Hot Frosty

Directed by Jerry Ciccoritti, Hot Frosty follows Lacey Chabert’s recently-widowed Kathy Barrett as she finds herself falling for the snowman (Dustin Milligan) she accidentally brought to life. It’s an agreeably absurd premise that’s employed to sporadically watchable yet mostly lackluster effect by Ciccoritti, as the filmmaker, armed with a script by Russell Hainline, delivers a leisurely-paced romantic comedy that does benefit from its affable central performances – with Chabert and Milligan’s engaging work here certainly matched (and periodically exceeded) by an eclectic supporting cast that includes Lauren Holly, Katy Mixon Greer, and Craig Robinson. (Joe Lo Truglio’s turn as a perpetually cheerful deputy remains an ongoing highlight, to be sure.) There’s little doubt, then, that Hot Frosty‘s growing emphasis on lamentably mechanical, by-the-numbers attributes and elements slowly-but-surely drains one’s interest level, and it’s clear, too, that the arms-length atmosphere is perpetuated by a wheel-spinning third act that fizzles out long before the predictably upbeat finale rolls around – which does, in the end, confirm the picture’s place as a typically forgettable made-for-streaming romcom. (Some of the fish-out-of-water stuff involving Milligan’s wide-eyed figure is pretty fun, admittedly.)

** out of ****