Jerry Seinfeld is unfazed that 'Unfrosted' got terrible reviews: 'It doesn't matter what you think of me'
- Jerry Seinfeld addressed the poor reception of his movie, "Unfrosted."
- "There is nothing funnier to me than people complaining," he said.
Jerry Seinfeld doesn't care that "Unfrosted," his directorial debut, got terrible reviews.
The comedian stars in the movie that charts the creation of PopTarts in the 1960s, as Kellogg's employee Bob Cabana, alongside Melissa McCarthy, Hugh Grant, and James Marsden. It received a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and the critics' consensus on the site calls it "an empty experience that may leave the consumer feeling pangs of regret."
One critic described it as "one of the worst films of the decade."
But during an appearance on Wednesday's episode of the "Honestly with Bari Weiss" podcast, Seinfeld said he's unfazed by the negative reception to the comedy.
"The only thing I want to read are the absolute worst reviews the movie received because there is nothing funnier to me than people complaining that they didn't laugh," he said.
He added: "They want to laugh. I related to it. I get it. I think it's funny that you hated it because you wanted to laugh and you didn't laugh."
"It's funny! It doesn't matter what you think of me. Why would I think that I'm going to make something that everyone will like?" Seinfeld continued. "What sense does that make? You have to be insane to think like that."
"Unfrosted" follows a handful of successful recent movies about the creation of popular products, including "Steve Jobs," "The Social Network," and "Tetris." 2023's "Barbie" also examined the cultural impact of the Mattel dolls, and was a huge hit, making over $1 billion.
"Unfrosted" reportedly had a $70 million budget including $14.2 million from the $60 million tax credit that the state of California gave Netflix to produce films there.
Even though it failed to make waves, Netflix didn't lose as much money on "Unfrosted" as it could have. Judging by the critical response, it may have fared worse financially if it had gone straight to theaters, where marketing and distribution costs would've also taken a bite out of Netflix's wallet, alongside potentially poor ticket sales.
That's not to say that the streaming model works for every film.
Actor Glen Powell recently pointed out that Tom Cruise refused to put "Top Gun: Maverick" on a streamer during the pandemic, and his reluctance resulted in the film raking in $1.5 billion.