Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Grim visuals, rape in affecting drug addiction tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Sno Babies
What's the Story?
To their parents, teachers, and the world at large, Kristen (Katie Kelly) and Hannah (Paola Andino) are bright young high school students who are headed for a great future. But in their secret lives, the best friends are SNO BABIES, addicted to shooting heroin and trying to keep up a good front as their lives go from bad to worse. As the girls' story plays out, it intersects in unexpected ways with the life of Matt (Michael Lombardi), the owner of a local nature preserve who's at a financial and emotional crossroads.
Is It Any Good?
A grim portrait of the spiral of drug addiction, this movie is emotional, affecting, and well-acted, but it's also tough to push away the feeling that it revels in punishing its main characters. After an opening sequence illustrates how "good girl" Kristen is easily convinced to take an Oxycontin pill by her boyfriend (who promises that "It'll make all your worries and problems disappear"), viewers' next glimpse of her is on the school bus, where Hannah teases her about her Princeton ambitions amidst a crowd of bright-eyed schoolmates. But at the (improbably lively) teen house party that night, Hannah's boyfriend Jeff (Niko Terho) has something for the girls, something that comes in a small glassine envelope and carries with it even more problems than it will temporarily banish. Uh oh, it's Thirteen meets an afterschool special!
After that, there's nowhere for Hannah and Kristen to go but down, and the horrible consequences we've learned to expect from drug addiction films begin to pile up: overdoses, sexual assault, tangles with law enforcement, dope sickness, scoring in dangerous neighborhoods from dangerous criminals. And that's just the start. With her wide, expressive eyes, Kelly feels like a realistically not-so-tough teen buckling under unimaginable strains; viewers will feel for her, particularly in agonizing moments such as a drug-clinic urine test and strip search, which is presented unblinkingly and at length. These scenes certainly do their job of convincing viewers that they want no such part of this business; it also numbingly feels as if both Kristen and Hannah are trapped in some type of moralistic hell house, paying and paying and paying for their mistakes in a movie that almost seems made to show to school assemblies to scare kids straight.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the fact that movies about drug addiction often focus on the terrible things that people do to get drugs and the bad things that can happen to them while they're high or trying to buy drugs. How does Sno Babies handle these scenes? Do they feel realistic? Scary?
When sexual assaults are portrayed in the media, the depictions are sometimes sympathetic toward the victims, sometimes toward the assailant, and sometimes both. Who does Sno Babies show sympathy toward? How can you tell?
How does Sno Babies portray drug use/addiction? Does the movie warn viewers against drug use, or is it made to look appealing in any way? What are the consequences? Are they realistic?
What do you think the filmmakers hope audiences will take away from watching the film? Where can you go if you need help with drug-related problems?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : September 29, 2020
- Cast : Katie Kelly , Paola Andino , Michael Lombardi
- Director : Bridget Smith
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Better Noise Films
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : School ( College & Graduate School , High School ) , Family Stories , Friendship
- Run time : 109 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 3, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate