Directed by Jerry Ciccoritti | Written by Russell Hainline | 92 min | ▲▲▲△ △ | Netflix
It’s a bit of a mystery how it happened, but this Christmas romcom has become something of a hit. Everyone’s talking about Hot Frosty, even me. Every year these Christmas movies are pumped out, quickie productions shot in small town Ontario, Quebec, or Nova Scotia passing for the American heartland. This is the one that’s distinguished itself in December 2024.
It has a few things going for it. Director Jerry Ciccoritti is a huge name in Canadian film and TV going back 40 years — he’s worked in features and TV, and has directed everything from horror like Graveyard Shift to episodes of Schitt’s Creek. His new movie’s got a solid cast including yuletide movie vet Lacey Chabert, who folks will also likely remember from her work in Party Of Five and Mean Girls — this movie includes a fantastic Mean Girls joke, as a matter of fact — and strong comedy support from the likes of Craig Robinson and Joe Lo Truglio. But what makes it work is that it doesn’t take itself seriously at all — Hot Frosty knows what it is.
It is the story of a snowman. When Lacey’s character Katie puts a red scarf around his neck he comes to life. But then he streaks across the town square and steals some clothes to cover himself up.
This attracts the attention of the local sheriff, played by funnyman Craig Robinson who gets many of the movie’s best laughs.
Jack, the snowman turned hottie, is played by Canadian Dustin Milligan who was the hot vet on Schitt’s Creek. He’s kind and naive but sensitive, helps out around Katie’s house and every woman in town finds him irresistible. He likes to be cold, which is weird, of course, and the movie makes no effort to try and explain the magic of his existence, which is no big deal.
There’s not much more to say about this — it’s sentimental, and it’s self-aware. It flies by without much incident and generates the odd chuckle. I saw it days ago and it’s rapidly fading from my memory. I have it on good authority it makes a fun audience movie with friends on your couch.
One of the pleasures of seeing all these Canadian-shot seasonal movies is that many of them are made in the warmer months before the holidays and edited in the weeks leading up to releases in November and December. I enjoy grading how good the fake snow looks in the exteriors.
In Hot Frosty it looks pretty bad, like goat cheese. Another seasonal movie I saw this week takes the snow cake — The Best Christmas Pageant Ever was made in Winnipeg in winter. That is real snow.
