Lacey Chabert is straight-up royalty at Hallmark, with 40 of the TV movies under her belt, including another on this year’s Countdown to Christmas. However, The Christmas Quest isn’t the actress’ only project on the 2024 holiday movie calendar. Some fans were shook when it was announced that Chabert was taking her Christmas talents to Netflix for Hot Frosty, and we might need to open a window in here, because it sounds like things could get a little steamy. Honestly, these reviews are wild.
Critics were able to stream the upcoming Netflix movie ahead of its November 13 release, and with so many festive film options available, they’re here to help us decide if Hot Frosty is one we need to make a priority. Lacey Chabert stars as Kathy, a widow who unwittingly turns a chiseled snow sculpture into a real (and real naked) man named Jack (Dustin Milligan). Kristy Puchko of Mashable says viewers should allow their reality to be suspended and let the sexy snowman give their minds a mental massage of silliness and sweetness. Puchko writes:
There's sassy doctor Dottie, who after taking [Jack’s] temperature (30 degrees!)... argues that Jack being a snowman come to life is the ‘simplest explanation’ to why he is a hot guy whose skin is ice cold. It's just science, the film suggests; just go with it. And yes, do that. There's a sincere pleasure in slipping down the ludicrous slide that is Hot Frosty's premise, in which a hot, naive, but very sweet man is the perfect Christmas wish — for Kathy and for any of us who may need a bit of comfort from a cold, cold world.
Courtney Howard of Variety says Lacey Chabert has “traded fruitcake for beefcake” this holiday season, as Netflix acknowledges “its target audience’s yearning for a sprinkling of cheeky, wanton lust.” The critic says this movie is a delightful detour from Chabert’s typical fare:
Underneath the gimmicky title of Hot Frosty lies a sweet, disarming feature about healing from tragedy. It’s also just a goofy, lovable no-brainer to click play on when craving escapism. Heartfelt sentiments coupled with a musical boost from Coldplay on the soundtrack make for a fun, saucy secret-Santa gift with a soul.
William Bibbiani of The Wrap asks, “Do you wanna boink a snowman?,” as Hot Frosty made the critic realize just how much these holiday rom-coms have in common with adult entertainment: “They’re cheap, they hit the spot and there’s more than you could ever possibly watch in one lifetime.” Please, continue:
Hot Frosty could have been awful and gotten away with it, coasting to ratings victory on irony views alone. And in some ways it really isn’t very good. It’s cheap and it’s silly and it has a laughable premise that some people will mistake for terribleness. But it’s also winking and whimsical. It knows what it’s doing and it’s doing it on purpose. Somehow it actually kind of works. Chabert could do this role in her sleep, so her professionalism is not surprising. It’s Milligan who comes out of nowhere. He brings an innocent, doe-eyed quality to this sexy half-naked iceman that makes him easy to love, and makes all the jokes easy to swallow.
Amy Nicholson of the New York Times tones it down a little, though, saying Hot Frosty doesn’t really stoke enough sexual tension to cause grandma to get distracted and burn the Christmas cookies. Everyone involved, however, knows exactly what they’re doing. Nicholson says:
The script shamelessly re-gifts scenes from Pretty Woman and It’s a Wonderful Life, along with Edward Scissorhands, like when Kathy’s martini-chugging pals swoon that a man this perfect has to be magic. But shameless is the goal. Everyone involved knows exactly what movie they’re making — especially Craig Robinson as the hilarious town sheriff, a killjoy determined to arrest Jack for streaking.
Not everyone, however, is won over by Lacey Chabert’s Netflix romp. Brennan Klein of ScreenRant says the streamer is using the actress to emphasize how different its content is than Hallmark’s, but she fails to elevate her character beyond anything you’ve seen her do on the cable network. The critic rates the movie 5 out of 10, writing:
Unfortunately, Chabert is not asked to give anything more than her typical Hallmark performance. She is tremendously effective at delivering pathos and good cheer under the typical constraints of Hallmark, but the network's truncated production schedules typically require her to play archetypes rather than layered characters. Prickly With a Heart of Gold is a perennial favorite, for example. Here, she pulls from the Grieving Widow and Pillar of the Community buckets, and while she does a good job, the canned wholesomeness of the character doesn't elevate a movie that is in dire need of some grit and heft.
If Lacey Chabert’s Hallmark movies are your jam, it sounds like Hot Frosty might be the shot of whiskey that your holiday eggnog was looking for. The movie is available to stream now with a Netflix subscription.
