As much as Will Smith wanted Chris Rock to keep his wife’s name out his f*ckin’ mouth, the comedian wanted to lay as low as possible after The Slap. That included turning down good friend Jerry Seinfeld’s offer to appear in Unfrosted — primarily because his cameo would have spoofed that infamous Oscar moment.

As Jerry Seinfeld revealed on the Fly on the Wall podcast, he reached out to Chris Rock to let him get some remote revenge. “The other thing I wanted to do, that I almost did, was Chris Rock was gonna be the emcee of the Bowl and Spoon Awards. We shot that right after the Will Smith slap, and I was gonna have somebody come up on the stage and have Chris punch them out…Chris wasn’t…he wasn’t up to perform. He was still a little shook from the event. But that was what the scene was going to be. But Cedric saved the day.”

Seinfeld would go on to admit that he wasn’t sure the Unfrosted bit would ultimately work. I’d agree since it was still so fresh for Rock, so Seinfeld lucked out by not being allowed to capitalize on such a tough moment. There’s also the fact that it would have immediately felt dated, like the sort of gag one of those awful Friedberg/Seltzer movies would have shoehorned in. It also wouldn’t have really enhanced the movie in any way…

Chris Rock would address The Slap on his own terms, ditching Jerry Seinfeld and Unfrosted to instead take it head on in his standup routine, particularly his 2023 special Selective Outrage. Despite a 10-year ban from attending the Academy Awards, Will Smith has done his best to bounce back with a handful of movie roles, including next month’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die. But Chris Rock has come out better than anyone, showing he’s by far the bigger man.

While Jerry Seinfeld wasn’t able to get everyone he wanted for Unfrosted, he did still grab a number of comedian friends for roles, including Amy Schumer, Bill Burr, Thomas Lennon, Bobby Moynihan, Mikey Day, Kyle Mooney, Fred Armisen, Sebastian Maniscalo, and more.

Do you think Chris Rock should have done the Unfrosted cameo for Jerry Seinfeld or would it have been “too soon”? Share your thoughts below.

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PLOT: Michigan, 1963. Kellogg’s and Post, sworn cereal rivals, race to create a pastry that will change the face of breakfast. A tale of ambition, betrayal, sugar, and menacing milkmen, UNFROSTED stars Jerry Seinfeld in his directorial debut.

REVIEW: It took nine years after the series finale of Seinfeld for Jerry Seinfeld‘s big screen debut, Bee Movie. That surreal, animated adventure was a spot-on continuation of the stand-up comedian’s brand of observational humor told within the context of a strangely specific world. Unfrosted, which reunited Seinfeld with his team of writers from Bee Movie, is another glimpse into a surreal world that allows him to explore his distinct type of comedy with an all-star cast of talent playing real and fictional characters. Boasting glossy, retro visuals and capitalizing on Seinfeld’s well-known love of breakfast, Unfrosted looks like it was fun to make. I only wish it was as much fun to watch. A safe and strange comedy, Unfrosted made me chuckle a little bit but never rose to the level of comedy it aims to emulate.

Unfrosted is a flashback story about the invention of Kellogg’s breakfast pastry, the Pop-Tart, told by Bob Cabana (Jerry Seinfeld) to a young boy in a diner. In the story, Cabana is a bigwig working for Edsel Kellogg III (Jim Gaffigan) as the company has a stranglehold on the market ahead of rival Post. When Margorie Post (Amy Schumer) reveals she has a product that could destroy Kellogs, Bob Cabana enlists the help of his former coworker Donna “Stan” Stankowksi (Melissa McCarthy), who now works for NASA. Together, Cabana and Stankowski build a dream team of talent, including Chef Boyardee (Bobby Moynihan), Sea Monkeys creator Harold Von Braunhut (Thomas Lennon), bike designer Thomas Schwinn (Jack McBrayer), and fitness guru Jack LaLane (James Marsden). Echoing the Space Race between America and Russia, Unfrosted looks at the ups and downs in the battle of breakfast titans. This includes forays to Russia, run-ins with evil milkmen led by Mike Diamond (Christian Slater), and a bevy of mascots out for vengeance.

For all it sets out to be, Unfrosted should have been an epic comedy masterpiece along the lines of the work of Mel Brooks. With comedic actors like Max Greenfield, Bill Burr, Sarah Cooper, Fred Armisen, and Cedric the Entertainer working with acclaimed actors like Peter Dinklage, Hugh Grant, and Jon Hamm, this movie has one of the most star-studded casts in recent memory. The cameos alone make this worth watching, with a key scene towards the end almost good enough to make the whole movie worth checking out. But, there are so many characters stuffed into this movie that it begins to feel like a parade of everyone that Jerry Seinfeld was able to entice to visit the set and don a funny costume. It is clear that Seinfeld’s connections in Hollywood allowed for Unfrosted to become a celebrity playground, but it is one that was more fun to make than the finished movie is to watch.

