A Dance in the Snow (2024)
Well, technically she really didn’t want a dance in the snow…
For the second time in as many years, the Countdown included a movie centered around an autistic character, and released under the Hallmark Mystery sub-banner.
From Hallmark:
Melanie’s 17-year-old autistic daughter Jenny is a senior in high school and looking forward to college. After a bad experience her junior year, Jenny is not interested in attending her final Christmas dance before graduating. Melanie decides to surprise Jenny by getting involved in the school’s planning committee to create a welcoming dance for all students. Meanwhile, Jenny and her friends secretly plan their own party, in part to honor Melanie. Melanie works with Jenny’s literature teacher on the dance and starts to fall for him while Jenny develops something special with a new classmate at school. When their secrets snowball, however, their plans begin to drive a wedge between the usually tightknit mother and daughter at the holidays.
That blurb just about sums it up. I hesitate to criticize this one because according to other online reviewers it does a good job of depicting autistic behaviours, something I am not well-versed in. Aside from the school dances planned for Christmastime though, this isn’t really a Christmas movie. Overall relatively forgettable, unfortunately, though I appreciate the effort to depict autism accurately on screen.
