Who would’ve thought that in 2023 we’d get so many films about businesses creating successful products? Some feel these are glorified commercials, but I believe in this late-stage capitalism and ending hustle era, these stories do captivate. It’s interesting to see some of these people acknowledged. That leads to this film – Flamin’ Hot, a directorial debut by Eva Longoria with Jesse Garcia as Richard Montañez, the man who created the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos product and brand. This film goes about this man’s story and how he went from a janitor in a frito-lay plant to trying to better himself and save the plant when Reaganomics started hitting hard. Garcia really holds this film on his shoulders. He’s very charismatic and is able to juggle the comedic tone along with the more sincere part of the film well. Annie Gonzalez plays Judy Montañez, Richard’s wife; as does so o,k but I think she does better as the film goes on, but I don’t know if the wigs did her any service in this movie.
Dennis Haysbert plays Clarence C. Baker, a significant figure in the story that is Richard’s mentor and a no-nonsense professional. The film shows him as a blue-collar worker that is underemployed. The film deals with race a lot, actually, but mainly in a white culture vs. Mexican American culture thing. I’ll be honest, that might rub some Blacks the wrong way as some could see the Baker character as a magic negro in some sense, but it’s not something that bothered me much at all. Tony Shalhoub plays Roger Enrico, the CEO of Pepsi-Co at the time. Shalhoub plays him as the nicest movie version of a CEO you’d ever see. It works well for this fairy tale-style story of Richard’s growth outside of these circumstances.
I think Longoria does well here in her debut film. While it’s not going wild with the shots, the film works well in how it looks and is paced. I feel as if the film would work on a larger theater screen. It also works very well on a television screen ratio. The comedy works, and the sincere parts come across too. Things in this film can be too sweet, even with the inner struggle of Richard and his disapproving father, Vacho (Emilio Rivera), which could use a bit more in terms of character but doesn’t take away from anything by it not being there. Matt Walsh, a veteran comedic character actor, plays the over-the-top floor manager Lonny Mason that feels like a character from a weekly sitcom. Still, he’s likable enough that it’s not annoying. Overall I really liked Flamin’ Hot, and it was cool to see this underdog story brought to life about a snack that was purposefully made for people that aren’t middle-American white customers.
Score: B-
