Summary

• Unfrosted features cameos from Jon Hamm and John Slattery reprising their roles from Mad Men, adding a meta touch to the movie.
• Unfrosted's Mad Men cameos have received divisive responses and negative reviews from both critics and audiences.
• Critics feel Unfrosted fails to capture the essence of Mad Men, lacking the serious drama, stylish presentation, and sharp dialogue of the original series.

Unfrosted co-writer Spike Feresten explains the movie's Mad Men cameos. Directed by Jerry Seinfeld in his feature debut – with a script he co-wrote with Feresten, Barry Marder, and Andy Robin – the new Netflix film follows the rivalry between two cereal companies, Kellogg's and Post, in early 1960s Michigan as they compete to create a breakfast party product that will revolutionize breakfast food forever. Other than Seinfeld, who plays a fictional Kellogg's executive loosely based on William Post, the Unfrosted cast also includes Jon Hamm and John Slattery reprising their roles from Mad Men as Don Draper and Roger Sterling.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Feresten explained Unfrosted's cameos from Jon Hamm and John Slattery. The co-writer recalls that they were watching Mad Men during the pandemic as they were working on the script. This gave them the idea for the meta Mad Men cameos in the movie, which Hamm and Slattery were supportive of from the start. Read his comments and watch the full scene below:

There was this great scene with Jon Hamm pitching a lipstick manufacturer, and he’s so mean to him. And Jerry said, "I don’t get it. They’re just writing ads. Why are they being so mean?" Then someone said, "It’s ’63. In theory, these guys could come pitch Kellogg’s the Pop-Tart." And we went, "Oh, my God, can we do that? Is that too meta — a fictional movie, but a real TV series?"

We wrote the scene, and then we fell in love with the scene, and then it had to happen. Hamm and Slattery were on board right from the very beginning. That scene still gives me chills when I watch it because for Jerry, if you had asked him if there were any drama he’d ever want to be in, he would go, "It would be Mad Men." Some of the furniture in the scene is from Mad Men. That’s really Jerry living out one of his fantasies.

Unfrosted Mad Men Cameos & Reactions Explained

Unfrosted, set in 1963 Michigan, features surprise Mad Men cast cameos from the impossibly suave ad man Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and accounts executive Roger Sterling (John Slattery). Though they are never mentioned by name in the movie, Don and Roger travel out to Michigan to pitch a breakfast pastry name to Kellogg's executives Bob Cabana (Jerry Seinfeld), Donna Stankowski (Melissa McCarthy), and Jim Gaffigan (Edsel Kellogg III). Though Kellogg's is a kid-friendly cereal company, Don's pitch is "provocative" and "revolutionary," attempting to elevate the new pastry beyond a mere breakfast treat for children.

Since Mad Men is a highly acclaimed series that won a multitude of Emmy Awards and cultivated a cult following, Unfrosted's cameos have garnered a divisive response. For instance, in his Unfrosted review, film critic David Ehrlich called the cameos "not funny enough to escape a feeling of sacrilege." Furthermore, viewers have also voiced disappointment and anger at Unfrosted for cheapening Mad Men's legacy for nostalgia bait. Overall, Unfrosted has received negative reactions from critics and audiences, earning 41% and 49% scores on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively.

While it's certainly exciting to see Slattery and Hamm reprising their roles, Unfrosted fails to capture the essence of Mad Men. The series was highly acclaimed for its serious drama, stylish presentation, sharp dialogue, and complex themes, none of which Unfrosted has, opting for a comedic and superficial approach that lacks depth and respect for Mad Men. In turn, Roger Sterling and Don Draper's returns feel disconnected and disappointing for those expecting the same level of sophistication and storytelling found in Mad Men.

Unfrosted in streaming on Netflix. Mad Men is streaming on AMC+.

Source: THR