Flamin’ Hot – A Grounded Underdog Story (Early Review)

There are a lot of inspiring films out there and they will continue to be made because audiences want to be inspired. Nowadays, that has meant just a little more as a growing crop of diverse filmmakers are increasingly given the freedom to tell diverse stories that are better representative of the world today. That being said, they could only be dressed up in so many ways. However, their impact is subjective as their success ultimate lies in their power to resonate with audiences. When it comes to Flamin’ Hot, while it may not bring all that new to the table, it finds plenty of emotion and heart within its inspiring real life source material in a way that is sure to resonate in spite of its familiar structure. Premiering at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, the directorial debut of actress Eva Longoria approaches it from a grounded level. While it does take liberties with a story that may or may not be true and/or an embellished true story (news articles disputing the story, here and here), captivating performances by Jesse Garcia and Annie Gonzalez create a pair of rootable characters to sell this rags to riches underdog story albeit a predictable one.

Based on Flamin’ Hot: The Incredible True Story of One Man’s Rise from Janitor to Top Executive, the autobiography by Richard Montañez, Flamin’ Hot tells the story of Montañez (Garcia), a man who claimed to have invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Overcoming a rough upbringing during a tumultuous time in American history where Hispanics were routinely marginalized, Richard learned how to survive though it wasn’t easy. Struggling to make ends meet and support himself and his family, he turned to any means necessary during a time where jobs were few and far between for Hispanics, legal or otherwise. With his childhood sweetheart Judy (Gonzalez) by his side, the two supported each other as their love for one another was their main driving force. Across the good times and the bad, they had each other and that bond held strong against everything that came their way. In the end, in order for they and their family to have a future, Richard would have to find a steady job. Possessing a life’s worth of practical experience, the odds were definitely stacked against him as the lack of a high school diploma proved to be a detriment on top of him being Hispanic.

Luckily for Richard, his (and the film’s) fortune changed for the better once he found a job as a janitor for his local Frito-Lay plant. Being on the bottom of the corporate ladder, he kept his head down and worked hard to support his family. However, he couldn’t shake his lifelong fascination with machines and how they worked. Going against the unwritten social hierarchy, his fascination ruffled some feathers. His fascination caught the attention of plant engineer Clarence C. Baker (Haysbert) for whom Richard berated with questions. The reserved engineer was reticent at first though with time, that gruff exterior slowly went away as Clarence became a mentor of sorts. A longtime yet often overlooked employee of Frito-Lay, he similarly kept his head down and focused on doing his job well and it was perhaps those parallels that eventually drew the two together. Learning the skills of the trade, he felt empowered and felt like he found his purpose as outside forces and the realities behind the changing times tried to tear him down. But through adversity comes opportunity.

Proving life support for the struggling Frito-Lay and a dwindling work force at his local plant that was only getting smaller over time, Richard remained confident in his vision of the future. He found his confidence, responding to being challenged to think like a CEO by devising a spicy seasoning blend for their current products. Working together with his whole family, watching that trial-and-error process was compelling and heartwarming. However, while creating something is one thing, acceptance is another which proved to be the bigger battle. The echoes between that battle and that of the Hispanic community as a whole are clear as all Richard wanted was for his community to be seen. A largely untapped market, his formulation had potential but not everyone was willing to embrace it, primarily because they did not know about their first entry into the market, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Combatting the lack of marketing for the product, Richard called on his community to market it themselves, guerilla style. From there, the rest was history. That success led to a promotion to the Head of Multicultural Marketing at Frito-Lay.

The best part of Flamin’ Hot was the aforementioned performances of Jesse Garcia and Annie Gonzalez as Richard and Judy Montañez. While the true story at the heart of the film may be questionable, the story here uses a familiar structure as a jumping off point but Garcia and Gonzalez make it easy to take the jump right with it. A prototypical underdog story, they give it heart with their collective likeability and relatability as many will undoubtedly see themselves in them. Garcia delivers an aspirational yet flawed performance as a man trying to do right for his family. He was strong-willed but he also had moments of doubt which made him human. Gonzalez’s Judy was as strong-willed and that energy helped her steal a fair share of scenes. However, at the end of the day, Judy loved Richard and the dynamic between she and Richard was one of the biggest highlights. And their chemistry goes a long way in making that happen.

Ultimately, Flamin’ Hot may or may not be based on a true story but nevertheless, is a heartwarming tale that excels at tapping into the emotion behind it and that’s worth something.

still courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.