Snowmen

A surprisingly effective debut effort from writer-director Robert Kirbyson.

Picture narrowly avoids outright bathos, thanks largely to first-rate perfs by its child thesps and by Ray Liotta. But by self-righteously rejecting facile solutions, then employing them anyway in the tradition of "no ending left behind," the result conforms to parents' old-fashioned notions of kid movies rather than demonstrating true kid appeal.

It's a shame the film's first two acts are such a grind since there's actually a decently wrought resolution to it all. But by then, between the youngsters' more-is-less acting (Ray Liotta fares only slightly better as Billy's madcap dad), feeble stabs at humor and overreaching profundity, it's too little, too late.

I'm not sure what part of Snowmen doesn't scream completely inappropriate, sentimental Manichean drivel.