In the last couple of months or so a handful of films have come out that depict the behind-the-scenes or the origin of an item or a scenario. Films like Tetris, Air, and Blackberry. The latest in that regard is Flamin Hot. The story of how Flamin Hot Cheetos came to be. It’s not as simple as you’d think. It never is as it would be. It’s always interesting to see how these things happen nonetheless.  

Richard Montanez (Jesse Garcia) is the son of a Mexican immigrant. His father has been a farmer. He’s not really into that though. He meets a girl in school, Judy (Annie Gonzalez), and decides he likes her. They start to see each other and eventually start a family. He leaves school and gets into selling drugs. The thing is this isn’t the path for a father of two children and a wife at home. She convinces him to leave life and find a real job. He applies for a job at the local Frito-Lay factory and ends up getting a job as a janitor.  This didn’t exactly what he wanted to do with his life though. 

Montanez is of Mexican descent. He has a certain point of view regarding his background and the neighborhood he lives in. His family eats a lot of food native to his people such as burritos, tacos, and quesadillas. All of these foods have to have a spicy flavor to them. This is a big part of his culture. So he decides to go to his bosses with the idea to create a spicy slurry to use on Cheetos, Doritos, and Fritos. This is the beginning of a whole new life for him and his family because he gambled on what he knew about himself and his people.

The director, Eva Longoria, is usually known as an actress in such television shows as Desperate Housewives. This is her directorial debut. She relied on her heritage as a Mexican American. This story was one she knew of. It was about her culture. She had a similar background as this man. She uses some interesting techniques to tell this story though. Different lenses to film the movie gives it an older look which in a period film such as this makes it more authentic to the decades it took place in. Fast editing makes it a bit flashy as well. These techniques make for a different type of biopic.

Longoria recreates this world and its characters with a detailed eye. All the little details were thought out. From the clothes and hair to all the food and even the factory itself where all the food was processed and packaged. She spared no expense in making the world of this film as authentic as possible. Getting all the little things correct made this that much of a better movie all the way around. It got me more invested in this man’s story. And I’m sure more people will be interested in all the authenticity she created. 

Most of the movie focuses on the main character and his wife, but some supporting characters play a role in the film. Dennis Haysbert plays an engineer at the factory and he befriends the main character and takes him under his wing. Another character is the CEO of Pepsi played by Tony Shalhoub. He is looking for new ideas to bring revenue to this company and save jobs. This was that idea. He was a big believer in this man and his ideas. They would forever change the path of this company and this man and his family.

Flamin Hot is a biopic that isn’t like a lot of other biopics. It uses different editing and cinematography techniques that create a period look and a fast-paced feel to the film. Longoria also falls back on her own past to help this story be more authentic. The main actors were very good in their roles but a couple of supporting characters put me more into this story. Haysbert and Shaloub brought a good vibe to their characters and the film. This was a feel good biopic and I was glad I had a chance to see it. These types of stories are always interesting to me. It’s nice to learn something new about something I didn’t know about before.

4 stars 

Dan Skip Allen

Flamin Hot Streams on Hulu June 9th