hunter albert

There’s no denying the impact that Jerry Seinfeld has had on the television industry. The show Seinfeld is considering one of the greatest television series of all time and pioneered the sitcom into new heights with witty writing, outlandish characters, and a continuity structure that wasn’t common in sitcoms at the time. Since the show ended in the 1990s, Jerry Seinfeld has largely stuck in his own comfort zone with stand-up comedy, only starring in the 2007 animated movie Bee Movie. Nearly thirty six years after Seinfeld, he’s stepped into the directors chair for the first time with the film Unfrosted on Netflix.

Jerry Seinfeld’s press leading up the release of Unfrosted has including a wide variety of statements, including how “the movie industry is over” or that the left is ruining comedy. It’s an entire can of worms and I don’t even think Seinfeld’s views on the movie industry or comedy are all that off base, especially with context. There is way too much content out there and I think that running a joke through four or five committees would kill comedy.

When you combine Seinfeld’s professional pedigree in conjunction with some of his press statements, you would expect Unfrosted to have a little bite to it. What you get in the end is a pretty safe and ordinary comedy, which I think is a shame. If Seinfeld is trying to make a mark, let alone a dent, in this endless sea of content that dominates our lives, then he’s fallen up short.

For a movie, Unfrosted really feels like a made for television movie that would air on CBS. Production feels cheap and digital. Shallow and dull lighting with cheap staging make it feel like its been pulled straight from a back lot studio at Paramount. The locations feel like sets. It’s slightly forgivable, because everything in this movie is absurd and comical–but these elements combined to make it feel like a cheap product. It just ended up reeking like a production that was just thrown together. It’s clear that Seinfeld is comfortable on a stage or set and all of that is reflected in the production design of the film.

Unfrosted is far from a void of comedy. I did laugh at a couple of moments throughout the film. Seinfeld’s witty writing and comedic timing is still as sharp at moments, but it’s never super consistent. I felt that for every joke that landed, there was another that I rolled my eyes at–wit is matched by low hanging fruit. The comedy plays it safe for the most part. Yet occasionally the film swings for the fences, such as a plot point that parallels the January 6th insurrection. It’s little glimpses of what the movie could have pulled off if it was more ballsy. It all makes for a mixed bag.

The cast is the biggest strength here, even if the writing doesn’t always match the talent. Highlight of the film belongs to Jim Gaffigan. He nails the big, aloof CEO that has benefited from nepotism. I’m a bit biased since I’m a fan of his, but I don’t think a single scene was worse off when he was present and it’s a blessing that he’s in the movie as much as he is. Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, Hugh Grant, and Max Greenfield round out the top billing and if you’re a big fan of any of these actors, then I’m sure you won’t mind their performances–but it’s clear that Unfrosted is less than the sum of its parts in this department. I found myself enjoying the short cameos (I won’t mention who shows up) and it’s a little amusing how much better those performances were in the very small screen time they all had.

Time is the ultimate judgment if a film is good or not. Twenty years from now, I don’t think anyone is going to be talking about Unfrosted. It’s far more likely that it ends up as a trivia question at your local brewery when the host asks “what Netflix film did Jerry Seinfeld direct?” Not every film needs to stand the test of time and nobody is loading up Unfrosted with that in mind. For it’s short runtime I think it’s a fairly harmless film that’s bound to give you a few laughs. Seinfeld knows this too. When asked in an interview if there was any meaning to Unfrosted, he quickly responded “Are you seriously asking me that?”

If Seinfeld isn’t serious about his own movie, why should we?

★★