn't want there to be a second snow day.
Meanwhile, all the children in the film are portrayed as modern-day heroes, gallant generation Xers who are trapped in a cruel world. We are meant to sympathize with the loser, who wants a date with the school babe, supposed to identify with wanting a second snow day, supposed to remember what it was like competing with the bully. But you honestly can't, because, as said before, the entire movie is aimed for a kid, from a kid. Perhaps the worst evidence of this is the ongoing "adults are uncool" treatment that is becoming sickening as it spreads through youth and movies. I myself am only 16, and find some things from the so-called "adult world" enjoyable, but I find my classmates have an automatic prejudice at the mere mention of "Audrey Hepburn", or the dreaded, 'almighty evil' "Garth Brooks". This movie is no different- the local skating rink is run by a man who plays 1940's and 1950's dance music to accompany the skaters. Of course, the skaters are all portrayed as falling asleep because of bordem and having accidents at the rink. We're supposed to cheer when the kids hijack the booth and start playing loud 90's rock music. I was disgusted. This is Nickelodean, the popular kids network, and they are doing no better in teaching kids that adults are bad people. If you want a good family movie with fun that doesn't completely destroy adult aspects, for the love of humanity, see Stuart Little, or rent a Disney movie.
SpongeBob SquarePants (1999)
Sick, twisted, perverse, piece of kitsch
This is a sick, twisted, strange, perverse piece of kitsch. I'm surprised kids like this so much. In a nutshell the plot revolves around a walking sponge named Sponge Bob who is nicknamed squarepants because of his awkwardly shaped posterior. He is constantly trying to get the attention of a perpetually smiling, soccer ball-sized eyes squirrel in a space suit named Sandy, and he is always trying to get accepted by everyone. Even if the show goes off the air, though, it will be remembered for its sexual undertones (SpongeBob making people laugh by ripping his pants and mooning them, Sandy's semi-bisexual nature, SpongeBob accidentally exposing himself during a concert, and muscle men asking SpongeBob to sign their posteriors). May not be worth anything on TV, but has now worked its way into American Subculture
Little Nemo (1989)
9/10- A great film for kids, adults, and video-game connoisseurs. (WARNING... May contain some spoilers)
Imagine, for a moment, if you will, the time when you were a child. Imagine your happiest dream. You're there, youth restored. A child again. As you soar through the air on a strangely floating bed frame and mattress, you see everything you've ever lost, everything you have, and everything that could be possible. Your high-school girlfriend/boyfriend is there. So is your pet from childhood. There is the mystical ruins of the Cloud City you may have heard of in childhood.
This is the scenerio set up in Little Nemo, a tour de' force through the dream world as seen through the eyes of a ten year old boy in pre-civil war era New York. Based on the turn of the century comic strip serial- and more resently the wonderful video game classic for the NES- Nemo revolves around Nemo, who lives in a pre-World War era New York. Coinciding with the arrival of the World's Fair, Nemo's dreams begin to transcend reality, and one night he gets pulled into his own dreams-boy and mind.
From there Nemo is brought to the reality-or unreality- that he now lives in Slumberland, a Renassaince-like world of perfect harmony. Everything goes great with his new adoptive father, the king, and his step-sister, the Princess, whom he is attracted to. Then he encounters Flip, voiced by the loveable Mickey Rooney, who is an ex-con on the run in Slumberland for his reckless gambling and black market trading of bizarre Kitsch. From here, Nemo's life becomes a somewhat perverse combination of mindless, Yellow-Submarine inspired romping with the princess and wreckless parading with Flip. Nemo's happy little wonderland is burst, however, when Flip finally convinces Nemo to do the ultimate crime, which consists of opening the gates to Dream Hell. With the century-sealed gates now open, Dream Demons- Nightmares- parade around, slaughtering the palace guards and making off with a girlishly screaming King as Nemo and the Princess watch in horror. From here, the Nightmares begin to screw around with the dream world as well as the real world, sending Nemo on a mind blowing journey, bouncing him between the real world and the dream world until he ends up marooned in the middle of the dream world ocean. From this point Nemo, Flip, the Princess, as well as some outcasted and slightly psychotic Nightmares must travel into the realm of Nightmare Land, rescue the king, and kill the Nightmare Lord before he can combine and twist the real and dream worlds into his own perverse fantasy.
Day of the Tentacle (1993)
Hilarious! Just Hilarious!
One of the greatest of all time. Entertaining, with a great plot, and an excellent follow up to the video game Maniac Mansion. "WKRP in Cincinatti's" Richard Sanders is great as Bernard Bernouli, and gives him the vocal life robbed of him in the video game. Penny Roberts Hope is equally charming in her dual role as the crazed medical student Laverne and kinky nurse Edna Edison. Also of note is Denny Delk, who does a great job as the stereotypical vaudeville villan Purple, a disembodied tentacle. For any kid, for anyone who is a kid at heart, this is recommended to you.
Maniac Mansion (1990)
Hilarious.
Simply put, a cult series that was never given a chance. Loosely picking up where the wildly popular cult games "Maniac Mansion" and "Day of the Tentacle" left off, the series takes place about 20 years after the events of those games. We find Fred Edison II inheriting a house from his father, Ed (the character in the games). Unfortunately for Fred, a piece of Meteor with a mind of its own is living in the basement, which accidentally mutates his brother into a fly and his toddler into a giant. From there the series follows the family's attempts at re-entering normal society, and the trials of real life that come with it. Overall the show good, but not living up to the legacy left behind by the video games was its ultimate downfall.