Lost Holiday: The Jim & Suzanne Shemwell Story (2007 TV Movie) User Reviews

Basic TV stranded-in-wilderness snow storm movie

[Pro Jury · 6/10 · 30 December 2007]

*** DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS. ***

"Lost Holiday: The Jim & Suzanne Shemwell Story" (2007) is a made-for-TV movie based upon an actual event. Interestingly, just after the original airing of "Lost Holiday: The Jim & Suzanne Shemwell Story" on the LIFETIME cable channel, American TV newscasts were following a new family lost for many days in a big snow storm in the northern California mountains.

Any half-serious TV couch potato will want to know one thing about this 2007 LIFETIME production: how does it compare with the 1994 made-for-TV movie "Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story." Both LOST HOLIDAY and SNOWBOUND have pluses and minuses.

On the PLUS side for SNOWBOUND, after being lost, the husband and wife had natural and normal conversations centered around their survival.

Sad to say, the script is the biggest MINUS for LOST HOLIDAY. 3, 4, and 5 days out lost deep in the woods without shelter, the Shemwell's are talking 1000 words per minute about check books, trading cars, and high school proms or whatever. One pointless babble-fest took place while their snowmobile was running in neutral until its motor overheated and the snowmobile died. The Shemwell's endless babbling was off-topic and took away from the drama.

One other PLUS for SHOWBOUND was the family members waiting back home. They were more easy to accept and true-to-life.

Sorry to say, the matriarch of the Shemwell family was alarmingly over-confident right up until the exact instant when she gave up all hope. It was more weird than natural.

On the PLUS side for LOST HOLIDAY, the way the Shemwell's were lost was realistic -- they were lost snowmobiling deep in the woods.

SNOWBOUND was weakened because the Stolpa's were immensely stupid to leave the shelter and more traveled location of their snowbound car to walk off into the woods. It was easy for searchers to find their car, but less easy to find them.

That all being said, one thing LOST HOLIDAY had over SNOWBOUND (and every other cold weather movie) was the ultra sporty winter jackets worn by the Shamwell clan. I have never in my life seen such sporty winter jackets. I enjoyed the wardrobe in "Lost Holiday: The Jim & Suzanne Shemwell Story."

By the way, if you feel confused because the Stolpa's and the Shemwells seem similar to each other as do the titles "Lost Holiday: The Jim & Suzanne Shemwell Story" and "Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story" -- you are completely correct!

A good family film about faith and that inner voice

[OneAnjel · 6/10 · 23 December 2021]

This could be called a big budget I Shouldn't Be Alive episode in some regards except I actually prefer the main focus on the plight of the victims. But from a perspective as a Christian, I enjoyed the emphasis on prayer and faith, which naturally found it necessary to show the many family dynamics. We see the mom who is too organized, the dad who is a big irresponsible teenager, and the teen boyfriend who is unfairly disliked... This all wraps up into a warm feel-good ending. However, I would not have rekindled a relationship w/a man who is so arrogant and controlling as to have almost cost me my life. This film makes a huge point to try and show he's completely out of control and extremely manipulating. Since it's a real story, I won't blame the writers.

And on a side note, the 'where did they go to survival school' review here is not completely accurate - - You never go down into an unknown mountainous valley in a snow-bound venue or any unfamiliar venue audibly hearing a strong river or visually seeing how to get back up. You can become trapped and many people have died this way. Going down is easy; coming up, not so much. The main thing this couple did wrong was to not get out in a clearing and build a big fire as soon as the weather cleared. I would have dug a shelter and stayed put near a clearing with some form of communication -- branches spelling SOS is a common thing rescuers would look for. You definitely can die if you accidentally fall asleep in the snow. No one is suggesting you can't go to sleep in snow if you've built a fire and have prepared for it. What can happen is that as you get weaker and your body prepares to die it can simply make you fall asleep to make the process simple and painless. You do have to be very aware of this if you're at that stage.

I love the ocean but I would rather get lost in the snow since I would have a better chance of survival in snow than in open water. (just thinking out loud).

Excuse me, where did you go to survival school?

[patchworkworld · 24 December 2009]

After the first few minutes I had to wonder how the people this movie was based on managed to get out of their situation. He's a dowhateverIfeellike regardlessoftheconsequences idiot, and she's the ultraplanmaking and makesureitallworksperfectly person --clearly in reaction to his lacks constantly creating messes he blows off and she has to clean up for the kids' sakes. Typically, when they go off snowmobiling and run into trouble, the two start having clashes over their different approaches to problems...in which, frankly, Mr Happygolucky keeps turning out a complete freaking idiot who constantly makes bad choices based on following utter impulse full speed ahead. At one point they have an argument because she's exhausted from staying up all night keeping the fire going while he fell asleep regardlessoftheconsequences as usual. His view? "I didn't ask you to do that! You did it because you didn't trust me to do it!" And she was right on, wasn't she? A real eye roller of a moment. They keep happening...and what can you say about a moron so into FREEEEDDDDDDUUUMMMMM that he feeds his kids cold formula rather than take the time to warm it up? She must have dealt with colic every day!! Other awesomely stupid moments...1) "when lost in the mountains, go UP, not down." (Uuuuhmmmmmm.....follow rivers if you can, and go down because down is where people are, I was taught. The only reason I can see for going up at all in the mountains in the winter is if you expect to get above the treeline to be spotted by searchers SOON. If not soon, going up can be fatal when you freeze outside of shelter in the snowstorm...) 2) Sitting around a fire, no shelter in sight, in a snowstorm...without gloves or mittens On the other hand, 1A) When NOT lost, abandon your snowmobile when the snow you went over an hour ago is now too soft to support it and you are within waking distance of your car. DON'T go down to some unknown area on the off change you'll connect up with a road. 3) Idiot boy chomping down ALL of the food they had with them (described as "plenty" by one of the searchers) in one day because "I figured we'd be found by now". (His next comment was that her thinking ahead was bad because it was really eliminating freedom...) 4)Screeching "We're here!!!!" while search craft fly overhead (for those who don't know, no one in the plane or helo can hear you...you MUST make a visual signal large enough to be seen against the background) 5) "Wen you fall asleep in the snow, you don;t wake up" PLEASE DON"T Believe THIS! It could kill you. The reality is that if you drive yourself to exhaustion because you're afraid of not waking up, when you finally do fall asleep it WILL kill you, but if you rest when you need to the cold will wake you before too long if you do nod off. 6) When searching on the ground for amateurs, turn off your engines now and then and yell...and LISTEN. Sound carries much farther than you can see.

IF TRUE, WHY CHANGE KEY PARTS

[valica-33849 · 8/10 · 2 January 2023]

I know when making a movie, even though true, want to change things to make more dramatic. If he actually tied string to her & pulled up a hill, that should have been in the movie. Nice touch of brother & boyfriend finding them, but if not true, don't add it for emotion. Give whoever found them their dues, search was called off, so why did they choose to continue? Also if he didn't eat all the food cause thought would be found soon, I really disliked that part A LOT. Very selfish on his part.

Also not sure if other parts were for effect, like in beginning young daughter asked what if went off the trail and everyone shut it down. I went back & read article & said daughters were 20 & 26, I was very upset to find this out.