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Flamin' Hot

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This article is about the film depicting the origin of the brand. For the brand itself, see Cheetos § Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
Flamin' Hot
Promotional release poster
Directed byEva Longoria
Screenplay by
Based onA Boy, a Burrito and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive by Richard Montañez
and the life stories of Richard and Judy Montañez
Produced byDeVon Franklin
Starring
CinematographyFederico Cantini
Edited by
  • Liza D. Espinas
  • Kayla Emter
Music byMarcelo Zarvos
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • March 11, 2023 (2023-03-11) (SXSW)
  • June 9, 2023 (2023-06-09) (United States)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
Languages
  • English
  • Spanish

Flamin' Hot is a 2023 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Eva Longoria in her feature-length directorial debut. Written by Linda Yvette Chávez and Lewis Colick, it is based on the memoir A Boy, a Burrito and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive by Richard Montañez, who invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos (Disputed). The film stars Jesse Garcia, Annie Gonzalez, Dennis Haysbert, and Tony Shalhoub.

Flamin' Hot had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 11, 2023. It was released on June 9, 2023, by Hulu and Disney+ to mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

In 1966 southern California, Richard Montañez grows up as a hard working child with a strict father and supportive grandfather. He meets his future wife Judy in school where he begins selling burritos to other children. He is arrested at a young age when nobody believes that he made his money this way. As an adult, Richard and Judy live their lives as hoodlums selling drugs, but turn their life around once Judy gets pregnant with their first child. A second child later, Richard and his family begin struggling trying to make ends meet as he searches for work. He eventually turns to his friend, former hoodlum Tony Romero, who helps him get a job at Frito-Lay. Despite lying on his resumé, floor head Lonny Mason hires him.

Richard begins paying attention to all the nuances of the factory and starts pursuing engineer maintenance leader Clarence C. Baker to teach him about the machines. Despite some reluctance, Baker agrees and teaches Richard how to operate all the machinery in the factory. Unfortunately, the Reagan administration begins to severely affect low-paying jobs and Frito-Lay's stocks begin to go down. This eventually results in some of the workers getting laid off. Frito-Lay CEO Roger Enrico releases a video encouraging the workers to "think like a CEO" which inspires Richard.

After picking up his kids from school, Richard takes them out for elotes (Mexican street corn). Noticing that his youngest son Steven likes the spicy flavor, despite it bothering him, he realizes that the way to save Frito-Lay is to pitch to the Latino market. He convinces Baker and the rest of his coworkers to let him take some unflavored Cheetos home, but Judy offers that he talk to his father Vacho first about a job. Vacho ends up belittling Richard's plans, causing Judy to support Richard even more. The Montañezes work tirelessly trying to find the perfect spicy flavor for Cheetos, eventually getting the right concoction. Richard attempts to pitch his idea to Lonny, but he turns him down, forcing him to sneak in and copy Enrico's phone number.

Richard manages to get through to Enrico who, while perplexed over being called by a janitor, is intrigued to learn that he saw his video and asks that he send his flavored Cheetos. He tastes them and is immediately hooked, setting up a meeting at the factory right away. While Lonny is upset with Richard, Richard prepares himself for the pitch, finally getting the approval of his father to back him up. Richard proceeds to speak from the heart and his pitch is accepted with the Flamin' Hot Cheetos being put into production. While this results in more jobs, the new flavor is not flying off the shelves. Disappointed, Richard's children point out that there are no advertisements for the flavor. Richard returns to work and orders everyone to use their skills to sell the new flavor from the street. The tactic works and Enrico calls to ask that the factory produce an even bigger order.

While Baker gets the promotion he always desired, Richard is still a janitor, though Baker gives him some support. Lonny asks Richard to clean upstairs, only to find Enrico who tells him that he understands his struggles growing up, before revealing that he has been promoted to Director of Multicultural Marketing. Richard is applauded by all his coworkers for his success and he happily calls Judy to tell her the good news.

The end titles reveal that Richard retired from the company after 45 years and that he and Judy are still together.

Cast

Production

In August 2019, it was reported Eva Longoria would direct Flamin' Hot, a film about Richard Montañez who claimed to have invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos, with DeVon Franklin producing under his Franklin Entertainment banner and Searchlight Pictures also producing.[1]

Prior to the announcement, in April 2019, Franklin Entertainment was informed by Frito-Lay that Montañez's account of inventing Flamin' Hot Cheetos was disputed after an internal investigation had been prompted the previous year, but the producers elected to continue with the original premise.[2][3] The script received rewrites prior to shooting due to the publication of a Los Angeles Times article in May 2021 disputing Montañez's account.[4]

In May 2021, Jesse Garcia and Annie Gonzalez joined the cast of the film.[1] The film completed production in August 2021, and the cast was announced at that time.[5][6]

