These Pop-Tarts are makin’ me thirsty!
Main Cast: Jerry Seinfeld, Melissa McCarthy
Director: Jerry Seinfeld
I was a big fan of Jerry Seinfeld’s show about nothing. It was fresh and new at the time and brought us some of the most quotable moments in television history.
If you were also a fan, you know that Jerry loved cereal. He had boxes upon boxes and it seemed like he rarely ate anything else. When I heard that his latest project, Unfrosted, was about a cereal competitor, it felt right. A return to his focus on things that others overlook.
I’m aware that Seinfeld didn’t do a great job during the marketing run before the release of Unfrosted, but let’s ignore that and focus on the task at hand. And that is answering your burning question:
Is Unfrosted worth watching?
My answer is…it depends. But for the most part, yes. Yes, it is.
Unfrosted is the story of the birth of the Kellogg’s Pop-Tart, loosely based on real events. I was concerned that it would be a self-serious examination of some real-life wrongdoing on the part of the founders of the toaster pastry. Fortunately, I was wrong. Loosely, in this case, really does mean LOOSELY.
The movie stars Seinfeld as Bob Cabana, the head of development at Kellogg’s. His boss is Edsel Kellogg III (Jim Gaffigan) and their arch rival is Marjorie Post (Amy Schumer). Upon hearing rumors that Post has neared completion of a new breakfast food, the Kellogg’s team is determined to beat them to the finish line.
They bring in former colleague turned NASA food scientist Donna Stankowski (Melissa McCarthy) to help lead the way. The rest of the movie follows the heated battle to bring the shelf-stable, hand-held, milk-free breakfast pastry to the masses.
I really enjoyed Unfrosted for exactly what it is – a silly, highly fictionalized version of the history of a product that was part of my childhood. Who didn’t grow up with Pop-Tarts??
The movie is filled with cameos from the likes of Peter Dinklage, Hugh Grant, and Christian Slater, as well as a plethora of other comedians and writers. There are few scenes that don’t feature a recognizable actor in a very silly role.
Seinfeld and his writing team filled the story with lots of glossy nostalgia, steeped in impossible situations to give the audience an extra wink of self-awareness. Everything is exaggerated, embellished with references to what the future might hold.
In order to enjoy Unfrosted you’ll need to do two things:
- Put your disbelief away. It’s a comedy.
- Don’t look for hidden meaning or messages. It’s a comedy.
Remember, this is a film written and directed by Jerry Seinfeld. He has no interest in making weighty cultural statements. It’s a series of scenes held together by nostalgia and a lot of talented performers. There is no lesson. It’s just plain silliness. There’s only one scene that feels a little forced and that’s more a reflection of the times than of the film.
If you like Seinfeld (the show) you’ll like Unfrosted. It has the same unbridled energy and abundance of little subplots. It’s easy and fun and filled to the brim with moments of absurdity and lightness.
If you don’t like Seinfeld, don’t bother. But if you do, you’ll have a good time with Unfrosted. It is streaming on Netflix.
Sue reads a lot, writes a lot, edits a lot, and loves a good craft. She was deemed “too picky” to proofread her children’s school papers and wears this as a badge of honor. She is also proud of her aggressively average knitting skills She is the Editorial Director at Silver Beacon Marketing and an aspiring Crazy Cat Lady.
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