Why do filmmakers do this to me? They’ll make a movie that I’d be perfectly content giving a good review to, but they do something so egregious that it ruins it. I’ll give you an example of a filmmaker doing that where it didn’t ruin it for me, but bothered me a lot. Ron Howard’s racing movie “Rush” gave us the real life story of two top race car drivers that shared a nasty rivalry. When the German racer was burned in a crash and left disfigured, a report asked him how his wife could still love him with a mangled face. The other driver, who seemingly hated his rival, took that reporter into a bathroom and beat him up. Awesome, except that…it never happened. Had it happened, I’m sure the reporter would have won lots of money in a lawsuit and it would have been one of the biggest stories in sports – a top athlete beating up a reporter for asking a question he didn’t like. I’m of the belief that you can’t make stories up when real people are involved. Now, while I don’t like it when a movie like “Bohemian Rhapsody” did that, sometimes it‘s easier to combine things or show them out of sequence (or go for a cheap laugh when Mike Myers is saying nobody is going to rock out to that operatic song, when his own movie “Wayne’s World” did just that).
So when “Flamin’ Hot,” which is narrated by the protagonist, shows a Mexican boy getting picked on in school for eating burritos for lunch, we feel horrible for him. When he starts selling burritos and making money, we cheer for him. When he goes to buy candy bars with that money at the store and a cop arrests him thinking that can’t really be his money…I doubt whether that happened. That’s followed up with the narrator telling the audience, “If cops treat you like a criminal, you become one.” And we see him stealing from a store, running from the police, becoming a gang member, etc. So, we’re supposed to buy this narrative that cops lead minorities into crime, because they, what? Treat minority children like criminals? I’m not only not buying that, but don’t care for even more things coming out that will make people dislike the police.
By the time the movie ended, I had tears of joy in my face at what was easily the most inspirational story you’ll see in years. A guy that went from looking hard for a real job, to starting as a janitor at Frito-Lay, to inventing the “flamin’ hot” flavor…who becomes one of the top executives. Such a joyous rags-to-riches story. But wait. I started seeing things online about how that story is fictional. You see, Frito-Lay years ago, got wind of Richard Montanez telling the story that he invented that flavor, and they said he didn’t. This was written about in various publications (including the Los Angeles Times) and the filmmakers were made aware of this before making the movie. But as Jimmy Stewart said in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” – “when the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
In Montanez’s second book in 2021 (Flamin’ Hot: The Incredible True Story of One Man’s Rise From Janitor to Top Executive) – he goes on about working at a Frito-Lay plant and conceiving of the red powder that made this popular Cheetos flavor. After he left Frito-Lay he gave motivational speeches talking about his rags-to-riches story. It’s just a shame that Frito-Lay disputes his account of coming up with that flavor, and that Eva Longoria (making her directorial debut), was well aware of all this before production started on the film.
Jesse Garcia plays Richard Montanez, and he does a perfect job of conveying a guy who’s desperate to find work, and can be charming and likable. He was selling drugs, stealing cars, and getting arrested. After a few harsh words from a judge, and his high school girlfriend having another baby, he figured he’d get a real job to support them. That landed him at the Rancho Cucamonga factory as a janitor for Frito-Lay.
His wife Judy is played by Annie Gonzalez, and she does a terrific job with the role. It’s not over-written and she makes you really love the Montanez family more.
Matt Walsh, who is always so great in comedies (I loved him in “Ted”), was a bit too racist as a manager to be believable. It is nice later in the movie when we see he’s warmed up to Montanez, after he realizes the guy is a great worker.
Dennis Haysbert, that actor with the booming voice you see in insurance commercials, is terrific as the machinist who takes Montanez under his wing when he expresses a desire to learn more about the machines making the Cheetos. I assumed he was an amalgamation of a few different characters, and when it comes to real life stories, that’s about the only thing I’m willing to tolerate. It’d be much too hard for filmmakers to have three different actors play various characters that helped Montanez. Again, that’s what bothered me so much about the fictionalized versions of this story.
Tony Shalhoub is perfect as the PepsiCo CEO, Roger Enrico, who ends up taking the janitor’s call and decides to give his ideas a try.
Longoria gets a bit cliche with some scenes. There’s the scene where the couple discuss their dire situation financially, just as the lights go out. Another example that I’ve grown tired of – the scene where a boss yells at an employee, and that employee pummels him with punches, only to see a second later he was daydreaming about doing it. Yet the scenes that show a bunch of old, stuffy management fat cats in suits…with a voice over by Montanez and his gang members on what they’re really saying…elicited big laughs from me and everyone else in the theater.
I thought of so many interesting real life stories this reminded me of – the guy making Barbie Dolls, when he came up with the Bratz doll and was sued by Mattel for doing that while working for them. A few years back, the guy named Nacho that came up with nachos while working for a rich couple that had people come over unexpectedly and he needed to throw some food together. The story of the guy who made millions with his Pet Rocks, only to be sued by his two friends (and lose). All those real life stories make it harder for me to accept this film that I now realize is largely fictional.
That being said, I can put that aside and say it’s a very uplifting film with a lot of laughs that I think most people will enjoy. It could be cheesy at times (no pun intended), but it’s heart is in the right place.
The soundtrack worked well, as long as the songs included (two by Santana, and War’s great “Cisco Kid”).
Now, for all those book lovers who annoy me by saying: “the book was better than the movie” – I want to know if snack food lovers will say: “The Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are better than the movie.”
I hate Cheetos, but I adored this film.
3 stars out of 5.