Hollywood’s bizarre current obsession with corporate origin stories continues with Flamin’ Hot, a brand-biopic that delves deep into the founding of a flavour of Cheetos — not Cheetos themselves, you understand, just one particular spicy spin-off flavour. It is a testament, then, to Eva Longoria’s directorial debut that the film largely overcomes not only a corn-chip-thin premise, but one that apparently isn’t even entirely true. (A report in the LA Times from 2021 suggests that this ‘based on a true story’ is anything but.)
Against considerable odds, there is a charm and warmth to this shaggy-dog story that just about justifies its existence. An overbearing voiceover gives us the “Yeah that’s me! I guess you’re wondering how I got here”-style setup: Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia) grows up on a migrant camp in California, working for pennies; becomes a “burrito hustler” in elementary school; gets briefly drawn into a life of crime, at a time when Latinos were unjustly targeted by the LAPD; and eventually finds a job at a Frito-Lay food factory as a giddily enthusiastic janitor. Soon he has a eureka moment, as all these films must: what if he added the flavours of his heritage to the mass market products he toils over every day?
The central message of the film — that anybody can be a “somebody” — holds fast.
It’s a familiar cinematic snack: the rags-to-riches bildungsroman, the immigrant done good. What makes it disarmingly watchable are the goofy, lovable, charismatic performances from Garcia and Annie Gonzalez (as Judy, his loyal wife); and the lively, stylish direction from Longoria (directing her first feature, having previously helmed a few television episodes). The filmmaker throws everything at the screen, sometimes even to a fault: there are whip pans, speed ramps, fantasy flourishes and more besides. At times it can be overkill — spelling out the current year in Cheetos is a bit much — but it stays defiantly fun and punchy throughout. Richard’s first entrance to the vast Frito-Lay factory is filmed like Henry Hill’s entrance to the Copacabana in Goodfellas; at one point, a character even utters the line: “It’s about respect“.
The wobbly relationship the narrative has with actual history certainly takes some of the shine off, but the central message of the film — that anybody can be a “somebody” — holds fast. Though accounts seem to vary, what is not in dispute is that Richard Montañez did rise the Frito-Lay ranks, from janitor to marketing executive, and in Longoria’s energetic hands, it’s hard not to be beguiled by the legend being printed here.