For a movie with a title that feels like an entry on Urban Dictionary, Hot Frosty is surprisingly gentle on sexual content material. (This is for the very best, for causes that will likely be defined.) The naughtiness on this Netflix Christmas film is confined to self-aware “shirtless moments,” the place the viewers is inspired to ogle the male lead as he prances round a snowy city sq. or fixes a leaky roof or no matter along with his pecs hanging out. He’s not bothered by the chilly, you see, as a result of he’s a snowman. Like, a literal snowman.
The movie, functionally directed by prolific Canadian jobber Jerry Ciccoritti, hand-waves away this miraculous growth as “the magic of Christmas,” which is honest. The magic of Christmas can do something, so long as it’s occurring in a picturesque burg the place everybody loves Christmas and every part is ideal, aside from the love lifetime of a deserving lady whose largest flaw is that she cares an excessive amount of about this city and its folks.
Star Lacey Chabert makes a speciality of these kinds of characters: Her IMDb web page lists 14 movies with the phrase “Christmas” within the title, solely considered one of which is a horror film. She involves this explicit straight-to-streaming venture with tongue planted in cheek – the one facial features she will be able to handle on this film – as does the remainder of the solid. The self-aware intentions behind Hot Frosty (significantly, ew) are clear in its casting, which incorporates Eastbound & Down’s Katy Mixon Greer as a health care provider with an unwavering religion in Christmas miracles and dependable comedic supporting gamers Joe Lo Trugilo and Craig Robinson because the city’s unnecessarily punitive lawmen.
Specifically, Robinson’s sheriff character is hell-bent on sending anyone to jail for the crimes of streaking throughout the general public method and breaking into an area thrift retailer to steal some garments. Both have been, in fact, dedicated by Jack Snowman (Schitt’s Creek’s Dustin Milligan), the aforementioned frozen determine who involves life after lonely widow/beloved diner proprietor Kathy (Chabert) locations a magic scarf round his neck and desires for male companionship. The snowman is lower – a conspicuously Michelangelo’s David-esque entry within the snow-sculpture contest Hot Frosty options in its first 5 minutes – and subsequently so is his human type, in that dehydrated, “bulging arm veins and an eight pack” sort of method.
Where Chabert’s face stays placid, Milligan’s is all expression, and he actually is attempting his hardest to convey a slapstick sensibility to an absurd position as… properly, there’s no different solution to put it however to cite 30 Rock: The (snow)man is a intercourse fool. (He’s additionally sort of a pet, within the sense that he may die if he’s left in a scorching automobile too lengthy.) On prime of the kind of amnesia that solely exists within the films, Jack is childlike – naive, trusting – to the purpose the place it’s arguably unethical for a full-grown grownup to turn out to be romantically concerned with him. And a lot of the movie’s pressure comes from the uncomfortable anticipation of ready for the purpose the place Kathy says to herself, “I’m gonna screw this snowman.”
It’s not proper, frankly – however in a giggly, jaw-dropping sort of method. It’s additionally sort of humorous, when you don’t take it too significantly, and nothing about this movie is meant to be taken significantly. It’s enjoyable to write down about, and – for probably the most half – enjoyable to observe. That being mentioned, the comedy is extraordinarily one-note, and Hot Frosty’s bemused smirk will get increasingly more strained because the bit wears on to function size.
It’s a cup of whipped cream with no scorching chocolate. And so, when the inevitable, cringey earnestness about Christmas and togetherness and by no means giving up on love arrives, it comes as a aid. Now we are able to snicker on the film, as an alternative of laboring to snicker with it. Hot Frosty gained’t thoughts, proper?
