[Rating: Solid Rock Fist Up]
Now streaming on Netflix
In the 90s, comedian Jerry Seinfeld ruled television with his show about “nothing” and since then, the man hasn’t had to work unless he absolutely wanted to. The success of Seinfeld lives on in constant reruns. Irrelevant, bombastic and downright hilarious, Seinfeld was able to take that show about nothing, and make a movie about…well, something! Directed by himself, Unfrosted tells the story of the creation of the Pop-Tart. Yes, another movie about the making of a product nobody really cared to know about. And yet, this film doesn’t work on paper, but the ultimate product is a crisp, gooey, oddly fun-filled time.
In the early 1960s, the JFK administration was going strong. Mankind is years away from going to the moon, Vietnam isn’t dominating the news, and Kellogg’s cereal company is in a crisis. Bob Cabana (Seinfeld) is in a race with rival Post and their leader Marjorie Post (Amy Schumer) to make the next big breakfast item. After a chance encounter with two children eating a mysterious jelly in the dumpster (yep), he thinks of a new concept to take to his boss Edsel Kellogg (Jim Gaffigan) to have a breakfast pastry dominate the supermarket aisles. Cabana enlists the help of NASA scientist Donna Stankowski (Melissa McCarthy) to find a way to create the perfect balance of pastry and filling.
Meanwhile, some of Kellogg’s famous brand mascots like Tony the Tiger (Hugh Grant) are getting worried their days might be numbered. Tony begins to recruit mascots from Kellogg’s and Post to solidify their places with the company and with all of the breakfast items.
Even just reading this, you have to know this isn’t a serious movie. It’s suspended in the belief that the shenanigans that happen here actually happened. This includes a cereal funeral, a man blowing up from a toaster and an extended Mad Men cameo. Much like what I know of Seinfeld, as funny as it can be.
Again, this shouldn’t work on paper. We’ve had so many of these lame “creation” movies of products. But, when these movies are like this, and don’t take themselves so seriously, for somebody like me it works well. Even McCarthy, who I know can do much better, was bearable in this movie and not relying on her normal shtick.
Like the Pop-Tart, this movie has some interesting filling with it. It’s a genuinely surprising to me that I liked this. It’s a pure comedy that spitballs joke after joke and doesn’t let you side step for a moment. I could compare it to any episode of 30 Rock in that it almost feels like it knows it’s a movie and making fun of itself. So sit back, relax and pop in a favorite pastry to eat with this bizarre flick.
Christian Ramos is a classic film fan, having had the dream to host Turner Classic Movies for years now. He also has a large amount of Oscar trivia in his head, remembers dressing as Groucho Marx one Halloween, and cherishes the moment Julianne Moore liked his tweet.
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