Historical accuracy

See also: Richard Montañez § Flamin' Hot Cheetos

Though Flamin' Hot is advertised as a true story,[7][8][9] the authenticity of Montañez's account became doubtful after the Los Angeles Times published an in-depth article scrutinizing his claim,[2] with later corroboration by NPR.[10]

Creation of Flamin' Hot Cheetos

As portrayed in the movie, Montañez claims to have been encouraged by Roger Enrico's "think like a CEO" message and invented the Flamin' Hot seasoning with his wife Judy as a DIY project, taking home unflavored Cheetos in garbage bags to experiment with when the machine broke and left them unseasoned.[11][12][13] Montañez previously stated Enrico's phone number was listed in the company directory. He called Enrico, pitching his idea for a product aimed at Latinos, and arranged a sales presentation where he handed out homemade bags sealed with a clothing iron and hand-drawn logos. The presentation and a test market in Los Angeles happened in 1991, before a nationwide release in 1992.[14][15] Reporting by the LA Times and NPR contradicts this account. Frito-Lay told the LA Times, "We value Richard’s many contributions to our company, especially his insights into Hispanic consumers, but we do not credit the creation of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos or any Flamin’ Hot products to him,”[2] NPR was told, "We do not credit the product creation to him and him alone."[10] McCormick developed the Flamin’ Hot seasoning and sent initial samples to Frito-Lay on Dec. 15, 1989. Frito-Lay filed a trademark for Flamin' Hot in June 1990[16] and started testing spicy Lay’s, Cheetos, Fritos and Bakenets in Chicago, Detroit and Houston beginning in August 1990, and Roger Enrico joined Frito-Lay at the start of 1991.[2][17][18] Lynne Greenfeld is credited with managing the team that developed Flamin' Hot Cheetos, with contributions from Fred Lindsay. According to Al Carey, a former executive at Frito-Lay, and Patti Reuff, Enrico's former assistant, Montañez pitched a similar product, but this could not have been before 1992.[2][10] Carey stated the product was approved and sold in California using seasoning from the Midwest.[10] Montañez did in fact rise from a floor-level position to marketing executive, and he was involved in pitching new products such as Flamin’ Hot Popcorn in 1993 followed by two types of Fritos — Flamin’ Hot and Lime and Chile Corn Chips.[2][19] Roberto Siewczynski, who worked with Frito-Lay as a Latino-focused consultant, clarified that events Montañez has described actually took place during the Sabrositas test market in 1994.[2]

Other details and responses

Montañez has said he was a janitor during the development of Flamin' Hot Cheetos and is portrayed as such in the movie,[14][20][21] but he had actually been a machinist operator since 1977.[2][19] The movie presents an economic downturn during Ronald Reagan's presidency leading to layoffs and prompting Enrico's message.[14] In reality, the United States experienced a recession in the early 1980s that began prior to the 1980 presidential election, followed by consistent economic growth and decreasing unemployment until July 1990.[22][23] Roger Enrico joined Frito-Lay in early 1991, two years after Reagan left office.[2][17][18] Frito-Lay cut 1800 jobs later that year.[19][24]

Clarence Baker, played by Dennis Haysbert, was based on a co-worker Montañez had at the plant. He passed away several years before production of the movie and a different name was used for the character.[8]

Montañez initially responded to the controversy by claiming he was pushed out of development before the test markets and his contributions were not documented due to his low level position at the time. He stated, “I think that [the film is] going to inspire people to do the right thing. Don’t make the mistake Montañez made. Document everything.”[15] The week of the movie's release, Variety published an article where Montañez stated, "I’ve got letters, notes, and presentations, proving their faith in me and my creation," but did not make any documentation public.[4] Co-writer Lewis Colick has stated, "I think enough of the story is true," adding, "I’ve written a lot of true stories, like October Sky. Not every single thing in the story is exactly true. I always stand behind the essence of the story."[25] Director Eva Longoria responded to criticism of the movie's accuracy, "We've always been telling Richard Montañez's story, and we're telling his truth. We weren't making a movie about the history of the Flamin' Hot Cheeto. We're telling the story of Richard Montañez."[26] She separately admitted that the scene where Montañez's coworkers clap and cheer for his promotion is "the one thing that did not happen."[27] Addressing a screening of the movie at the White House, an official speaking anonymously stated it is not a documentary, and was shown to reflect Americans of different backgrounds.[28]

Release

Flamin' Hot had its world premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW) on March 11, 2023.[29][30] It was released on both Hulu and Disney+ on June 9, 2023.[31][32] The movie was screened on the South Lawn of the White House on June 15, 2023. President Joe Biden and director Eva Longoria, a notable Democrat campaigner, delivered remarks at the event, promoting it as the first White House screening of a movie focused on Hispanic characters.[33][28]

