Dashing Through the Snow Parent Guide

Eddie (Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges) is not a fan of Christmas. After a traumatic childhood experience, he swore off the holiday. Now he’s focused on getting through the season in one piece. In his job as a crisis counselor, Eddie works to lighten the load of those who feel sad and alone, especially over the festive season.

When a man dressed as Santa (Lil Rel Howery) and calling himself Nick Sinter-Claus appears in the neighbor’s house, Eddie assumes he’s someone in crisis and tries to help him. But as the evening takes some weird turns, Eddie starts to wonder if there might be more to Nick than he first thought.

Has “Santa goes on a Christmas Eve adventure and someone regains their festive cheer” always been a common holiday movie theme? I don’t remember that plot recurring in my childhood, but I’ve seen a lot of films with that premise over the last couple of years. Maybe I just wasn’t paying attention in the past, but the concept feels overplayed at this point. This filmis a perfectly fine addition to the season, but it doesn’t bring anything new enough to justify its existence in an oversaturated market of productions with essentially the same plot.

There’s nothing wrong with Dashing Through the Snow. The performances range from passable to charming, the production value is high for the budget, and the writing, though unoriginal, is skilled enough to avoid being cringy. Yet somehow the movie lacks the magic to make it great. I think that comes down to the generic plot. There are no real surprises or high stakes and even a child could see the ending coming a mile away. I will give a special shoutout to the score, composed by Christopher Joseph Lennertz, that expertly weaves in familiar holiday melodies in a way that I greatly enjoyed.

With little in the way of negative content, this film is appropriate for most audiences, if they have an interest in it. Young viewers will likely be bored, as the script focuses more on character development than on action. For fans of the genre, or anyone looking for a safe, family friendly Yuletide offering, you won’t go wrong by turning on Dashing Through the Snow. I just don’t see it becoming an enduring classic.