Unfrosted. Directed by Jerry Seinfeld. Netflix.
Jerry Seinfeld’s new movie, Unfrosted, as Tony the Tiger would say, is great! It’s great for more reasons than you might think. First and foremost, it’s funny as it keeps to its theme, basically that of our love/hate relationship with American consumer culture (at its zenith in the early ’60s), and just runs with it with sincere passion and goofy humor. The whole thing rings true in a way that you can’t fake, managing to unlock that secret code that usually eludes Hollywood of creating a homage piece in the style of the thing being honored, in this case, the broad and frenetic ’60s comedy. It doesn’t feel at all like a contrived attempt but, in fact, the culmination of a lifelong love for a certain moment in time. Any fan of Jerry Seinfeld’s standup comedy knows that he loves, and loves to poke fun at, the simple pleasures in life, like the Pop-Tart.
This movie is all about Pop-Tarts and then some. It’s everything that you would expect from a comedy that is like a classic ’60s comedy: somewhat higher production value, family friendly, usually with a cavalcade of comic actors and unapologetically nonsensical. I don’t think I’m giving anything away (but spoiler alert nonetheless) when I say that this is the kind of movie that invests a lot of time and energy in establishing that the milk industry is having a very hard time with the emergence of a product that will replace cereal. Did Pop-Tarts ever really threaten to replace cereal? Don’t Pop-Tarts go great with milk? Toss any serious arguments aside and just bask in the playful satire, including spot on jabs at John F. Kennedy (Bill Burr) and remarkable send-ups of Walter Cronkite and Johnny Carson (both by Kyle Dunnigan).
Kyle Dunnigan, as Johnny Carson.
This whole movie is a hilarious send-up of ’60s culture from the race to the moon to the race to the consumer. Just add milk, and I’m sure this movie will deliver some good laughs. It’s certainly not meant to be taken too seriously, at least not in any obvious way. That said, it has its own special social commentary particularly focused upon American exceptionalism. A highly polished report could do no better. This gentle well thought-out and heart-felt comedy has plenty to say and with a stellar cast, including everyone from Hugh Grant to Amy Schumer to Jim Gaffigan to Melissa McCarthy. In fact, this movie has some great child actors, including Eleanor Sweeney who helps in the mad pursuit to invent the ultimate breakfast treat. If these young stars of tomorrow can not only appreciate the humor in this movie but help to make it shine, then there’s still hope for the rest of us.
