June 17, 2024

This is another Oscar nominated film from 2023 that I missed. Flamin’ Hot received an Oscar nomination for Best Song, which was quite an accomplishment for this biopic about Richard Montañez and the beginning of the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

I will address the controversy off the top. As I was researching the film, I discovered that a report from the LA Times indicated that Richard Montañez did not have any direct involvement in the creation of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and that the film was inaccurate. I won’t lie, when I first saw this, it did affect my thoughts on the film, but, the more I thought about it, the more I let that go. This is not a documentary. I know plenty of biopics that have exaggerated or downright made things up. So the accuracy or lack thereof of Flamin’ Hot, as a movie, will not go into my consideration of the film.

And, when it comes to my consideration of the movie, I loved it very much.

This was the first time directorial feature from director Eva Longoria, well known actor from Desperate Housewives among other shows. Longoria does a tremendous job of telling this story with a very distinct voice and a humorous touch.

Some of the scenes of Richard’s narration, which remind me of Luis (Michael Pena) from Ant Man, are very funny and show how the mind works in many ways.

Jesse Garcia played Richard Montañez and he has a natural charm in doing so. You can’t be help to root for him as an underdog, looking to escape the life of crime that threatened to ruin his life.

Two distinguished actors had supporting roles in Flamin’ Hot that gave the movie even more credibility. Bennis Haysbert played Clarence Baker (whose middle name is Charisma) as one of Montañez’s co-workers, and Tony Shalhoub, the star of Monk, appeared as Roger Enrico, the CEO of Frito Lays. Both actors are excellent as always and their roles do a great job of elevating the performance of Jesse Garcia.

The tone of this movie was very light and engaging, as Richard told the story of his life. The film’s focus was on the character of Richard Montañez, not specifically on the Cheetos.

This was an easy, enjoyable watch and worth the time. It is currently streaming on Hulu and Disney +.