Let's Talk About Netflix's 'Hot Frosty'

Is 'Hot Frosty' just another PG-rated holiday rom-com or something far more licentious?

The new Netflix Christmas movie, Hot Frosty, released on November 13th and briefly ranked as their number one film. After a few weeks of streaming, it’s still bouncing around the top ten. Good Housekeeping ranked it as #7 in their list of “55 Best Romantic Christmas Movies to Stream During Cold Winter Nights.”

If you’ve never heard of this movie before, you may not find that particularly odd. After all, it’s not that strange to think a Christmas movie could reach Netflix’s most watched film in November. Yet it’s not just any Christmas movie—it’s one of their PG-rated-Hallmark-style rom-coms. It doesn’t have a large budget or an A-list cast drawing all this attention. What it does have is a magic snowman named Jack, a controversial reputation, and a killer Mean Girls reference.

Here’s the rather insane-sounding plot description via IMDB: “Widow Kathy [Lacey Chabert] magically brings a snowman [Dustin Milligan] to life. His innocence helps her heal and find love again. They bond before the holidays, but he's doomed to melt.”

What this description managed to leave out is the reason why this film was christened with the title Hot Frosty in the first place—Frosty the Snowman is ripped and, in one scene, partially nude. After watching this film, I fully understand how this little Hallmark-esque film went viral. If you set aside the two rather offensive and objectifying scenes for a moment, Hot Frosty was honestly adorable. In fact, it was so sweet, Netflix likely shot themselves in the foot by placing so much emphasis on Jack’s muscles. But as it stands, this film is a very mixed bag.

As much money as Hollywood makes by objectifying women—and clearly men as well—by putting far too much of the actors’ bodies on display, they make even more when a film is family friendly. Why? For a theatrical release, it’s because parents will either not see the movie at all or they’ll bring their kids and buy tickets for the whole family. For a Netflix film, parents are more likely to take the time to watch it at home if their kids watch it with them. Technically Hot Frosty is rated PG just like most of these holiday romances, but that doesn’t mean it’s appropriate in this case.

When Jack first comes to life, he’s naked except for a long scarf very carefully positioned. He goes running down the street in the middle of the night, eventually finding clothes and boots in a local thrift store. In a later scene, an older woman (and eventually all her older friends) ogle Jack’s abs as though he’s a literal slab of meat. Besides a couple references here and there to his streaking, those are the only objectionable scenes in the film.

As offensive as it is to have a group of old women salivating after Jack and his muscles, the context and object of their lust was what made it additionally unwelcome in this case. As the description above says, Jack the snowman is very “innocent,” childlike, and sweet throughout the entire film. He has been a living human for only a couple days and has much to learn about the ways of the world. Yet even as he grows in wisdom, his character remains the same—hardworking, selfless, and kind. So in a moment likely intended to be comical and mildly spicy as this older woman ogles his abs through her car window, the tone ends up feeling predatory. Yes, Jack is in the body of an adult, but his mind is that of a child. Although Netflix was likely aiming to hit a certain salivating female audience with this scene, all they did was make it feel extra gross.

Thankfully, the sweetness of the second half of the film was saved by how respectful Kathy (Chabert) is of Jack and his body. Eventually, she is taken by his innocence and acts of kindness toward the people in her community. If Netflix had chosen to make this Frosty the Snowman retelling without the partial nudity and ogling grannies, it would have been a cute and comical Christmas film for the whole family.