Flamin' Hot

 It's quite a conundrum to praise a biopic with questionable veracity. On one hand, Flamin' Hot is a funny and compelling rags-to-riches story; on the other hand, its subject's biggest claim to fame has been widely disputed. What do I do? Praise the movie, nevertheless?

I'll do that.

Linda Yvette Chávez and Lewis Colick adapted Richard Montañez's autobiography A Boy, A Burrito and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive for Eva Longoria's directorial debut. Montañez's disputed claim to fame was inventing the Flamin' Hot Cheetos while he worked as a janitor for Frito-Lay. Montañez, as played by Jesse Garcia, narrates his life story throughout its 99 minutes. It's quite a story.

As a poor boy, Richard sold burritos to his classmates. As an adult, he and his wife Judy (Annie Gonzalez) were part of a street gang. His friend, Tony (Bobby Soto), helps him get a job at a Frito-Lay plant. Richard, an aspiring machinist, learns quite a lot from engineer Clarence Baker (Dennis Haysbert). He decides to a pitch a new flavor to CEO Roger Enrico (Tony Shaloub) when Frito-Lay starts mulling layoffs. He just needs the right spicy recipe.

Garcia is quite charismatic as Richard. We're on his side whether he's an aspiring businessman or struggling family man. We feel tense for him when he argues with his abusive father, Vacho (Emilio Rivera). He and his family's flamin' hot experiments yields some hilariously tough results. He and his friends getting the product to sell by word-of-mouth alone is beyond impressive. It's still a decently compelling story whether or not it's true, and Richard is the biggest reason why. His persistent narration is as charming and funny as he is. It all pays off when he's promoted at the end.

There's a good supporting cast here. Gonzalez as Judy has great chemistry with Richard, while her proactive personality is praiseworthy. Haybert as Baker initially doesn't know what to make of Richard's boundless enthusiasm. But we see how warm a mentor he is once he comes around. I didn't recognize Shaloub until I saw his name in the credits. But his performance as Enrico is quite likable. Rivera as Vacho tries to atone - not perfectly - for his past behavior. His and Richard's still-strained relationship is perfectly tense. Matt Walsh is fine as Richard's floor-manager Lonny Mason. He seems like a reasonable authority figure, letting Richard work despite him pulling the thread on his resume, but he reveals himself as a condescending fool down the line.

Editors Liza D. Espinas and Kayla Emter let us into Richard's imagination. He beats up a racist co-worker and gag dubs a stuffy board meeting in some weirdly amusing bits. His conversing with Enrico by VHS is a good reflection of his charismatic optimism. Back in reality, his Flamin' Hot experiments are wonderfully fast paced. All in all, it’s great work. Marcelo Zarvos’s good score is kicked off by a vibrant rendition of the Searchlight Pictures theme. The soundtrack features a good selection of songs. 

A few questions and answers:

Should I see Flamin' Hot despite its inaccuracies? Yeah, it's a good crowd-pleaser with a great lead character. It moves along quite smoothly, so prepare for a good home matinee.

Any Negatives? It's a cliche plot, and it takes an hour in before the Flamin' Hotness enters the scene. But those gripes are irrelevant because the film's that likable. And again, the central story is compelling.

Where Can I see It? Disney Plus and Hulu. I saw it on the former myself. And I'm already in the mood for the titular snack. You might agree if you see it soon on either service. That's it for now.