Christmas films are cheesy, mindless and widely loved. Why?

THE STORY is set in a town called Hope Springs—your first clue as to the film’s schmaltz—which hosts an annual snow-sculpture contest. A local Michelangelo has sculpted a snowman with a chiselled face and rippling muscles. On a whim, a young widow drapes a red scarf over the frozen figure; naturally, magic brings the ice-cold hottie, shivering, to life.