Reception

Audience viewership

According to Whip Media's TV Time, Flamin' Hot was the 7th most streamed film across all platforms in the United States, during the week of June 11, 2023,[34] and the 9th during the week of June 16, 2023.[35] According to the streaming aggregator Reelgood, Flamin' Hot was the 10th most streamed program across all platforms in the United States, during the week of June 8, 2023,[36][37] and the 9th during the week of June 15, 2023.[38]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 122 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Flamin' Hot may have a little more than its share of empty calories, but this fun feel-good story is still a decent cinematic snack."[39] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 58 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[40]

Carlos Aguilar of Los Angeles Times said, "Flamin’ Hot turns out to be a surprisingly enjoyable crowd-pleaser. It mostly works because Garcia, Gonzalez and Longoria agree on a poignant, yet not sanctimonious approach that crystallizes the specific fortitude of mining hope from dire struggle."[41] Brian Lowry of CNN said that Eva Longoria did an "admirable job of wringing as much mileage as she can out of this underdog tale," and wrote, "Playfully presented, it’s the kind of mildly tasty cinematic snack that doesn’t exactly stick to your ribs."[42]

John Nugent of Empire gave the film a grade of 3 out of 5 stars, praised the perfomances of Jesse Garcia and Annie Gonzales, and complimented Eva Longoria's direction.[43] Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent gave Flamin' Hot a grade of 3 out of 5 stars, complimented the chemistry between Jesse Garcia and Annie Gonzales, and stated that the film " keep its audience on their toes" owing to Eva Longoria.[44]

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com wrote, "Flamin' Hot has so much to say about culture that it never gives its characters room to breathe outside the movie's 'message.' It makes for a film that doesn't seem to tell a true story as much as one that came off a product line from a Frito-Lay factory."[45] Monica Castillo, also writing for RogerEbert.com, gave the movie 2 out of 4 stars, "Overall, Flamin’ Hot is more cheesy than spicy. Its focus on the 'Si, se puede ... trabajar y ganar dinero' mantra dulls the flavors of what makes the movie enjoyable: the family at the center of Richard’s drive to survive."[46]

Accolades

Flamin' Hot received the Audience Award at the 2023 SXSW Film & TV Festival.[47][48] Eva Longoria was one of the ten directors honored during the Palm Springs International Film Festival for her contribution to the film.[49][50][51]

