Hot Frosty

Stars dustin milligan (schitts creek, extract) and lacey chabert (mean girls). When a snowman comes to life, he accidentally commits a crime. And now the sheriff is looking for him. But no-one can describe his face. Just his... body parts. It's good! Pretty simple story. Some subtle snowman jokes, like when kathy eats the head off of the snowman christmas cookies. Almost dirty, all the ladies in town want him. And don't seem to care that he's just a snowman. It's silly and fun. Keep an eye out for doctor dottie... she was the sister on mike and molly! And the deputy is from reno 911. Directed by jerry ciccoritti. Interesting connection.... he directed fourteen episodes of schitts creek.. which co-starred... dustin milligan! Story by russell hainline; he seems to write a whole lot of christmas-y stuff. Plain, simple, story, but it's entertaining enough.

The Netflix Christmas Universe grows every year. I for one love how they do references to other movies in it. Or to other movies entirely.

You know from the title, this movie isn't one to be taken remotely seriously. There are some familiar faces. It's cheesy. It's corny. It's predictable. It's over the top at times. But nonetheless, it's lighthearted and fun. It's sweet and fluffy, like Christmas cotton candy. While no one will win on Oscar for it, the acting is decent, while the cast chemistry is great. I needed something no heavy to watch, and this fit the bill nicely. I've never been a big fan of snowmen, but this one grew on me. He wasn't hard on the eyes, either!

This magical little romcom has something extra - real comedy. It takes a standard Christmas movie formula, down to Lacey Chabert, the queen of Christmas low budget romance movies that are made for television, and levels it up with 1) Dustin Milligan (the hottie from Schitt's Creek, but hopefully soon to be recognized from much more, with his own comedy bonafides) as the romantic interest, and he is several grades above the usual tv movie actor fare. 2) Two of the main characters from massive award winning comedy hit Brooklyn Nine Nine, with "Judy" from that show now the comedic sheriff, who steals every scene, and his deputy "Charles" (who was lead Andy Samberg's trusty sidekick) - both of these actors are comedians well respected in the comedy world and you certainly don't expect to see them pulling their B99 hilarity in a film about a real life snowman! 3) The rest of the cast is charming, as well, and here they're given a bit better material (script/dialog) to work with than in the standard formulaic Xmas movie scripts (which, to be fair, are entertaining for the rate and speed in which Hallmark is pumping them out). So this improved script also helps raise Frosty to lofty heights, with this film up in the clouds looking down on Christmas films of yore.

It's surprising that Netflix would even go near this genre, since Hallmark loyalists are truly loyal, and their shtick is beloved. But I suspect that everyone who loves Christmas films will appreciate this one just a bit more than the others. Very sweet - do more of this, Netflix, and it wouldn't kill you to make a Hanukkah one!

Christmas season is coming and so are the heartwarming holiday stories. Which doesn't have much basis in reality, but it's good to watch because it revives our Christmas wishes. Weak characters, a childish story, a film that can only be watched once, but it prepares you for the festive mood. It can be viewed once in the background.

If you want to prepare yourself for this mood, then watch it, but there are much better Christmas movies. It is even better if you watch old holiday hallmark movies, they are also boring, but at least they deal with human stories that smell more alive.

Happy Christmas, and happy Christmas pre-feeling time:)

A subtle satire of the Hallmark Christmas movies that is in on the joke, but walks the line so finely that it ironically is a solid version of the feel-good, festive films it is satirizing. While the tongue in cheek aspect might be confusing or even off-putting to the target audience, its unique tone helps distinguish it from the heaps of Christmas movies on streaming services.

Dustin Milligan plays a decent himbo made of snow, while Lacey Chabert delivers one of her signature flat performances in straight-to-streaming Christmas films. It's ultimately the comedic performances of Craig Robinson, Joe Lo Truglio and Katy Mixon Greer that elevate the film.