Can you imagine a cinematographic and business parody about the birth of Cola-Cao, Inés Rosales cakes, Tigretón or Chupa Chups? Would it have a dramatic, comic, cultural or social journey, or all four things at the same time, about the idiosyncrasy of the country, its ways of life, the character of its people and the effervescent energy of its children, about business practices , their fights between factories of similar rank and industrial espionage? Without a doubt, it would be a formidable idea… that would then have to be developed with the necessary ingredients. Just the ones you don’t quite have Unsweeteneda family comedy in a parody tone that can be seen on Netflix created by the legendary American comedian Jerry Seinfeld, around the origin of Pop-Tarts, the famous and thin cakes filled with sweets between two layers of dough, arranged to be eaten cold or hot after a second phase in the toaster, created by Kellogg’s in a fight with its strongest opponent, the Post brand, which revolutionized the breakfasts and snacks of American children in the early sixties.
The opening sequence, which gives way to a long flashback which occupies almost the entire film, already provides enough clues as to the path along which the project wants to travel: that of popular art, which is intended for the widest possible audience. This was the painting of Norman Rockwell, champion of the American way of life, of the family around the turkey at Thanksgiving, of the happy white picket fence next to a well-kept garden, and of the honesty and work of the average American. seinfeld begins Unsweetened with a tribute to Rockwell and his famous (and fantastic) painting from 1958 The Runaway, one of his characteristic paintings. Those that, in addition to drawing, colors and expressiveness, were capable of telling an entire story on their own: a boy perched on a stool in a bar, with a bundle tied to a stick as the sole companion of his escape from home, speaking with the waiter and with a police officer sitting next to him. The three look at each other with affability and confidence, as a hallmark of the sense of community in that country.
Seinfeld, who takes the place of the police officer in the film in the film, nevertheless plays the creative director of the Kellogg’s brand, and explains to the child the history of those evolved cereals. There is no doubt, we are facing the archetype of the family comedy, the cinematographic version of those breakfasts: easy, not very nutritious, with the appearance of luxury and immediate power of seduction, but completely insubstantial.
In the story of the fight between Kellogg’s and Post for the perfect business for breakfasts and snacks, there are numerous nods to the United States of the time. From the announcer Walter Cronkite to President Kennedy parade there, but their contributions have more to do with gratuitous anachronism (such as the recent assault on the Capitol) than with true social or political criticism. Along with them, the parade of cameos and barely testimonial presences is luxurious, among them, that of the creatives of Mad Men, with Jon Hamm and John Slattery at the helm, in charge of advertising the product. However, this is all about the appearance of great cinematic power without genuine comic brio. As a temporary wink for conformist and lazy audiences on the couch at home around Netflix, the brand that created the film and offers it exclusively.
In the feature film directorial debut of Seinfeld, a genius of television writing since the legendary series with his name in the nineties, the shortcomings in the staging are too noticeable, flat and conventional, and even ugly with that crowded image of light, which bears very little resemblance to what it wants to resemble: the illustration of a chapter in the country’s business history, written by a revived Roald Dahl. But Dahl was much more acidic, cruel and imaginative than this carousel of occasional wasted ideas.
Unsweetened
Address: Jerry Seinfeld.
Performers: Jerry Seinfeld, Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, Jim Gaffigan.
Gender: comedy. USA, 2024.
Platform: Netflix.
Duration: 93 minutes.
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