It’s that time of the year when the Christmas movies are as omnipresent as Boney M music.
IT’S THAT time of the year when the Christmas movies are as omnipresent as Boney M music.
Admittedly, I enjoy binge-watching these heart-warming offerings. While predictable, they provide escapism while tapping into themes of love, family, community and how the magic of Christmas can be a healing experience.
Yes, they can be cheesy, too. But who cares?
That said, I recently watched Netflix’s “Hot Frosty” and couldn’t help but smirk over how the writers stretched the bounds of credulity in this romcom.
The premise centres on Kathy Barrett (Lacey Chabert), a widow who runs Kathy’s Kafé in the quaint town of Hope Springs in New York City.
It’s a close-knit town, where everyone looks out for one another.
As such, Kathy is encouraged by Mel (Sherry Miller), who co-owns the Reclaimed Rags clothing store with Theo (Dan Lett), to start dating again. She gifts her a red scarf to help her on her way.
But Kathy isn’t ready to move on and, on her way home, she wraps it around a snow sculpture of a muscular snowman.
Unbeknown to her, the snowman comes alive and, through a series of mishaps, makes his way to her.
A day later, Sheriff Nathaniel Hunter (Craig Robinson) and Deputy Sheriff Ed Schatz (Joe Lo Truglio) are called in to investigate a break-in at Reclaimed Rags.
Meanwhile, Jack (Dustin Milligan), the snowman, becomes Kathy’s new roommate. Naive about life as a human, Kathy helps him while Jack, given his dreamy looks and newfound skills as a handyman, becomes very popular among the townspeople.
As a snowman, he cannot be dressed warmly, and his shirtless moments leave the ladies weak-kneed.
Jack eventually strikes up a romantic connection with Kathy as he starts taking on all the home repair work she’s neglected. With him growing on her, Kathy tries to protect him from getting arrested by the gung-ho Sheriff for a harmless misdemeanour.
The ending is corny but sweet.
If you enjoy films of this ilk, you will enjoy “Meet Me Next Christmas”, “The Merry Gentleman” and “Falling for Christmas” on the same streaming platform.
