Writer-director Jerry Seinfeld is a sit-com legend. His self-titled television series Seinfeld ran for ten seasons and won numerous Emmys. With few mountains in comedy left to climb, turning to film with his debut feature Unfrosted feels like an obvious choice. Mining the potential comedy gold of rival cereal companies pursuing America’s perfect breakfast, Unfrosted features Melissa McCarthy, Hugh Grant, and James Marsden – not to mention Seinfeld himself. Concerned with creating the pop tart, Bob Cabana (Seinfeld) maintains a strict rivalry with CEO Marjorie Post (Amy Schumer), looking to solve the problem of piping pastries before she can. With that sort of left field premise what could go wrong?
As it turns out, everything. Despite the best efforts of a confirmed comedy legend writing and directing, Unfrosted is a dramatic vacuum. Not one joke lands during its entire running time and any attempts to give this film kudos falls flat. Escalating antics that are supposed to come across as madcap or inventive struggle to feel relevant. Hugh Grant proves to be one of the few high points throughout Unfrosted, riffing on his Paddington 2 persona, and grandstanding as the actor inside Tony the ‘Frosties’ tiger. Everyone else, without exception, feels genuinely wasted.
Whether the Netflix original was greenlit by a committee, who figured something had to hit is up for debate. However, in the comedy gold hands of Jerry Seinfeld this streaming giant must have thought they would hit pay dirt. Following the success of his long running Netflix show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Unfrosted should have been a dead cert. Instead, audiences must suffer through a boatload of talent trying to find their feet as this Kellogg’s sized catastrophe goes pear-shaped.
There are few things to recommend Unfrosted as anything other than a curiosity. If not for the fanfare that accompanied its release, then there is every chance this breakfast-based dramedy would have sunk without trace. Jerry Seinfeld may be a stand-up legend, sitcom benchmark, and know way too much about motor cars, but one thing is certain – Unfrosted is beyond redemption. With circumstantial comedy that genuinely stretches the definition, only his name will tempt audiences to test the water. Having sat through this comedy vacuum, my advice is to invest your time more wisely and re-visit Seinfeld in his heyday when Larry David did some of the heavy lifting.
Unfrosted is available to stream on Netflix now.