Jerry Seinfeld is one of the masters of observational humor, a genre of comedy that finds the raw material for its jokes in everyday life. Naturally, it’s no surprise that the creator’s first foray into Seinfeld (“the series about nothing”) as director was in a film about the invention of a cookie.
In addition to being director, The Battle of the Pop-Tartswhich reached Netflix This Friday, the 3rd, also features the comedian as producer, screenwriter and protagonist – sharing the role with the product that was also elevated to the role of edible star.
The Pop-Tart Cookie Battle retells, with a series of fictional elements, the story behind the biscuit itself – a type of pre-cooked waffle with a filling and sprinkles topping, which has become a favorite breakfast meal among North Americans who enjoy ultra-processed foods .
In the film, Seinfeld plays a fictional executive named Bob Cabana, one of the biggest bigwigs in the world. Kellogg’s, the real and responsible brand behind some of the biggest cereal successes on the market. Facing a creative crisis, Cabana enlists his former partner, NASA scientist Donna Stankowski (Melissa McCarthy), to help him perfect the Pop-Tartone that could be the company’s big leap in the battle against its competitor, Post.
From this point on, the plot sets up a kind of crazy race for the position of breakfast champion, set in the context of the 1960s – a decade marked by the British invasion of pop culture, espionage and a climate of paranoia driven by the North American government. . All of these elements could have been used to create a scathing satire about the culture of consumerism.
Or, to align with the comedian’s observational humor, they could poke fun at the Hollywood industry’s recent interest in product films, driven by the success of Barbie and other productions, such as films about Nike sneakers (AIR: The Story Behind the Logo), teddy bears (The Beanie Bubble – The Plush Phenomenon) and even a spicy Cheetos (Flamin’ Hot: The History of Extra Spicy Cheetos) – all released in 2023, in fact.
The big problem is that The Pop-Tart Cookie Battle It doesn’t fit into one category or the other. On the contrary, it wastes your efforts and a strong cast, which includes Hugh Grant, Christian Slater, Amy Schumer and others, when trying to extract a dull product into a compelling narrative.
There is even an attempt by Seinfeld, as a screenwriter, to bring in other historical and relevant figures from the time to better contextualize the moment in which the cookie was created and extract one joke or another. To this end, fitness entrepreneur Jack LaLanne, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and President John F. Kennedy appear on the scene.
However, the inclusion of these names and others seems like just an empty parade of references, as they do not add significantly to the main plot.
The moments when The Pop-Tart Cookie Battle Almost gets the tone right are the ones in which Seinfeld borrows a lesson or two from vaudeville comedy, a genre of humor popularized during the Great Depression of the 1930s, to exaggerate the plot behind the cookie.
For example, there is a scene in which one of the executives decides to place a spy camera in the middle of a floor duster to investigate the work of the competition. But even in these small fragments, the title fails to fulfill its mission.
The concept of The Pop-Tart Cookie Battle works best as an isolated joke within a stand-up, something quick and fleeting – the motivation behind the film came from a comment made by Seinfeld in the comedy special 23 Hours to Kill, from Netflix. But not as an hour and a half narrative.
It is interesting to note that Seinfeld gained fame by creating a comedy about “nothing”. More than interesting – and even ironic – is realizing that his first effort as a director resulted in a film that could also be described as simply “nothing”.
