Danielle Solzman
A snowman mysteriously comes to life in Hot Frosty in what may very well be the first-ever romantic comedy about a woman and a snowman.
Do you want to date a snowman? I know it’s kinda weird. Sorry to go all Frozen on you just now but Kathy (Lacey Chabert) somehow brings a snowman to life just through putting a scarf on him. I know, right?!? But of course, this film is not all fun and games. Kathy lost her husband to cancer two years prior. She’s running her own diner but it feels as if the diner is her only purpose these days. Her home life is not all that great. Despite placing a note to call a repairman, she’s just putting things off until who knows when. Be it the lack of heat or the water leaking from the ceiling, this isn’t the way to live. But anyway, Jack Snowman (Dustin Milligan) comes to life wearing nothing but a scarf. One breaking-and-entering later, he’s wearing clothes and eventually on his way to safety.
Jack is as safe as it gets for a town where Sheriff Hunter (Craig Robinson) has it his way or the highway. On the other end of the coin is Deputy Sheriff Schatz (Joe Lo Truglio). The two are basically playing bad cop and good cop. Sheriff Hunter is the classic old-school sheriff that one might see in movies. He has his trademarks and he wants to see to it that the town sees justice. Much like the actor in real life, Sheriff Hunter also plays the piano. Anyway, as he gets closer to breaking the case and solving it, Kathy demands that Jack lay low. But if you know Jack, there’s no snowball’s chance in hell of that happening. If there’s a way to help someone, he wants to help them. He’s still a snowman on the inside and requires ice or other cold food in order to live.
Will Jack lead Kathy to be able to feel love again, let alone laugh? That’s the question of the hour in this surprising rom-com premise that nobody has ever really done before. Still though, what happens if the sheriff captures Jack for his crimes?
Lacey Chabert used to be something of a Hallmark regular. An argument cannot be made that she’s doing the equivalent of a Hallmark movie on Netflix because the mere premise alone would just be too much. I mean, this is the type of film where you hear the basic premise and go WHAT?!? It’s a cliche to say that you have to see it to believe it but here we are!
The film features not one but two Mean Girls easter eggs. “Jingle Bell Rock” plays early on the film. Meanwhile, a later scene sees a clip of Lindsay Lohan’s Falling for Xmas character waking up from a coma when Kathy turns on the TV and tells Jack how to use it. Anyway, she sees Lohan on screen and says: “That’s so funny. She looks like a girl I went to high school with.” Furthermore, there’s a clip of Jennifer Coolidge from another Netflix film, Single All the Way.
Hot Frosty isn’t going to win any awards but it serves as a distraction from the rest of the world for 90ish minutes.
DIRECTOR: Jerry Ciccoritti
SCREENWRITER: Russell Hainline
CAST: Lacey Chabert, Dustin Milligan, Katy Mixon Greer, Lauren Holly, Chrishell Stause, with Joe Lo Truglio and Craig Robinson
Netflix will release Hot Frosty on November 13, 2024. Grade: 3/5
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