For years various producers have pitched doing something like a zany It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, only populated by an epic cast of contemporary comedy stars just like that Stanley Kramer supercomedy did during its time in 1963. So it is probably not a coincidence that Jerry Seinfeld selected that very year in which to set his live action filmmaking debut, Unfrosted, as a quadruple threat of star, director, co-writer, producer.
Placing it in Battle Creek, Michigan and taking the real life story of the rivalry of cereal kingpins Kellogg’s and Post in their race to create a revolutionary breakfast pastry, Seinfeld and his longtime writing partner Spike Feresten, along with their Bee Movie collaborators Andy Rubin & Barry Marder, have chosen to use some real life people, made up several others, salted it all with some basic truths, and basically let the laughs and comedy lead the way in the telling. Jokes first, facts later. It is the perfect recipe for a breezy and delightful nostalgic trip of a movie, brightly technicolored and candy coated like big comedies of the era such as Mad World, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, A Guide For The Married Man , and stir it all into a lighter than light but funer than fun confection that will no doubt appeal to Seinfeld (who just turned 70) fans and those older audiences who will get all the references and easter eggs from those more innocent times before the 60’s turned dark.
“Product movies” as they have come to be called were certainly plentiful in 2023 with BlackBerry, Tetris, The Beanie Bubble, Flamin’ Hot, Air, even the year’s number one film, Barbie. Seinfeld’s approach here is less product biopic, and more let’s throw it all against the wall and see what sticks. It is meant to be silly, good natured entertainment, at times broad comedy but refreshingly not overly broad since Seinfeld’s character ,Kellogg’s executive Bob Cabana is basically a straight man here for all the loonies surrounding him.
Plotwise Kellogg’s execs including Bob and his colleagues, Donna “Stan” Stankowski (Melissa McCarthy), and CEO Edsel Kellogg III (Jim Gaffigan) finds themselves in a race with arch rival Post, notably Marjorie Post (the name and person is real but as Amy Schumer plays her nothing else is) and her loyal stooge, Rick Ludwin (Max Greenfield) who are scheming to outsmart Kellogg’s and what their corporate spying has confirmed as creating the next big thing in breakfast foods, a packaged pastry that ultimately would come to be know as Pop Tarts. The jealousy Post has for its rival comes into full focus early in the film when Kellogg’s does what they always do, sweeping all the trophies at the annual Spoon And Bowl Awards Show while Post goes home empty handed but determined to turn things around by beating them to the punch.
All this is just a set up for lots of gags and amusing characters who live in this world. There is the celebrity panel of tasters for instance that includes fitness guru Jack LaLanne (an energetic James Marsden), Chef Boy Ardee (Bobby Moynihan), Bike legend Steve Schwinn (Jack McBrayer), Ice Cream giant Tom Carvel (Adrian Martinez), and the slippery Harold Van Braunhat (Thomas Lennon). Along the way there are conferences with frustrated and perpetually ignored Isaiah Lamb aka the Quaker Oats guy (Andy Daly), even a General Mills. Hugh Grant hilariously turns up as snobbish British actor Thurl Ravenscroft (actually a real name) who is frustrated to be relegated to voicing and playing Tony The Tiger, Kellogg’s famous Frosted Flakes symbol. Also looking to get into all the action are Rice Crispies trio Snap (Kyle Mooney) Crackle (Mikey Day) and Pop (Drew Tarver). The neighborhood Friendly Farms milkman gets a close up here as well in the form of a kind of mysterious greek chorus led by Mike Diamond (Christian Slater) whose presence seems to suggest something unsavory is going on.
Icons of the period such as JFK (Bill Burr), Nikita Kruschev (Dean Norris), Walter Cronkite (Kyle Dunnigan), even Andy Warhol (Dan Levy) also pop in and out, as do a pair of ordinary kids – the audience all this is meant to entice – played fetchingly by newcomers Eleanor Sweeney and Bailey Sheetz.
The cast, largely comic stars, is in fact so large it is, like Mad World’s , almost impossible to list them all, but props to casting director Kristy Carlson for working with Seinfeld to get them all assembled. As for Seinfeld, of course best known for his standup and classic sitcom, this is the first time he has ever played a substantial lead in a live action film (he was a key voice and player in the animated Bee Movie) and he is basically just staying comfortable with his well-known persona, reminding me of what Bob Hope used to make seem so easy in his screen comedies, an anchor to all the zaniness. Zany is definitely the order of the day with lots of amusing bits everywhere, including a deliciously CGI’d Ravioli, and a de-aged circa-’63 Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon welcoming Seinfeld’s Bob as a guest on The Tonight Show.
Production-wise,Unfrosted looks great with especially fine work in setting the scene from Production Designer Clayton Hartley. and a sprightly score from Christophe Beck. Netflix has asked that one scene not be mentioned pre-opening and so we will comply and not spoil it, but suffice to say there are a couple of surprise cameos from a certain TV series that had the audience I saw it with roaring. This being a Netflix movie means most people will be watching at home, but Unfrosted is exactly the kind of comedy that practically begs to be seen theatrically in a full house. There is so much stuffed into this one viewing probably isn’t enough. Here’s hoping Jerry Seinfeld has some other good ideas percolating for movies.
Producers are Seinfeld, Feresten, and Beau Bauman.
Title: Unfrosted
Distributor: Netflix
Release Date: May 3, 2024 (Streaming)
Director: Jerry Seinfeld
Screenplay: Jerry Seinfeld, Spike Feresten, Andy Rubin, Barry Marder
Cast: Jerry Seinfeld, Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Amy Schumer, Hugh Grant, Max Greenfield, Christian Slater, Bill Burr, James Marsden, Daniel Levy, Jack McBrayer, Thomas Lennon, Bobby Moynihan, Sarah Cooper, Adrian Martinez, Fred Armisen, Mikey Day, Kyle Mooney, Drew Tarver, Dean Norris, Tony Hale, Andy Daly, Kyle Dunnigan, Eleanor Sweeney, Bailey Sheetz
Rating: PG13
Running Time: 1 hour and 33 minutes