References

  1. ^ a b N'Duka, Amanda (August 26, 2019). "Eva Longoria To Direct Cheetos Movie Flamin' Hot For Fox Searchlight & Franklin Entertainment". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Dean, Sam (May 16, 2021). "The man who didn't invent Flamin' Hot Cheetos". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  3. ^ Kelly, Mary Louise (May 20, 2021). "Why People Are Upset About The Flamin' Hot Cheetos Story". NPR. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Vary, Adam B. (June 7, 2023). "'Flamin' Hot' Star Jesse Garcia on Why Latino Projects Don't Have 'the Luxury of Failing' and That Cheetos Controversy". Variety. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  5. ^ Davis, Clayton (August 23, 2021). "Eva Longoria's Flamin' Hot Cheetos Inventor Biopic Wraps Production (Exclusive)". Variety.
  6. ^ Patten, Dominic (March 1, 2021). "Coen Brothers, Eva Longoria & Steven Soderbergh Films Among 22 Features Allocated CA Tax Credits". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  7. ^ "FLAMIN' HOT - Press Site". press.searchlightpictures.com. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Bahr, Sarah (June 9, 2023). "Is 'Flamin' Hot' a True Story? Well … Let Us Explain". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  9. ^ Vlessing, Etan (August 26, 2019). "Eva Longoria to Direct 'Flamin' Hot' for Fox Searchlight". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d Sarah Gonzalez (May 12, 2021). "Hot Cheetos" (Podcast). Planet Money. National Public Radio. Event occurs at 0:00.
    See editor's note.
  11. ^ Elkins, Kathleen (March 27, 2018). "How Richard Montañez says he went from the factory floor to an exec at PepsiCo". CNBC. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  12. ^ Whalen, Andrew (August 27, 2019). "The True Story of the Flamin' Hot Cheetos Inventor Richard Montañez". Newsweek. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  13. ^ "The story behind the Flamin' Hot Cheetos creator is great. Eva Longoria is making it into a movie". NBC News. August 28, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  14. ^ a b c "How a janitor at Frito-Lay "invented" Flamin' Hot Cheetos". The Hustle. November 29, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  15. ^ a b Shafer, Ellise (May 16, 2021). "Disputed Flamin' Hot Cheetos Inventor Responds to Frito-Lay's Claims: 'I Was Their Greatest Ambassador'". Variety. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  16. ^ FLAMIN' HOT. United States Patent and Trademark Office.
  17. ^ a b Zellner, Wendy (August 24, 1992). "Frito Lay Is Munching On The Competition". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Physicist, Activist, PepsiCo CEO to Speak at Yale". YaleNews. March 5, 1999. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  19. ^ a b c Hage, David; Grant, Linda (December 6, 1993). "How to make America work - Crunching rivals with resourceful workers". U.S. News & World Report. p. 52. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  20. ^ Andrews, Travis M. (March 4, 2018). "From PepsiCo janitor to exec — powered by spicy Cheetos and entrepreneurship". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  21. ^ Gibson, Lydialyle (September 27, 2018). "No Such Thing as Just a Janitor". Harvard Magazine. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  22. ^ "US Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions". National Bureau of Economic Research | NBER. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  23. ^ "13". Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1999 (PDF) (Report) (119th ed.). United States Census Bureau. December 9, 1999. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  24. ^ Krishnan, Harihar (September 16, 1991). "Frito-Lay to cut 1,800; parent PepsiCo to take $100 million charge - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  25. ^ Maddaus, Gene (May 18, 2021). "'Flamin' Hot' Screenwriter Defends Cheetos Movie: 'Enough of the Story Is True'". Variety. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  26. ^ Machado, Yolanda (June 9, 2023). "Eva Longoria addresses the 'Flamin' Hot' controversy". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  27. ^ Avila, Pamela (June 10, 2023). "Fact checking Eva Longoria's 'Flamin' Hot' movie: Who really invented spicy Cheetos?". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  28. ^ a b "US President Joe Biden hosts actress Eva Longoria at the White House for special Flamin' Hot screening". WION. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  29. ^ "Flamin' Hot Schedule". SXSW. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  30. ^ Vary, Adam B. (March 11, 2023). "'Flamin' Hot' Director Eva Longoria Brings Authenticity — and Avoids Controversy — at SXSW Premiere". Variety. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  31. ^ Jordon, Julie. "Flamin' Hot Sneak Peek: Eva Longoria Directs Her First Feature Film—a Feel-Good Rags to Riches Story". People. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  32. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 20, 2023). "Eva Longoria's 'Flamin' Hot' Is First Feature To Hit Both Hulu & Disney+ In Streaming Debut". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  33. ^ Kanno-Youngs, Zolan (June 15, 2023). "'Flamin' Hot': Biden Hosts Screening of the (Kind of) True Story of the Spicy Chip". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  34. ^ Prange, Stephanie (June 13, 2023). "'Avatar 2,' 'Manifest' Top Weekly Whip U.S. Streaming Charts". Media Play News. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  35. ^ Prange, Stephanie (June 21, 2023). "'Black Mirror,' 'Avatar 2' Top Weekly Whip U.S. Streaming Charts". Media Play News. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  36. ^ Gruenwedel, Erik (June 16, 2023). "Reelgood: Apple TV+ Sci-Fi Series 'Silo' Posts Fifth Consecutive Week Among Top 10". Media Play News. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  37. ^ Griffith, Eric (June 16, 2023). "Must Watch: The Most Streamed TV Shows and Movies This Week". PCMag UK. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  38. ^ Gruenwedel, Erik (June 23, 2023). "Netflix's 'Black Mirror' Tops Reelgood Weekly Streaming Chart". Media Play News. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  39. ^ "Flamin' Hot". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  40. ^ "Flamin' Hot". Metacritic. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  41. ^ Aguilar, Carlos (June 9, 2023). "Review: 'Flamin' Hot' entertainingly prints the legend". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  42. ^ Lowry, Brian (June 9, 2023). "'Flamin' Hot' tells a chips-to-riches story in Eva Longoria's feature directing debut". CNN. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  43. ^ Nugent, John (June 12, 2023). "Flamin' Hot". Empire. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  44. ^ Loughrey, Clarisse (June 8, 2023). "No one needed a Cheetos origin story, but Flamin' Hot still charms – review". The Independent. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  45. ^ Tallerico, Brian. "SXSW 2023: Bottoms, Self Reliance, Flamin' Hot | Festivals & Awards | Roger Ebert". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  46. ^ Castillo, Monica. "Flamin' Hot". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  47. ^ Hipes, Patrick (March 20, 2023). "'Flamin' Hot', 'Mustache', 'The Luckiest Guy In The World' Among SXSW Audience Award Winners". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  48. ^ Kay, Jeremy (March 20, 2023). "'Flamin' Hot' among SXSW audience winners, will get unprecedented streaming bow". Screen Daily. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  49. ^ Debruge, Peter (November 28, 2022). "Variety Announces 10 Directors to Watch for 2023". Variety. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  50. ^ "Variety Hosts Ten Directors to Watch and Creative Impact Awards Brunch | Festivals & Awards | Roger Ebert". RogerEbert. January 6, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  51. ^ Sasic, Ema (November 29, 2022). "Variety announces 10 Directors to Watch for 2023, Palm Springs film fest to honor them". The Desert Sun. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
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