Lacey Chabert is still starring in Hallmark Christmas movies and is also bringing some holiday cheer to a new Netflix movie. Everyone is used to pleasant stories about small towns and bakeries that need to be saved and other tropes. But did you think you’d watch a film about a snowman becoming human and, oh yeah, stealing Chabert’s heart in the process?
It may be unhinged and it may not make any sense, but that’s the plot of Hot Frosty. The trailer has arrived, so let’s break it down. Chabert plays Kathy, a woman who calls herself “a mess.” Immediately, I’m tired of this typical romcom character who can’t figure her life out, but let’s focus on the snowman. Right from the start, the cheesy and chilly premise is evident when a character tells Kathy, “Good things come to you when you’re out in the cold.” When she puts her scarf on a snowman, he turns into Jack. If he looks familiar, that’s because he’s played by Dustin Mulligan, who played the adorable vet Ted Mullens on Schitt’s Creek.
Are you cringing? Feeling bewildered? Wondering how, in fact, a snowman turns into a person? Me too… and X users are feeling the same way. Reactions ranged from “lol what? running out of ideas” to a gif of Conan O’Brien asking why.
When I first heard the title, I immediately thought of the frozen Wendy’s menu item called a Frosty, which I doubt is what the screenwriter was going for. From the trailer, a few things are clear: there are a lot of hot/cold jokes, Jack is shirtless for a lot of the movie, and he just might stay in human form so he can be with Kathy forever. Just a wild guess that isn’t based on the endings of any other holiday movies.
Even though Hot Frosty might look bizarre, several people shared positive reactions on X. If you’re a Chabert or holiday movie fan, there’s really no reason not to tune in. Mean Girls lovers will also want to watch thanks to one admittedly hilarious scene in the Hot Frosty trailer. Kathy and Jack see Lindsay Lohan in a movie and Kathy says, “that looks just like a girl I went to high school with.”
Sure, the premise of Hot Frosty might be a little hard to buy, but sometimes you have to suspend your disbelief and enjoy a Christmas film. Chabert has made a whole new career out of them, after all. As she told Deadline in 2023, “I love watching all of the other movies that Hallmark makes, and I feel so lucky that I get to be a part of something that just brings a little bit of joy into the world.”
I agree that there’s nothing wrong with spreading some happiness around the winter holidays. Maybe my concern over Hot Frosty stems from seeing the devastating ’90s movie Jack Frost in the theater as a kid where the wonderful Michael Keaton becomes a snowman to be with his family again. I can’t emotionally handle another story like that. Hopefully this Netflix movie isn’t quite that tragic (although Kathy is a widow)… but it does look like it will be quite that cheesy. Whether you’re already swooning over Jack or wondering what’s going on, Hot Frosty will drop on Netflix on Nov. 13, 2024.