Cheap Snow Dogs (DVD) (Cuba Gooding Jr., James Coburn) (Brian Levant) Price

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Customer Reviews of Snow Dogs

Cuba Gooding, Jr. plays dentist Ted Brooks. Ted is more than just a dentist; he has a huge practice in sunny Miami, apparently quite wealthy, a true man of the city, until a summons arrives one day informing him that his mother has died. One small detail, his mother, Nichelle Nichols of the original "Star Trek" series and movies fame, had neglected to tell Ted that she was his adoptive mother. Ted's biological mother lived in the wide-spot-in-the-valley of Tolketna, Alaska. Isolated does not describe Tolketna, which appears to be reached only by helicopter or airplane, and even those must be small.

Ted's mother turns out to have been a very nice lady, with a penchant for sled dog racing. Lucky Ted, he not only inherits the bulk of his mother's possessions, he also inherits a team of potentially prize-winning sled dogs. If only Ted did not hate dogs.

In the course of discovering that small-town life is infinitely more appealing than living shoulder-to-shoulder with your neighbors, Ted also discovers a lot about himself and about life in general. He discovers his father and discovers true love in the cold and snow of mythical Tolketna. During this voyage of discovery we gain an appreciation for the beauty of the far north, lots of laughs, and several tense moments, including one where Ted Brooks and Thunder Jack Johnson (James Coburn) are hanging suspended over a cliff, hoping the sled dogs can pull them to safety.

Superb family movies seem to be hard to come by these days. This movie is excellent and a family movie. The violence is minimal, the tense moments generally work out well, there are lessons regarding perseverance, and there are dogs that have more expressions than Mr. Spock. While I often caution parents that some portions of a movie may be a bit too tense for younger members of the family, that caution is unnecessary for this PG rated movie. Admittedly there are several moments of very mild violence, but those moments I found to be less than that in other family movies, such as "The Wizard of Oz."

With the combination of scenery, a reasonably plausible plot, excellent cast, and frequent funny moments, this movie is a great movie for everyone. I recommend this movie highly.

A charmer fit for the family, even the pets will love it!
A Miami dentist and a team of sledding dogs combine for a humorous, snow-filled adventure. Dr. Ted Brooks (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) has a successful practice, "Hot Smile," when one day his mother drops the news that he was adopted. He soon finds himself in a small Alaska town to claim his inheritance, which includes no money but plenty of dogs - not such a good match for the wealthy, canine-hater! Before heading back to balmy Florida, however, he braves the frigid climate in search of his biological father. He slowly finds himself drawn to the simplicity of the town and its people, including Barb, a tough but sweet bartender, and Thunder Jack (James Coburn), a very rough-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside "musher." When the "Arctic Challenge" sled race begins soon after, Brooks and his new canine friends discover the meaning of love and family.

There is so much to enjoy about this movie, which comes from a long tradition of Disney snow/dog/sled racing classics ("Snowball Express," "White Fang," "Iron Will"). It's lighter in tone but still provides some thrilling moments against a spectacular Alaskan backdrop. (They could have capitalized on the scenery even more.) The laughs come naturally in this script, as a Southern city slicker thrust into the Alaskan wilderness is bound to run into goofy situations. Cuba Gooding, Jr. is in fine comedic form, and a scraggly James Coburn easily takes to his lighter side. Both actors have proven their dramatic prowess with serious, decidedly adult roles, but the two fit snuggly into this family film and share some amusing and touching scenes. Though "Snow Dogs" lacks the scriptural tightness of films before it, it warms the heart.

R.I..P Mr. James Coburn aka Thunder Jack
Although Cuba Gooding has always gotten on my nerves, this movie is worth the watch for James Coburn's turn as Thunder Jack, a grizzeled mountain man. To lose Rod Steiger, James Coburn and Charles Bronson all in such a short time marks the end of an era and a goodbye to the last of the 'Real Men' of both Hollywood and the world...