Hot Frosty: Movie Review

Whimsy and comedy in a lightweight, simplistic rom-com.

Hot Frosty is the second of Netflix’s four holiday rom-coms releasing each Wednesday in the month of November. If the first one, Meet Me Next Christmas, was a typical romantic comedy (it was), then this is an atypical romantic comedy. It’s not every day that snowmen come to life. In this made-up fantasy, which is set in the real world, a hot perfect man is born out of the snow by placing a red scarf around his neck.		2024 Directed by: Jerry Ciccoritti Screenplay by: Russell Hainline Starring: Lacy Chabert, Dustin Milligan
The first half of the movie is funny, very funny. While many of the jokes rely on Dustin Milligan’s hotness and then Cathy (Lacey Chabert)’s attempts to keep him out of the spotlight and the town’s sheriff discovering this not real person who may have accidentally broken a number of laws when he magically came to life, they all work. The comedy works because of Jack’s – the name he has given himself after he found overalls that had the name Jack on them – genuineness. The explanation to be able to go along with the premise is that Jack has no knowledge or memories from before the minute he magically sprung to life, he’s a quick learner. So apparently this magical snowman very quickly, as in instantaneously, learned English, picked up on social clues, like wearing clothes. He also picked up from Cathy that he likes helping people. He actually loves everything and everyone but Cathy has to help him with some of the subtle nuances in the English language. Jack’s entire personality is a very joyful, kind, considerate, inquisitive and helpful person. That infectious quality spreads to the movie. It’s a very easy to like movie because the point of the main character is to spread joy and often does it in very unexpected ways since he has only been a human for a few days. Luckily we do have a secondary plot since that premise does run thin fairly quickly. Craig Robinson and Joe Lo Truglio star as the town’s sheriff and assistant sheriff. The sheriff runs a tight ship, a no-nonsense person who makes sure that no crimes get committed in Hope Springs – a fictional town that is perfectly created to celebrate the whimsy of the holiday season. When he receives word that a naked man wearing only a scarf ran around town and then broke into a clothing store, he is determined to catch this man. Craig Robinson’s comedy skills fit this movie so well. The sheriff has a lot of good lines and is paired off against Dustin Milligan’s snowman perfectly despite being opposite characters in so many ways. The premise runs thin and eventually the movie peters out to an end. There are only so many ways a movie like this can end and when you’re restricted to a feel-good romance then there is one way it can end. It’s enjoyable and it’s funny, the first half more so than the second half, but once the premise has run its course, the movie doesn’t have enough going for it to keep the liveliness and interest all the way through. If you like a lot of whimsy to your romantic comedies, then you should like Hot Frosty. If however you don’t like whimsy or don’t like romantic comedies, then you will hate this.

Want a different Christmas movie or just more holiday-themed movies? Holiday Movies


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