DVD Review: Snowflake, the White Gorilla (2011)

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Original Foreign Title: Floquet de Neu

A well-intentioned mess of a movie despite its pro-diversity message, Snowflake the White Gorilla is a mismatched mishmash of too many awkward ideas and filmmaking techniques fused together into one bizarre presentation.

Half live action, half animated and fully dubbed into English from its original Catalan-language* cut, Snowflake also suffers from a grab-bag of vocal talents that never get a chance to play off one another well enough to find a comedic rhythm.

The film is similarly bogged down by too much tween-bait stunt casting where veteran actors Christopher Lloyd, David Spade and Keith David find themselves having to volley off the uninspired serves of Dallas Lovato (among others). Needless to say, Snowflake is all over the place right from the start.

While Mychal Simka was able to work wonders with another recent foreign work by elevating Lionsgate’s Wings with a superb rewrite for its English language voice-over translation, he wasn’t able to find the same magic this time around in a film that’s more forced than funny.

Thankfully, the littlest ones in your household probably will give it a passing grade, thanks to an average storyline about a friendship between a live action girl and animated gorilla, which despite a cute start, never finds its cinematic footing.

What at its best could’ve reminded us of classic live action Disney animal slapstick fare of the Dean Jones variety (think Monkeys Go Home etc.) instead drives us to distraction with too many mediums mixed together. Irritating from the get-go, the unsuccessful blend of the two techniques comes off less polished than ‘70s era Pete’s Dragon admittedly B-level fodder to remind us of something altogether cheesier indeed.

Done an even greater disservice by the casting of too many lifeless vocals in lead roles, leaving veteran funnyman David Spade to pick up as much of the slack as humanly possible – while his brisk humor helps keep up the pace, we’re never able to suspend our belief or buy into the odd endeavor.

And regardless of how much we support the film’s positive statement that being different is good, in the end, this picture is just too different and certainly not good enough to drive the point home, let alone recommend to others looking for quality family fare.

* Correction Note as of 4/13/14: The original language of the foreign feature was Catalan and not Spanish as previously indicated. While we regret the error, we thank a savvy reader for calling it to our attention.

Text ©2014, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

TV on DVD: iCarly Season 2, Volume 1 (2008-2009)

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It sounds like a lost episode of Seinfeld as we watch the main ensemble try to seduce a relative and hack into a computer while crashing a wake in pursuit of the world's most delicious pie recipe that has perished along with a deceased chef. And in another offering, we're presented with a cross between The Big Bang Theory and Seth Gordon's 2007 documentary The King of Kong which centered on obsessively competitive championship video gamers. To this end, one of the show's protagonists becomes so addicted to a look-alike version of Pac-Man that he changes from an oddball artist to uptight arcade fiend, until he can have a showdown with the record-holder who'd scored and sailed away as a J.D. Salinger meets Bobby Fischer arcade game recluse.

Yet, this primetime cable network show isn't one that targets the coveted 18-45 year old demographic who worshipped "yadda yadda yadda" and Sheldon and Leonard's inability to conform in CBS' physicist-centric comedy but instead one that aims straight for sharp-witted, under-served tweens and teens. Despite the fact that I may be at least fifteen years too old to enjoy iCarly's frantic, ADD stream-of-consciousness style and gross-out gags that comprises the eponymous web show segments that's engineered by Carly (Miranda Cosgrove), Sam (Jeannette McCurdy) and Freddie (Nathan Kress), overall I'm extremely impressed by the inventiveness of the writing team for the series itself.

The importance of offering young viewers a positive female character as Nickelodeon does via iCarly, True Jackson, VP, and even with their animated series Dora the Explorer cannot be diminished. In fact, while perhaps unlike her fashionista counterpart True Jackson, VP, iCarly definitely has appeal to both genders since it deals with current technology and trends each and every week.

Of course, it's great for contemporary kids who-- on a less global web show scale-- essentially live the lifestyle they portray in the series by browsing for funny videos, blogging, worrying about curses in e-mail chain letters, and texting nonstop. And while admittedly the very emphasis on technology will no doubt hinder the show ten years down the line when the cutting edge web shows, texting, etc. will be obsolete for some new system, overall iCarly aces its target demographic. It does so by letting young women know that they don't have to be the quintessential "girls as drama queen or princess" characters that fill a typical evening broadcast on Nickelodeon's main rival, The Disney Channel.

Just right for those who have begun to outgrow animation, Nickelodeon's latest installment of the series-- Season 2, Volume 1-- opens up with a classic hormonal struggle as the series' two best friends including the show's young Julia or Emma Roberts in training Carly (Miranda Cosgrove) and her incredibly loyal yet aggressive tomboy best friend Sam (Jeannette McCurdy) both develop a crush on the exact same boy. Determined not to become jealous or resort to petty fighting by agreeing that both could be allowed to date him, that promise and one limb gets broken just as quickly in a cliched plot that acknowledges the girls are growing older yet thankfully it doesn't mark a new boy-crazy trend for the series.

In fact, while hormones are definitely prevalent as we learn some surprising facts when Sam bullies Freddie (Nathan Kress) in a relatable episode that will bring one right back to their own awkward tween years revolving around first kisses, basically the writers avoid stereotype whenever possible by ensuring that the always dubious but still entertaining adventures are unexpected, strange, and increasingly complicated.

While the aforementioned "iPie," "iStage an Intervention," and "iKiss," are particular standouts, another one that again showcased the range of McCurdy as her character Sam begins to feel torn between real emotions and her "act" was in the superior "iOwe You." In addition to Sam's plight, it utilizes a subplot involving Carly's older brother and free-spirited guardian Spencer, iCarly scene-stealer Jerry Trainor tries to score points with a hot mom by taking on mean girls in selling the most Fudge Balls to win a shy girl a bike. Thematically similar, "iOwe You" overlaps it with the show's main dilemma as Sam realizes she must get an after school job to pay back her two friends who finally put their foot down about mooching more than five hundred dollars from them over a few years.

