Both critics and audiences are so divided on Jerry Seinfeld’s surrealist comedy Unfrosted that you would think the apocalypse itself streamed from Netflix into our living rooms on May 3rd.  I mean the online hate out there is at an all time high. Wow.

Hey, at least people are talking about a movie, right?  

Of course, I doubt those screaming the loudest actually finished comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s directorial debut - especially after the Mad Men cameos (which have already been spoiled) of Don Draper and Roger Sterling, with both Jon Hamm and John Slattery reprising their roles.  But, honestly, it’s been a while since I laughed as hard as I did while watching this fictionalized version of Kellog’s development of the Trat Pop, I mean, Pop Tart.

With Seinfeld playing a Kellogg executive tasked with coming up with a brand-new breakfast item and comedian Jim Gaffigan playing his boss, Edsel Kellogg III, the movie takes 1963’s Michigan to brand-new heights as a fierce competition between Post and Kellogg’s takes flight over this breakfast pastry.  It’s ridiculous, but that’s the goddamn point.

Featuring performances from Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, Hugh Grant, James Marsden, Christian Slater, Max Greenfield, Peter Dinklage, and Fred Armisen, and a whole slew of hilarious bits which both stab at the politics of the 1960s and slice through the fashions, Unfrosted turns what would have been a damn boring film into an absurdist take on corporate espionage with Post and Kellogg’s taking no chances, Cold War themes, and new life forms, thanks to their meddling with sea monkeys.

From some of the hate out there - essentially stemming from not understanding or appreciating the surrealist comedy which sees fully realized cereal mascots scaling buildings in in an effort to overthrow their “masters” at Kellogs (reminiscent of the Capitol attacks) - one would think that the movie, which shines a light on the competitive development of the Pop Tart, is akin to picking up your dog’s shit from a neighbor’s yard.

Here’s the deal.  If you’ve never seen UHF, Bee Movie, or Weird: The Al Yankovic Story or even the later Seinfeld episodes, when writer Spike Feresten came in, then Unfrosted is definitely NOT for you.  This is a fictional world presented here and it is gloriously sideways in all the right ways.  Originally written during the covie-19 pandemic, it’s obvious that everyone attached to Unfrosted is having a blast filming whatever the hell they want.  If it’s funny, what does it matter?  And they are absolutely correct.  We even have side stories involving ravioli-based life forms thanks to the experiments of Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!) as Harold von Braunhut and Bobby Moynihan (The Secret Life of Pets) as Chef Boyardee.

With cameos from Dan Levy (Schitt's Creek) as Andy Warhol, Ben Burr as President John F. Kennedy, Mikey Day (Saturday Night Live) as Crackle, Kyle Mooney (Brigsby Bear) as Snap, Drew Tarver (The Other Two) as Pop, Tony Hale (Arrested Development) as Eddie Mink, and Cedric the Entertainer (Barbershop) as Stu Smiley, Unfrosted is loaded with sugary talent.  The movie is now streaming on Netflix.

Jump in for a wild and funny ride through a very wacky look at the alternative history of the Trat Pop.

MPAA Rating: PG-13.
Runtime: 93 mins
Director: Jerry Seinfeld
Writer: Jerry Seinfeld; Spike Feresten; Andy Robin
Cast: Isaac Bae; Jerry Seinfeld; Chris Rickett
Genre: Comedy | Biography
Tagline: A pop tart will rise.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Beware of entrance to a quarrel. But once in it... beware of me."
Distributor: Netflix
Official Site: https://www.netflix.com/title/81481606/
Release Date: May 3, 2024
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: In 1963 Michigan, business rivals Kellogg's and Post compete to create a cake that could change breakfast forever.