schmaltz also schmalz 
(shmälts)
(shmälts)n.
1. Informal
a. Excessively sentimental art or music.
b. Maudlin sentimentality.
2. Liquid fat, especially chicken fat.
[Yiddish shmalts, animal fat, sentimentality, from Middle High German smalz, animal fat, from Old High German; see mel-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
schmaltzi·ness n.
schmaltzy adj.