MOVIE REVIEW: UNFROSTED

 

In 1963, Kellogg's and Post, sworn cereal rivals, race to create a pastry that will change the face of breakfast forever.

Director: Jerry Seinfeld

Cast: Jerry Seinfeld, Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Max Greenfield, Hugh Grant, Amy Schumer

Release Date: May 3, 2024

Genre: Biography, Comedy, History

Rated PG-13 for some suggestive references and language

Runtime: 1h 33m

Review:

Unfrosted, Jerry Seinfeld's directorial debut, is a fictional farce fueled by nostalgia and an endless supply of celebrity cameos but it's noticeably lacking on the story side.  Right off the bat, the film has a goofy, surreal tone that only becomes more prevalent as the film goes on, making it readily apparent that this story is mostly detached from reality outside of a few incidental exceptions.  Instead, it leans heavily into a cartoonish series of outlandish sequences, there's even an absurdist take on the events of January 6th, played out by equally cartoonish characters that gives Seinfeld's collection of famous friends a chance to ham it up throughout.  It makes for a mixed bag of results with some bits working better than others as the story uses the skeleton of The Right Stuff as a loose map for the entire thing.  Seinfeld is clearly having a ball as he embraces ever silly instinct and a cast who is more than willing to go along with it.  Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Max Greenfield and Amy Schumer get the largest share of screen time and they're surprisingly uneven especially early on as the story tries to find some sort of comedic footing.  Hugh Grant fares far better as the Shakespearean actor slumming it as a cereal mascot with the film perking up every time he pops up.  It’s a recurring theme as the film hits its highpoints during some of the extended cameos that pepper the back half of the film with one in particular being the biggest surprise even though it’s the most obvious crossover once it occurs.   A recurring joke with Walter Cronkite is equally effective but it’s not enough to keep the comedic energy going making the film feel much longer than it actually is.  It all makes Unfrosted feel like a missed opportunity that never takes full advantage of the impressive amount of talent assembled.  

C+