Unfrosted (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – In 1963 Michigan, business rivals Kellogg’s and Post compete to create a cake that could change breakfast forever.

My Take – All hail the brand biopic obsession! With films about the creation of Air Jordans, Tetris, BlackBerry, Beanie Babies and flavored Cheetos out of the way, it is time to head further back and dive into the creation of a famed morning snack.

Taken on by Jerry Seinfeld, the 70-year-old comedy legend, who directs, co-writes, and headlines the new Netflix comedy tells the story of how rival cereal companies, Kellogg’s and Post, raced to create Pop-Tarts, one of the US’s most beloved snacks, that changed the face of breakfast forever.

Boasting an enormous roster of funny men and women in a tale that’s fashioned in a 1960s Space Race mold, the film promised a zany and hilarious deep dive into Pop-Tart history, but what we get instead is a stale trifle of a feature that generates more mild smiles than outright laughs.

Despite its potential, the nonsensical plot and the endless parade of celebrity cameos struggle to disguise what feels like an extended Seinfeld bit stretched past its breaking point.

Sure, there’s the occasional chuckle, but the film just lacks the sharp wit we expect from the kind of people involved. Agreed, it’s not particularly awful as some critics are making it out to be, but there’s also very little that’s memorable, save for an advertising-agency bit involving some choice cameos and the welcome participation of Hugh Grant, there is just not enough to make it to the top-shelf of absurd comedies.

Set in the 60s, the story follows Bob Cabana (Jerry Seinfeld), an employee of Kellogg’s, who while seated at an old-fashioned diner proceeds to recount the origin story of the Pop-Tart in Battle Creek, Michigan, home to both Kelloggs and Post, to a young runaway (Isaac Bae). Working under the leadership of Edsel Kellogg III (Jim Gaffigan), who’s thrilled with Bob’s success at making their company the king of the cereal world—as evidenced by the numerous trophies they earn at the 1963 Bowl and Spoon Awards.

Despite maintaining a rivalry with Post, whose CEO Marjorie Post (Amy Schumer) is always accompanied by her bumbling right-hand man Rick Ludwin (Max Greenfield), and who desperately yearns to best her adversary. But now to do that, she has a plan, to create a revolutionizing handheld breakfast item.

And when Bob hears about this from Cathy (Eleanor Sweeney) and Butchie (Bailey Sheetz), two children who dumpster-dive through Post’s trash, he recruits his former creative partner and NASA scientist Donna Stankowski (Melissa McCarthy), to crack the code before Post can beat them to store shelves.

Seinfeld created the film with co-writers Spike Feresten, Andy Robin and Barry Marder, the same writing team that worked on Bee Film, the animation that Seinfeld starred in, produced and co-wrote in 2007. And frankly, despite the premise, the film is not so much concerned with the actual launch of the Pop-Tart as it is as the fantasy version of events in Seinfeld‘s childhood brain.

He treats Battle Creek like the playground paradise of his dreams, and stops just short of having canals of milk running through the city streets. In the sense, he takes on not only the Pop-Tart but all manner of ’60s culture and ephemera: JFK, Walter Cronkite, the moon landing, Andy Warhol, Jack LaLanne, X-Ray Specs, Sea-Monkeys, and Silly Putty.

It also takes a swing at some hilarious pop-culture moments from that decade, one that stood out was with Hugh Grant. But depending on one’s tolerance for cereal humor, the film quickly wears out its welcome, and the jokes become soggier the longer it carries on.

It’s like they had to get the plot and all of the jokes in by a certain time, but character development, chemistry, and connection with the audience wasn’t a concern. A funeral attended by somber cereal mascots is the film’s most inspired highlight. Simply put, most people will find the film shockingly unfunny, even with the assembly of some of the funniest people on Earth. In most cases, however, the material falls flat.

Despite Seinfeld’s lifelong affinity for cereal, the film doesn’t do much with its knowledge about Kelloggs and Post except to have famous faces dress up in goofy outfits and make references. Amy Schumer fails to raise any laughs, and the script refuses to give Melissa McCarthy’s character a chance to shine. Jim Gaffigan gets a moment or two, while Max Greenfield is butt of most slapstick.

Meanwhile, James Marsden, Christian Slater, Sarah Cooper, Rachael Harris, Sebastian Maniscalco, Thomas Lennon, Jack McBrayer, Sarah Cooper, Mikey Day, Kyle Mooney, Bill Burr, Bobby Moynihan, Fred Armisen, Cedric the Entertainer, Tony Hale, Maria Bakalova, Dan Levy, Cedric Yarbrough, Kyle Dunnigan, Dean Norris and Peter Dinklage all show in bit roles to almost no effect.

However, Hugh Grant who plays the man behind Tony the Tiger, manages to stand out by channeling his character from Paddington 2 (2017). On the whole, ‘Unfrosted’ is an underwhelming comedic retelling that wastes its premise and abundance of actors and comedians.