Thanks to increased competition, rising subscription costs, and a frustrating policy of canceling shows just as they start to gain momentum, Netflix is no longer the cultural powerhouse it once was. However, the good news is that Christmas is approaching, the time of year when Netflix gets to shine. Which is why it has just released a movie about a woman who is interested in having a romantic encounter with a snowman.
Hot Frosty – that’s the title of the film – follows Cathy (played by Lacey Chabert), a woman who is slowly coming out of the grief following her husband’s death. In the trailer, we see Cathy walking home when she encounters a remarkably fit snowman with defined muscles and nipples. Intrigued by this oddly attractive snowman, she wraps her scarf around it, and it comes to life. Now, he is not just a sexy snowman but a naked human with limited intelligence. And Cathy is drawn to him. The tagline for Hot Frosty may not be “This Christmas, forget about your late husband by getting intimate with a snowman,” but it probably should be.
Do you see the point I’m trying to make? Only Netflix would consider making a Christmas movie about a woman rediscovering her zest for life through a snowman. The Christmas movie industry is largely struggling. Movies at the lower end of the budget spectrum have become so alike that they no longer serve their purpose.
Thanks to Hallmark’s strategy of producing numerous low-budget Christmas films annually, you no longer need to watch one to know that most of them revolve around career-driven city women who return to their quaint hometown for Christmas and find love with a local man, often portrayed as the closest thing to a plaid-shirted Labrador. There are countless such films. Entire generations have grown up watching them, to the extent that Christmas has become synonymous with the idea that female ambition is wrong.
The big-budget Christmas films are not any better. This year’s holiday blockbuster is Amazon’s Red One, which looks unimpressive. The premise (The Rock saving Santa) is weak. The production (reportedly delayed and excessively over budget due in part to The Rock’s repeated late arrivals) seems cursed. The trailer is filled with lazy quips. If Red One represents the future of Christmas movies, I’m not interested.
But maybe it isn’t the future of Christmas movies. Hot Frosty, a film about a woman romantically involved with a snowman, may not sound promising on paper or on screen, but it has captured the public’s attention unlike any other Christmas film in recent memory. It’s not expected to be a masterpiece, but the carefree and anything-goes spirit surrounding it makes it irresistible. The goal of Hot Frosty is to surpass your low expectations, which is essentially the aim of all Christmas movies, isn’t it?
It seems like Netflix has been leading up to Hot Frosty for some time. As far back as 2015, it experimented with a Bill Murray Christmas special, and its Princess Switch trilogy (a mix of The Princess Diaries and The Parent Trap) revels in creating a more whimsical world than it can handle. It has movies featuring Heather Graham spending Christmas with her frenemy, Lindsay Lohan losing her memory in a skiing accident, and even a Mexican film titled Grumpy Christmas. Not to forget, it produced Klaus, one of the best animated Christmas movies ever.
Netflix has been consistently delivering Christmas content and pushing the boundaries of what a Christmas movie can be, catering to various audiences. However, one group had been overlooked: quirky individuals interested in seeing Lacey Chabert getting cozy with a sexy snowman. With Hot Frosty, Netflix has finally filled that gap. Kudos to Netflix, and if they ever need a script about a reindeer with an unusually large appendage, they know who to call.