“Unfrosted”: A Movie Review (& My Chat with Helen Mirren)

Posted: May 7th, 2024 | Filed under: Cinema | Tags: Movie Review | 1 Comment »

Yes, kids, it’s been awhile since I’ve weighed in on a movie or TV series.

And, frankly, I’m still not sure why this smile-inducing, easily forgettable Netflix confection from Jerry Seinfeld has me at it again.

Perhaps the way I watched it. On my laptop at the car dealer while my car was getting worked on. In a serendipitous moment, my Crosstrek was ready just as the credits rolled.

Nah, that’s not it. But it sure did make that hour and a half wait significantly more tolerable.

No, I think the real reason is I found it’s just this too silly, often overreaching but ever humorous mindless take on 50s and 60s culture a perfect anecdote for these troubled times.

Anyhow, it’s an almost totally fictitious tale of the cereal war in Battle Creek between Kellogg and Post which ended in the kid’s breakfast stable Pop Tarts hitting the grocery shelves.

It also skews just about every cultural phenomenon of the time, except for the Hula Hoop and Slinky.

While taking digs at such as . . .

Walter Cronkite’s alcoholism.

John F. Kennedy’s infidelities.

The Cuban Missile Crisis.

Cuban sugar cartels.

Mad Men.

The space race.

Awards Shows.

Haughty British thespians. Come on, Hugh Grant as Thurl Ravenscroft, a Shakespearean actor who is in the Tony the Tiger costume.

Ventriloquists.

That is merely touching the surface.

Do not misunderstand, “Unfrosted” is not “Citizen Kane,” not even “Some Like It Hot” or “Babe.”

But as a child of the 50s, I couldn’t stop smiling, often laughing out loud, at all the skewering references. Such that I noticed others in the waiting room looking my way curiously. (Yes, I was wearing headphones, so as not to disturb.)

Plus, there’s a potpourri of stars in it.

Jim Gaffigan. Amy Shumer. Melissa McCarthy. Christian Slater (as a milkman spy). Cedric the Entertainer. Jon Hamm (making fun of his most iconic role as an ad man). Fred Armissen. Peter Dinklage.

All of whom appear to be having a ball.

Which allows me to interject a name-dropping aside. My good friends Marc and Jill had their annual Jazzfest First Sunday night crawfish boil. At which time, I was able to sit for a half an hour and chat about film with Taylor Hackford (“Ray”) and his bride, Helen Mirren. 

Yes, that Helen Mirren.

Very nice folks. It was a joy in a comfortable setting. I have to assume they were at ease because I never asked for a selfie, asking if I could chat about their craft. 

Anyway, I asked Mirren about the movie “RED,” one where I thought the actors appeared to be having a hoot making the film. She confirmed that she and John Malkovich were so, but Bruce Willis and the director were at loggerheads. I was also curious about the very dark and grisly “The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover.” And what it was like to work with Peter Greenaway, who directed it. 

So, I got that conversation goin’ for me, which is nice.

As for “Unfrosted,” if you’re looking for a diversion, something to take your mind off real life, you could do a lot worse than spending a 90 minutes in this piffle of a concoction.

It’s as nutritious as a Pop Tart, perhaps more satisfying.

— c d kaplan

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