Unfrosted

A film I partly chose because the trailer made me smile and also because I could not face scrolling aimlessly on Netflix for 20 to 30 minutes looking for something to watch. Set in Battle Creek, Michigan in the 60s, this madcap movie is loosely based on Kellogg’s rivalry with Post and their battle to develop that byword for health, the pop tart. 

My expectations were low and it is very American, so there is not a bowl of Weetabix or Shreddies in sight and some of the references passed me by. That being said this is a quip a minute, madcap comedy that took me completely by surprise. It is daft but knowingly so, and its fast paced silliness is part of its charm, director and writer Jerry Seinfeld leans into Unfrosted’s B-Movie charm. This film does not take itself seriously and is packed to the gills with jokes and references everything from cereal, celebrities and significant events, to pop culture and politics.

It has a sizeable ensemble cast to boot, all of whom look like they enjoyed making it. You have Jerry Seinfeld as Bob, one of the men behind Kellogs pop tart development and Melissa McCarthy, a NASA food scientist who is helping them. Hugh Grant as Tony Tiger, perhaps the role he was born to play. Amy Schumer as the scheming rival cereal magnate Marjorie Post. Peter Dinklage and Christian Slater as two hilariously mafia milkmen out to protect their round and John Slattery and Jonn Hamm reprising, and hamming up, their Mad Men roles.

Well who knew, a silly comedy about pop tarts which has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 43% and a Metacritic rating of 42% is thoroughly enjoyable. This is the film equivalent of a bowl of frosties, you know it is bad for you but it is so sweet and moreish that you just do not care.

7/10