Written by: Russell Hainline
Starring: Lacey Chabert, Dustin Milligan, Katy Mixon Greer, Lauren Holly, Chrishell Stause
Rating: [2.5/5]
Finding love organically in this day and age has gotten increasingly more difficult leaving some wondering if they will ever find their person. Perhaps those individuals could consider that their person may not be a human, but rather a snowman that can be brought to life by placing a scarf upon it. An odd idea but one Hot Frosty utilizes in bringing us this festive Christmas romance.
Still heavily impacted by the loss of her husband, Kathy (Lacey Chabert) receives a scarf from her friends that’s destined for her. One night she places it on a muscular snowman and unbeknownst to her, that scarf animated that snowman into a man, who now walks the street of her small town.
There’s nothing that can pass the silliest of plots to a green light like a Christmas film. The idea that this woman could fall in love with a man who not long ago was a neatly and very detailed pile of snow feels like a dumb idea for a comedy skit but here we are. With a movie like this, you either take the silliness for what it is or you will just hate the experience and aside from the glaring faults of this film, I cannot help but slightly enjoy it. Nothing about this feature seeks to contain any seriousness, and watching this during the holiday season and knowing very well it contains a ridiculous plot made everything somewhat passable.
Of the funnier elements of this feature, the fact that the characters do not need much convincing to acknowledge this man as a snowman who turned to a man is nothing short of hilarious. They even have a scene where Kathy takes Jack (Dustin Milligan) to a doctor, who takes his temperature, sees it sits below freezing, and everyone just accepts what many would know is impossible. Again, it’s the film demonstrating once again what tone it seeks to operate within and all the silly scenes involving Jack and the earnestness he brings makes the film watchable.
Part of what makes Jack such a fun character comes from the performance put on by Dustin Milligan. An actor who I could not place until remembering he played Ted in “Schitt’s Creek,” which then made him feel even more endearing. In a role that needs to do all the heavy lifting in really selling this ridiculous plot, he does well because he does not comprehend that everyone gawks at his shredded physique. Combining a childlike and fish-out-of-water sensibility to him, he learns plenty about how humans operate and the feelings he develops for Kathy. Pairing up well with him, we have Lacey Chabert who I honestly have not seen in anything since her portrayal of Gretchen Wieners in Mean Girls. Judging by her filmography, after a cursory look, it makes complete sense why she feels like a natural in this setting. She checks all the boxes in portraying the female lead of a cheesy Christmas movie making this pair worth watching.
However, with all that said Hot Frosty remains a cheesy Christmas movie that places all of its hope in cashing in on the warm and fuzzy feelings the holiday season provides. It means the narrative can excuse its trite plot progression and lackluster filmmaking, which again comes commonplace with this particular genre of film. The ridiculousness of its story and how all the characters act in borderline strange ways serves as its largest selling point, but it does not make for a well-constructed film. This appears at its worst with Craig Robinson, who portrays the town sheriff, who must serve as the antagonist of this film, but his presence proved grating. A thankless role and one that mightily hampered how everything about this character feels shoe-horned in.
Come for the intriguing title and stay wholly ridiculous plot, Hot Frosty certainly asks a question no one asked in what would transpire if a perfectly sculpted snowman could turn into a man. We certainly learn a lot about this experience as Jack learns what it’s like to be human and potentially fall in love with one all with the looming threat of when he could potentially turn back into a snowman. This film knew what it sought to accomplish and did well in providing just that for audience members looking for a cozy Christmas film.
Films with Josh 
