Flamin’ Hot (2023) Review
It’s strange to live in a world where corporations have become the new target for biopics. Only a few years ago, we were given biopics about famous people or famous events, but now those have disappeared as people crave the capitalist fantasy of working for a company that cares about you. Spearheaded by The Social Network (2010), a film which actively criticizes its subject, these commercials (lets just call it what it is) showcase a product, a workplace, and a philosophy which is inviting to everyone. Air (2023), Tetris (2023), and the newly announced Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story (announced for 2024) are three such examples which have sprung forth from the minds of PR attorneys across the United States. Flamin’ Hot seems to be one such example, but unfortunately there’s a little more to this story.
While Flamin’ Hot was in production an L.A. Times article was released making the claim that everything Richard Montañez, the film’s subject, said about his involvement in the creation of the snack is false. In fact, Frito-Lay informed the production in 2019 about the false statements made by Montañez, which goes to show you how long it takes to film something that looks like a washed out Saturday Night Live skit. The L.A. Times article isn’t even new; it was originally published in May, 2021. This makes it the second Oscar nominee this year to fall for somebody’s lies (see my review of NYAD (2023) for the other). Regardless of the fraudulent nature of the film, as the L.A. Times article asserts, there is a story here about somebody who worked very hard to go from janitor to executive of an international company, but this isn’t the story of the film.
The film itself is smeared with the dust of disinterest in its own subject matter. Montañez is nothing more than a regular guy, but his fiery passion for working hard and his salesmanship makes him stand out to his the bosses at Frito-Lay. It’s simple, but an effective story if told correctly. However, this concept is tired, forced, and ultimately uninteresting. The acting is exceptionally average with halfhearted attempts to win the audience through pity rather than anything greater. People are not interested in something like this. What separated other corporate biopics is the passion that people have (or had) for these products as a memorable part of their life or childhood. People are passionate about Air Jordans (Air), BlackBerry phones (BlackBerry), the Oakland A’s (Moneyball), and the 24 Hours of Le Mans (Ford v Ferrari). I’ve never met anyone who holds the slightest bit of nostalgia for a snack food.
