- UNFROSTED
- Starring: Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan and Christian Slater
- Directed by: Jerry Seinfeld
- Rated: PG 13
- Running time: 1 hr 37 mins
- Netflix
Ah, the 1960s. What a great time it was to be a kid. Breakfast was an important part of the day for kids because we all had our favorite cereals. My favorite was Quisp, which was basically Cap’n Crunch without the danger of cutting the roof of your mouth. Quisp had a partner named Quake but Quake soon faded into cereal obscurity. Other cereal brands I used to eat which are sadly no longer with us include Crispy Critters (hawked by Linus the Lion), Ship Shake, which was basically a butterscotch flavored version of Cap’n Crunch that you put into a mug, filled it with milk, and drank (you had to drink it fast or you just ended up with a cup of soggy cereal), and OK’s, which were basically Kellogg’s version of Cheerios. Also, for you younger people reading this, back in the 60s cereals that you know today as Frosted Flakes, Corn Pops and Golden Crisps used to have the word SUGAR at the beginning of their names. To make parents think their kids were eating healthy, the removed the word from the box. The word disappeared. The sugar didn’t. Apparently Jerry Seinfeld and I shared a similar childhood because his nostalgic film “Unfrosted” is a project I really enjoyed.
“Unfrosted” is a fictional and tongue in cheek film about the rivalry between Kelloggs (of Battle Creek, Michigan as the commercials used to tell me) and Post (surprisingly also based in Battle Creek, Michigan, which I learned is known as Cereal City). The rivalry stems from both companies trying to jazz up the morning meal with something you could pop in the toaster. Possibly a tart. Hmmmm.
I true trip down memory lane for people of my generation, “Unfrosted” gives Seinfeld his first opportunity to work behind the camera and he paces the film beautifully. Seinfeld and his two co-writers, Spike Feresen and Andy Robins, have given life to such popular icons as Snap, Crackle and Pop. They also have fun with Thurl Ravenscroft, played deliciously by Hugh Grant, a serious actor who is best known for his voice (besides being the “voice” of Tony the Tiger, Ravenscroft appeared in many of the animated Disney shorts and features, beginning in 1950 and continuing through the late 1970s.
Even if you weren’t a kid in the 1960s I think you’ll find “Unfrosted” to be as good as a bowl of Quisp!
On a scale of zero to five, “Unfrosted” receives ★★★★
