Post updated March 31st. See update below.
Jerry Seinfeld has a joke in his standup routine where he asks “what’s up with Pop Tarts?”
It’s a very Jerry Seinfeld bit, and it’s pretty funny because a good comedian knows how to spot these little weird cultural things and make the most out of them. In this case, the Pop Tart—a breakfast treat that I’ve never found at all satisfying, but something that “can never go stale because it’s never been fresh.”
There’s an absurdity to the Pop Tart. A bowl of cereal is tastier and just as easy to prepare. There’s far more variety when it comes to breakfast cereals than Pop Tarts. But for whatever reason, the Pop Tart was a hit, and that’s what Seinfeld’s new Netflix film Unfrosted explores.
Before we go further, here’s the standup bit Seinfeld essentially based this entire film off of:
Seinfeld is not only the star of Unfrosted but the creator and director and he’s gathered around him a pretty stellar all-star cast including Melissa McCarthy, Bill Burr, James Marsden, Dan Levy, Hugh Grant, Jim Gaffigan, Christian Slater, Jack McBrayer, Sarah Cooper, Adrian Martinez and many, many more. The “one thing” I’m griping about is Amy Schumer, who I still find absolutely puzzling. Schumer just never comes off as particularly funny to me. She was a very peculiar choice for Season 2 of Only Murders In The Building. I don’t find her comedy very funny. I can’t think of anything I’ve seen her in that makes me “get it”. Either that or I just don’t click with her particular brand of humor.
Still, Unfrosted looks like a fun 1960s’ comedy about the intersection of breakfast and capitalism, and how a pretty mediocre, undeniably bland food item became a massive hit—kind of like most of the biggest pop artists out there. Pop Tart feels very apropos when you think about it.
Here’s the trailer:
Unfrosted pops onto Netflix on May 3rd.
Update:
A lot of Amy Schumer fans are understandably upset with me about this post. I’m not trying to be mean, but I do think I was a little overly harsh so I’m toning it down. Like I said above, to each their own. Some people love Schumer and her humor and others don’t. I’m pretty sure this is nothing new. She’s been a pretty divisive comedian for ages now.
However, one thing a lot of readers have told me is to go watch Life & Beth, which I’ve heard of but never watched (partly because, as I’ve said, Schumer’s comedy never clicked with me and the last time I saw her on anything was Only Murders In The Building which only reaffirmed all of my previous feelings).
Still, I’m updating this post because I think those fans are correct. I am going to watch at least an episode or two and see if it’s my cup of tea or not. Then I’ll report back and if I change my mind, I’ll let you know and I’ll eat my hat.
Here’s the trailer for Life & Beth:
The show has an 89% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, but only 67% audience score, which suggests to me that I’m not wrong when I say Schumer is divisive (not for anything controversial; just not everyone enjoys her particular brand of humor).
The blurb:
“Beth’s life would look pretty great on paper. Impressive to everyone she grew up with. She makes a good living as a wine distributor. She’s in a long term relationship with a successful guy and lives in Manhattan. When a sudden incident forces Beth to engage with her past her life changes forever. Through flashbacks to her teen self, Beth starts to learn how she became who she is and who she wants to become. We’ll go on her journey towards building a bigger, bolder and more authentic life. Learning to express herself and living in an intentional way. A trip down memory lane is a strong source of trauma, comedy and moving forward.”
The show airs on Hulu. The second season released this February.