While Seinfeld dipped into adult subject matter, Unfrosted is barely a PG-13 endeavor. With very mild profanity and a couple of double entendres, most of this film is fine for general audiences. A lot of the period-specific jokes will fly over the heads of younger viewers, but there is nothing inappropriate in the story. Maybe the safe and wholesomeness of Jerry Seinfeld’s approach to this story prevents it from being funnier. Seinfeld has never been the strongest actor, but he does a decent job as the main character here. Seinfeld allows his co-stars to do the heaviest lifting, with Melissa McCarthy a bit more subdued than usual. At the same time, Jim Gaffigan boasts an over-the-top persona as the fictional Kellogg’s CEO. The combination of historical figures with fictional ones makes for an odd combination, especially with the mascot characters all being played as real people rather than marketing creations. Hugh Grant, who has become one of the funniest actors working, is one of the movie’s bright spots.

As a director, Seinfeld does a competent job with the bright palette of the movie that feels reminiscent of Jay Roach’s work on the Austin Powers franchise. Seinfeld never tries to make the movie look realistic but nails the cartoon-like atmosphere of the story. The screenplay, written by Seinfeld and Bee Movie scribes Spike Feresten, Andy Robin, and Barry Marder, packs in puns and reverent jokes about the 1960s and political figures from that era. Surprisingly, the movie also has a substantial reference to the January 6th insurrection that I did not expect in a movie like this. Jerry Seinfeld has not been shy about politics but never as overtly as he addresses it here. It is not subtle; for some, it may come across in poor taste. I found it to be one of the funnier sections of the movie, and it made me want to see more timely and relevant jokes from Seinfeld instead.

For all the talent involved, including an original song from Meghan Trainor and Jimmy Fallon, Unfrosted is an overly safe and forgettable movie. The credit sequence boasts some bloopers, which adds to my theory of how much fun the cast and crew had making the movie. Netflix clearly shelled out a lot of their seemingly endless cash supply to afford Seinfeld’s dream cast. I do not see how any major studio would have paid to make this movie, which feels like a throwback to an era when projects like this were commonplace. Jerry Seinfeld will likely not make another feature film as Unfrosted was his passion project. Unfrosted ends up like actual Pop-Tarts as a novelty you can enjoy when you remember they exist but never something you will actively seek.

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It was famed screenwriter William Goldman who once said of the movie industry, “Nobody knows anything.” And that could very well be true, with Jerry Seinfeld now agreeing that Hollywood is as clueless as many people think.

Jerry Seinfeld has seldom taken part in any movies, with his only real role outside of documentaries being the highly meme-able Bee Movie. But with Unfrosted dropping on May 3rd, he has noticed a few things he wouldn’t have otherwise. “It was totally new to me. I thought I had done some cool stuff, but it was nothing like the way these people work. They’re so dead serious! They don’t have any idea that the movie business is over. They have no idea.” So what’s the deal with Hollywood? Seinfeld elaborated on this, saying the business and the consumption of films is nowhere near what it was in generations past. “Film doesn’t occupy the pinnacle in the social, cultural hierarchy that it did for most of our lives. When a movie came out, if it was good, we all went to see it. We all discussed it. We quoted lines and scenes we liked. Now we’re walking through a fire hose of water, just trying to see.” Yet, Seinfeld seems to be embracing this, as Unfrosted will premiere on Netflix.

Jerry Seinfeld might have a good point here. While there is still a focus on box office numbers, a lot of movie fans are consuming material through different means. Whereas the cinema was once the place to catch a movie, you can now just catch it on, say, Netflix, at your leisure. For movies like that, there is no opening and there are no show times – there is “Start” and “Resume.” Take Adam Sandler for example. When Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore were hits, it gave fans of the Sandman something to talk about and gave them quotes to endlessly throw at each other. Now, with his Netflix deal, at what point are fans supposed to do that? Putting quality aside, have you even heard somebody quote one of his Netflix movies?

Jerry Seinfeld would go on to, expectedly, champion the craft of stand-up comedy, saying what comedians put out there is something that can’t be faked. “It’s like platform diving. You could say you’re a platform diver, but in two seconds we can see if you are or you aren’t. That’s what people like about stand-up. They can trust it. Everything else is fake.”

While many of us thought the idea of Jerry Seinfeld directing a movie about the history of Pop-Tarts was itself fake, it is indeed real…and looks far better than expected.

Do you agree with Jerry Seinfeld’s assessment on the movie industry? Is it “over” or just adapting? Give us your own take below.

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What’s the deal with all the frosting! And all the pains in the ass! Jerry Seinfeld has never been one to hold back on what he thinks of anything or anyone in the industry, and he may have found his latest target: Hugh Grant. While appearing on The Tonight Show, Seinfeld said his Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story co-star was not grrreat!, calling him “horrible.”

Jerry Seinfeld told Jimmy Fallon that he and Hugh Grant didn’t initially get along while making Unfrosted, saying, “We had lots of fights. He’s a pain in the ass to work with. He’s horrible…He tells you before you work with him, ‘You’re gonna hate this.’ And he’s so right.” While said in jest, we wouldn’t exactly be surprised if Grant was a bit of a grump on set, considering that’s pretty much a solidified part of his reputation.

