Snowmen
By Brian Costello,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Drama has positive messages; bullying and iffy humor, too.

A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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Snowmen
Community Reviews
Based on 4 parent reviews
This disappointing "family film" is not appropriate for kids
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Amazing hart warming
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What's the Story?
Billy Kirkfield is a 10-year-old boy with terminal cancer. All he wants out of life is to "not die a loser." With his best friends Howard and Lucas, they try to make the best of school but must always face down the wrath of the school bully Jason. Things start to change when Billy and his friends peruse a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records. Inspired, Billy decides to try and break the record for the most number of snowmen made in a single day. He rallies his friends, his school, and even his community. While trying to do this, Billy must learn to stand up to and even empathize with the bully Jason and try to understand that being a good and honest person is much more important than aspiring to fleeting fame.
Is It Any Good?
The acting amongst the kids and adults is better than many low-budget movies like this, and the action manages to remain engaging throughout. The biggest problem with this movie is that it feels stretched out and padded -- after getting the audience interested in whether or not the school will set the record for the most snowmen made in a day, the characters take a detour, and the actions and lessons feel forced. Still, the movie does try to address complex issues in a thoughtful way, in spite of the iffy humor and schoolyard violence.
Within the first six minutes of SNOWMEN, two boys engage in a snowball fight, culminating in one boy tackling the other and holding him down while trying to force snot bubbles onto his face, three boys are nearly suffocated when the snow tunnels they have made are covered by a bulldozer, and this same bulldozer uncovers a recently deceased elderly man who stares these boys directly in the face. Fortunately, the movie levels out a bit after these intense scenes, and what emerges, despite the bullying and gross-out humor, is a better-than-average coming-of-age story unafraid to deal honestly with issues such as childhood cancer, bullying, and empathy.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about bullying. How is the bully portrayed in this movie? How do the main characters see the bully over time? How do the characters use empathy to understand why the bully behaves the way he does?
How accurately do you think this movie reflects the reality of a 10-year-old boy with terminal cancer?
How does this movie compare with other coming-of-age movies?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: November 29, 2011
- Cast: Ray Liotta, Bobby Coleman, Christopher Lloyd
- Director: Robert Kirbyson
- Studio: ARC Entertainment
- Genre: Family and Kids
- Topics: Friendship, Great Boy Role Models
- Run time: 85 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG
- MPAA explanation: Thematic material, some rough bullying and peril, language and brief juvenile humor
- Last updated: February 26, 2022
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