SXSW 2023 Review:
"Flamin' Hot"
Release Date: June 9, 2023 (Hulu)
Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 99 minutes Of the four corporate bios that premiered during this year’s SXSW Film & TV Festival, Eva Longoria’s Flamin’ Hot is the one that plays more like a feel-good sports movie than a methodical breakdown of the creation, manufacturing, and marketing of a company-defining product. Maybe it is because this account of the invention of Flamin' Hot Cheetos focuses on a blue-collar underdog who is both likeable and identifiable. Maybe it is because the product in question isn’t just a household name but cheaper to obtain and purchase than a pair of Air Jordans. Maybe it is because Longeria fills her narrative feature debut with so much Mexican-American pride that it is impossible to root against the hero of his own story, Frito-Lay maintenance worker (and future PepsiCo executive) Richard Montañez. Told with undeniable warm and enthusiasm, and intended to inspire and empower, Flamin’ Hot chronicles Richard’s humble beginnings growing up the son of Mexican immigrants in California, his youthful criminal endeavors as a gang member, and his eventual hiring at Frito-Lay to support his loving wife Judy and their two sons. While grateful for a steady if meager paycheck, despite during the lean Reagan years, Richard wants more from life. And he seizes his opportunity when he comes up with the idea of spicing up Cheetos for an untapped Hispanic market. But Frito-Lay CEO Roger Enrico take Richard’s phone call or even give his idea a fair chance? If you have gone food shopping in the past 30 years, you already know the answer to those questions. But Flamin’ Hot--written with obvious affectation and admiration by Linda Yvette Chávez and Lewis Colick and based on Richard’s memoirs—is less about the inevitable outcome than the vision, ambition, and tenacity required by the child of immigrants to achieve the American Dream against all odds. As predictable as Flamin’ Hot is, Longeria instinctively knows which emotional levers to pull to ensure we cheer Richard’s minor victories and feel the pain that comes with every setback. Bearing this in mind, Longeria does not sugarcoat the difficulties and challenges Richard faces as an uneducated Mexican-American man in a country and at a time in recent history that sees little value in him and does not want to offer him an opportunity to prove himself to all doubters. Jesse Garcia brings affability and passion to the role of Richard as he works effortlessly to make him a symbol of first-generation American ingenuity. As always, behind every good man there is a better woman, and Annie Gonzalez is as solid as a rock as Richard’s supportive wife Judy. While Flamin’ Hot acknowledges its onscreen version of Richard had significant help in his quest to invent Flamin' Hot Cheetos, it ignores recent media reports that call into question the real-life Richard’s role in the creation and initial marketing of the popular snack back in the early 1990s. How much of Flamin’ Hot is the truth condensed for time? How much of Flamin’ Hot is pure exaggeration? Can the allegations against Richard Flamin’ Hot be traced to a jealous corporate class trying to take credit for the ideas and the hustle of an individual blue-collar worker—one who just so happens to Mexican-American? No doubt Richard’s story will receive intense scrutiny in the weeks leading up to Flamin’ Hot’s summer premiere on Hulu. Until then, Flamin’ Hot can revel in its celebration of the Mexican-American spirit while examining the daily struggles faced by the working class. Robert Sims Posted: March 22, 2023. Web sites: https://schedule.sxsw.com/2023/films/2079241 |
|