Whatever issues Seinfeld and Grant may have actually had while making Unfrosted – and again, who knows how much is just a rib – pretty much got settled after one proper meal. “We shot for 10 weeks, and that night that he and I had dinner — and we got drunk having dinner — that was the greatest night…Because he’s so cool and he’s that English thing, you know, that witty. He looks good in a jacket…he’s one of those guys. I love those guys.”

Following a screening of Unfrosted, Grant apparently texted Seinfeld to tell him he was pleased with the result, adding, “To my great surprise I liked it. Laughed out loud. All actors were good. Even you. Love, Hugh.” As Seinfeld also tells it, Grant sought out a role in Unfrosted, giving an audition over the phone that landed him the part of Thurl Ravenscroft, who voiced Tony the Tiger for Kellogg’s and also sang “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” in the 1966 animated special.

Unfrosted: The Pop-Tarts Story is just the latest movie that seeks to cheekily unravel the history of a beloved food product, coming off the heels of last year’s Flamin’ Hot. Personally, I’m waiting for that delicious Moon Pie miniseries. Unfrosted comes to Netflix on May 3rd.

Do you think there’s some truth to Jerry Seinfeld’s tales about Hugh Grant from the Unfrosted set? Are you looking forward to the movie?

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If you are a fan of the classic TV sitcom Seinfeld, then you have seen how big a role cereal plays in Jerry’s life. However, the famous comedian has taken his love to a whole new level with the over-the-top portrayal of the reinvention of breakfast as Pop-Tarts hit the market in Unfrosted. Unfrosted is a comedy that stars Seinfeld, but it also marks his directorial debut for a comedy feature film. The cast list is also an amazing who’s who of comedy actors which features Jerry Seinfeld, Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Hugh Grant, Amy Schumer, Max Greenfield, Christian Slater, Bill Burr, Daniel Levy, James Marsden, Jack McBrayer, Thomas Lennon, Bobby Moynihan, Adrian Martinez, Sarah Cooper and Fred Armisen. You can watch the trailer in the embed above.

The official synopsis from Netflix reads,
“Battle Creek, Michigan, 1963. Kellogg’s and Post, sworn cereal rivals, race to create a pastry that will change the face of breakfast forever. A wildly imaginative tale of ambition, betrayal, and menacing milkmen – sweetened with artificial ingredients – UNFROSTED stars Jerry Seinfeld in his directorial film debut. It features a supporting cast of comedy greats including Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Hugh Grant, Amy Schumer, Max Greenfield, Christian Slater, Sarah Cooper, Bill Burr, and many more.”

Not only does Jerry star and direct the film, but he is also a co-writer on the script, which was also written by Spike Feresten, Andy Robin and Barry Marder. Seinfeld produces along with Spike Feresten, Beau Bauman and the executive producers on board include Andy Robin, Barry Marder and Cherylanne Martin.

Seinfeld told Netflix that the project actually started as a joke, “[Co-writer] Spike Feresten and I, as a joke, would say to each other, ‘Let’s make a movie about Pop-Tarts.’ And then when the pandemic happened and we had nothing to do, he said, ‘Let’s really write this as a movie.’ ” The comedian adds his personal experiences with the breakfast pastry, “My first memory of Pop-Tarts is, once I tasted it, I assumed they would not continue to make other types of food. It would no longer be necessary to eat anything else.” He then made it clear that he must toast his Pop-Tarts, “I do not like Pop-Tarts untoasted. The flavors come together in the toaster. There’s something sad about a cold Pop-Tart. It’s soulless. It’s devoid of emotion. Incomplete.”

What did you think of the Unfrosted trailer? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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What's the deal with Pop Tarts? They don't pop, and they aren't tart. (Cue musical interlude)

After distancing himself from sitcoms, Jerry Seinfeld will star in, direct, and produce Unfrosted, a film comedy he co-wrote with Spike Feresten and Barry Marder that is inspired by a joke he told on the stand-up stage about Pop Tarts. This unique biopic will be served up at Netflix, where Seinfeld has an existing and pleasant relationship with the streamer. With the green light already burning hot like an illuminated toaster coil, production is set to begin next spring.

Seinfeld has a real cushy setup over at Netflix. In 2017, the comedian struck up a deal that brought his interview series Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee to the streamer, alongside two stand-up specials, Jerry Before Seinfeld, and 23 Hours to Kill. Later this year, the ground-breaking sitcom Seinfeld will come to Netflix, where it will live for a total of five years.

“Stuck at home watching endless sad faces on TV I thought this would be a good time to make something based on pure silliness,” Seinfeld commented. “So we took my Pop Tart stand-up bit from my last Netflix special and exploded it into a giant, crazy comedy movie.”

Wow! It must be nice to stumble upon a lucrative Netflix deal thanks to a bit about a delicious toaster pastry. Who can blame them, though? Pop Tarts are amazing, even when they're unfrosted. That's right, I said it. I prefer my Pop Tarts unfrosted. Anybody else? If I had to go with a frosted Pop Tart, I think I'd choose Raspberry. How about you? What's your preferred Pop Tart flavor? Are you interested in Seinfeld's latest Netflix project? Sound off in the comments section below and let us know what you think.

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