The tension at the core of Eva Longoria’s sentimental yet superficial directorial debut Flamin’ Hot, a film that bills itself as being the true story of the man who claims to have invented “Flamin’ Hot Cheetos,” is in how we feel about the very nature of truth and whether a general honesty can be undercut by this story’s possibly specific one. In the film, the more resonant truth is that the determined Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia) is a good guy like many others in the world who ought not be defined by his lack of opportunities that would otherwise hold him and others like him back. When viewing it through this less literal lens and its occasional grappling with the broader injustices that define this country, there is more to snack on. The truth that the film frequently taps into is that America is not a pure meritocracy in the ways we are sold. More than that, every worker deserves dignity, respect, and fair wages. When Montañez begins working as a janitor at the massive company that is Frito-Lay with aspirations for more, he is given none of these. Thus, he emerges as an underdog you want to root for in a system that is stacked against him. What could be more truthful than that?
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Well, the truth is a more slippery thing in this story. Though its pointed reflections about how everyday people can get left behind in America is something it is right to center, it soon shifts into selling a narrative that approaches being an individualistic fantasy that feels too good to be true. As it turns out, it may indeed be just that. According to reporting in The Los Angeles Times, Montañez did not invent the snack as he and this film adaptation of his memoir lays out. It is an investigation worth reading just as the subsequent column by Gustavo Arellano about why frustration over the reporting is bound up in the historical erasure of accomplishments of Mexicans by white America is as well. The response to the story by Longoria makes a similar argument in defense of the movie, expressing how her debut film is bigger than one story. It is then odd that there is a moment where it vaguely acknowledges a similar snack already in existence towards the end before breezing on ahead that betrays a bit of an insecurity about the foundational truth of its narrative. Still, Longoria’s general point is well taken as, regardless of whether Montañez made the exact snack on shelves today, his experience has the potential to speak to something bigger that the film almost pulls together. Alas, even as writers Lewis Colick (October Sky) and Linda Yvette Chávez (Gentefied) bring a lot of genuine heart to the story, it doesn’t leave the impression it is striving for.

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‘Flamin’ Hot,’ While Well-Intentioned, Falls Short of Its Aspirations

Image via Searchlight Pictures

Discussing the potential embellishments that underpin this story is not done in order to diminish what it sets out to do as there is something commendable and refreshing about its approach. Seeing the reality of big business through the eyes of a working-class character on the lowest rung of the ladder brings into focus the casual indignities of day-to-day life truthfully and clearly. In one scene, just after laying off a bunch of workers, a boss diminishes Montañez under the guise of not-so-subtly saying that there are those who have bigger problems, and he should just be grateful for what he has. The narration that surrounds such moments, while occasionally clunky, makes explicit how this is merely a continuation of interpersonal and structural instances of racism that are baked into so much of the world.

That Montañez turns this on its head in the film, proudly expressing how his specific cultural background has value, makes for the type of moment where you can feel the pause being left for cheers and applause. This is one of those choices that, while it has to push back against saccharine musical compositions, effectively tugs at the heartstrings. It is alluring to imagine a world where the can-do attitude and creative passion of a single man were sufficient to always overcome the exploitative trajectory that is fundamental to the country. While movies can represent opportunities to dream and imagine such possibilities, the leaps that this work takes still end up ringing hollow at crucial turning points. The yarn it is spinning reveals how it is afraid to risk getting tangled up too much in more complicated questions and feels far neater as a result. Even the corporation of Frito-Lay itself is never really put on the spot for its exploitation of Montañez and comes out looking pretty good on the other side.

To its credit, Flamin’ Hot does attempt to carve out time to show how this journey was still not easy by any means. This is also where it finds some jokes that provide levity without undercutting the dramatic beats too much. Its humor can feel rather natural when it stems from the setbacks that Montañez must face as presented in snappy yet silly sequences like when various executives shout into phones about how he broke the chain of command. You believe that this would likely be the initial response for those who don’t toe the line and, as good comedy comes from truth, this is where it works best. At the same time, there are contrivances that begin to accumulate elsewhere until it all threatens to come falling down. There is a specific point where it calls out one such exaggeration in the triumphant moment of him walking up with his pitch he devotedly worked on with his caring yet glaringly underdeveloped wife Judy (Annie Gonzalez) in their home. In reality, there was no cinematic parting to reveal him walking forward. Instead, the truth was he awkwardly walked forward while fumbling his presentation he was holding in his arms. It is an acknowledgment of the film’s tenuous nature to truth that could have helped it transcend its narrative trappings to become something more than just the story of a single man, but it never quite gets there.

Part of a Recent Trend, ‘Flamin’ Hot’ Is a Mixed Bag

Image via Searchlight Pictures

Whether you are willing to go along with this story may depend on how you’ve responded to some other recent films that, to their skeptics, can risk being too celebratory about corporations and their products. Just look at the recent Air that, while there was a wrinkle to the narrative introduced via a Bruce Springsteen song, still felt more than a little bit self-congratulatory. The best version of these films is BlackBerry as it was willing to excavate more of the complicated realities in its story. In comparison, Flamin’ Hot feels like it is trying to package a story that should be as bold and unconventional as its real-life inspiration claims to be into a more conventional package. Even without the questions about the veracity of the story, its rah-rah style makes it feel superficial rather than sweeping. In the end, Flamin’ Hot comes across as a selling of a story and a brand rather than a genuine retelling of one.

Rating: C+

Flamin’ Hot comes to Hulu and Disney+ on June 9.