Director: Jerry Seinfeld
Writers: Jerry Seinfeld, Spike Feresten, Andy Robin
Stars: Isaac Bae, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rickett
Synopsis: In 1963 Michigan, business rivals Kellogg’s and Post compete to create a cake that could change breakfast forever.
I remember hearing about Unfrosted for the first time last year when Jerry Seinfeld finished his set at Caesar’s Palace. Seinfeld’s material ran short, so he talked about how Netflix bought his new Pop Tart movie script, Unfrosted, about the birth of the toaster pastry. Then, he stopped in the middle of the question about the film from someone in the audience and walked out. I guess the uber-rich and famous comedian thought less was more.
If only he felt the same way about Unfrosted’s cluttered script.
Unfrosted’s story follows a rivalry as old as time—the breakfast cereal wars between Kellogg and Post. Both companies are located in the aptly named Battle Creek, Michigan, trying to, uh, pop the secret formula for a new compact cereal product that will set the breakfast market ablaze. Helming that product for Kellogg’s is executive Bob Cabana (Seinfeld), who discovers Post has stolen their research when he finds two children eating the pastry goods from the Post dumpsters.
Cabana alerts his boss, Edsel Kellogg III (Jim Gaffigan), who is furious that his rival, Marjorie Post (Amy Schumer), will not fight fair, not to mention their sexual attraction to each other, which keeps things at a simmering boil. In order to beat Post to the finish line, think of it as the great toaster pastry race, replacing the period’s mission to reach space. Cabana brings back Stan (two-time Academy Award nominee Melissa McCarthy), an innovative genius when it comes to the breakfast space.
The only question left is: Should they put their flag on “Breakfast Cereal Hill” first, and which one will the public embrace?
Unfrosted was directed by Jerry Seinfeld, who, at 70, is making his directorial feature film debut. Seinfeld wrote the script with long-time Seinfeld writer Spike Feresten, along with the help of Bee Movie and Saturday Night Live scribes Andy Robin and Barry Marder. After watching Unfrosted, you will immediately think there are too many cooks in the kitchen, as the script is cluttered, albeit with clever gags about breakfast cereal and the mascots they represent. Nevertheless, the movie is overwrought with these references to the point that it becomes a gimmick and quickly loses some of the smart “jerk store” humor.
Two bits in the film are funny and enjoyable. The one that will make you laugh the most is an inspired gag by Kyle Dunnigan, who plays a boozy and passive-aggressive Walter Cronkite who is going through some things at home. Then, an inspired cameo from two classic characters that pair well with the era and the story, which I will not ruin here. Otherwise, the film is filled with guest stars, including the likes of Hugh Grant, Christian Slater, Bill Burr, and James Marsden, over bloating the nonsensical script to the point of bursting.
Another issue is that Seinfeld and Jim Gaffigan are the leads, and they cannot act, with the creator of Unfrosted even more awkward in the role than usual. I admire the attempt to oversaturate the story with a barrage of cartoonery, kind of like Kramer overshadowing everyone in Jerry’s ‘90s sitcom, but it’s evident here. The one real actor, McCarthy, does what she can with the paper-thin character, but the film desperately needed to add her for more screen time to help move the film along to its conclusion.
The point is that this is all a distraction from the fact that Unfrosted isn’t funny enough and cannot build on its creative and original premise. This is disappointing because there is so much unoriginal material in Hollywood today. The comedy is too cluttered with gags and ideas that try too hard as if they need a standing ovation at how smart the script is but forget the funny instead.
My colleague, InSession Film critic Andy Punter, may have said it best. The film starts wanting to be Seinfeld + Madmen, + 30 Rock before evolving into adding additional comedy ideas from Veep and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, trying to capitalize on the trend of movies obsessed with tangible mass market inventions instead of acts of genius.
Seinfeld should have known that Unfrosted would have been more with less.