Just like "iStage" and "iPie," "iOwe You," succeeds in balancing the right two plots together for wittiest impact and although I'm sure kids really enjoyed iCarly's first TV movie, "iGo to Japan" (despite the fact that the gang only went as far as outside a little more than staying on the Paramount lot), there's way too much padding in what could've been just a simple 2-part episode. While obviously a kickin' Kung Fu fight is a lot of fun to watch, the entire third act of the TV film unfortunately spends a little too much time on Asian stereotyping that results in an obvious yet completely illogical climax which only benefits by some really cool "movie magic" extra featurettes that are sure to appeal to kids wondering just how they faked jumping out of a plane etc.

Bringing back Carly's old nemeses like Nevel and Lewbert, this 316 minute 2-disc slim-package disc also boasts guest stars like David Archuleta (who doesn't sing) and the popular internet video sensation Fred (Lucas Cruikshank) who also makes an appearance. The first volume of the second season also offers some fun behind-the-scenes bonuses that make you realize what an untapped comedic talent they have in Mary Scheer's Mrs. Benson.

And due to the amount of hyper shouting that rivals It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, admittedly adults clearly aren't their target demographic since Nickelodeon has always thrived on entertaining children, tweens, and early teens. Yet, due to the show's nice, wholesome charm in focusing on extroverted girls who like laughter and technology instead of princesses-- which is enough for this reviewer to recommend it without hesitation-- the writers and likable cast ensure that there's much more to the show than one might expect in traditional tween fare.

Text ©2009, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com
Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited.

TV on DVD: iCarly -- Season 1, Volume 2 (2-Disc Set)

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In the fifteen years since Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) broadcast Wayne’s World via their local Aurora, Illinois public access television network in director Penelope Spheeris’ winning feature-length Paramount Pictures spin-off of the SNL skit-- technology has made it possible for even kids half their age to reach a far broader audience and via Internet and popularity of web-casts.

And while most junior high or middle school students spend their time discussing who or what to add to their MySpace Page—in Nickelodeon’s sophisticated tween series iCarly which is fittingly history’s first show to incorporate wholly original “kid generated content” into a series—when the likable, ambitious tech-savvy entrepreneurs Carly (Miranda Cosgrove), Sam (Jeanette Mc Curdy) and Freddie (Nathan Kress) have finished with their studies, they devote their energies to creating a wildly successful web-series.

Named after Cosgrove’s charming character, the show within the show-- iCarly-- began as an accident after footage of Carly and Sam goofing off at the expense of a strict teacher was leaked online. However, when the site began receiving tons of hits all with encouraging comments that fans wanted more hilarity from the gifted, junior improv artists—soon brainy Carly and her mischievous, rebellious friend Sam turned to the IT prodigy Freddie to serve as the show’s technical producer and extraordinaire.

Broadcasting from the top floor of their Seattle apartment building which the kids and Carly's legal guardian-- her law school dropout turned twenty-six year old oddball sculptor Spencer (Jerry Trainor)-- have turned into their very own TV studio for their weekly series that grows into a net phenomenon.

Incidentally released onto DVD from Paramount—who over a decade ago entertained my generation with Wayne’s World-- the hip, trendy, appealingly upbeat girl-power centric iCarly continues on where the opening half of the season left off with this slim-packaged second volume of the twelve concluding episodes that comprised the first season.

Reminiscent initially of a timelier cross between Punky Brewster and Saved By the Bell-- admirably, iCarly is smart enough to take main plot-line of its show seriously to show the advantages and annoyances of life on the web as Carly meets a creepy, well-meaning but over-eager fan and adults try to manipulate the show by corrupting it with cash buyouts in the form of product placements, a short-lived television deal, and more.

While admittedly the contents of the iCarly web-cast series play much better to a younger crowd as sometimes the girls come off as two over-excited children who ate all of the Halloween candy they managed to bring home in a single sitting when Freddie’s camera is on them—the plots of the overall show and believable chemistry between the stars helps heighten it considerably.

Ultimately, we realize that-- especially in some standout episodes like “iHeart Art” which finds Carly having to counteract negative artistic feedback given to her brother to re-inspire him and “iStakeout,” when their apartment becomes the location of a police stakeout after possible incriminating footage was captured in the background of one of the web-casts-- it’s much more than just a series about a goofy, juvenile web-show. No and far more appropriately, it's one that celebrates the ingenuity, loyalty, and makeshift modern family that three decidedly different kids form during the technological age.

In fact, in a surprising twist, Carly—whose mother is never mentioned but father is overseas stationed in the military-- resides with her brother Spencer. And while the two are incredibly close, you get the sense that he’s equally reliant on her for care as well and this idea is repeated again and again in the set-up of the headstrong Sam’s absentee, daffy mother and Freddie’s over-protective one as the kids seem to be much older than their roughly thirteen years of age.

Overall, it's one more mind-bogglingly superlative program offered by Nickelodeon that proves that the channel not only understands its audience from its youngest toddler aged viewers to its teenagers but also respects them enough to create challenging and intellectually stimulating programming that accurately reflects their lifestyle. Likewise, this highly recommended DVD of iCarly which should also be purchased with the first disc to fully catch up on the entire season (which I absorbed fairly quickly via Netflix’s Roku Instant Viewing Option), also contains some fun behind-the-scenes extras, including footage of the cast getting slimed--Nickelodeon's version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame-- as well as a bonus pilot episode of another brainy female oriented show, True Jackson, VP.