Catnip for Baby Boomers; younger viewers (and who isn’t?) may find themselves culturally at sea. Still, this docu-farce on the race between Post and Kellogg’s to get a shelf-stable breakfast pastry into your local 1963 supermarket is relentless good fun. Or is it just relentless? Shot and performed like a living cartoon, Jerry Seinfeld co-writes, directs & stars as a top cereal exec leading the drive. Wisely backing himself with an All-Star line-up of Stand-Up Comics in roles large & small, Seinfeld's consistently surprised line delivery remains for better or worse largely intact. Odd that a comedian with some of the best comic timing since Jack Benny should rush fences and then have trouble shifting down a gear or two. Elsewise, his directing debut comes off pretty well: hothouse lighting; goofy period technology & office decor horrors taken for granted; real actors as needed (Christian Slater, Hugh Grant, Jon Hamm all welcome). Hope he gave his helpful editor (with at least eleven 'saves') a big bonus! Though maybe no bonus for their researcher: Cabbage Patch Dolls; Missing persons on Milk Cartons? In ‘63? (Or is this a test?) Laughs will undoubtedly vary by age (plenty had over here), yet it’s hard not to wonder if a pseudo-serious take might have paid bigger dividends. Whenever Walter Cronkite shows up for a report, it’s like half the work is being done for you.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: Attention to that Pop Tart coming out of your toaster! Don’t know if it’s still true, but when the original four flavors first came out, the Brown Sugar filling got so notoriously hot from the toaster, it burned the roofs of the mouth of an entire generation of kids.
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: To see this kind of social satire done in a serious and seriously funny way: THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT/’51. Or for ‘60s throwback period flavor & thoughtful content: PLEASANTVILLE/’98. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-man-in-white-suit-1951.html https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2022/10/pleasantville-1998.html
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