Flamin’ Hot (2023) | REVIEW

Directed by Eva Longoria — Screenplay by Lewis Colick and Linda Yvette Chavéz.

Based on Richard Montañez’s memoir titled A Boy, a Burrito and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive, Eva Longoria’s Flamin’ Hot follows Richard Montañez (played by Jesse Garcia), a Mexican American, as he gets a job as a janitor at Frito-Lay, which he hopes he can build a career from by slowly rising up the ranks. When the Frito-Lay factory where he is employed hears about the potential of significant layoffs, Richard tries to ‘think like a CEO.’ He comes up with the idea to pitch a spicy chip to Frito-Lay, which utilizes the kind of flavors that Mexican-Americans grow up with. However, when his own bosses won’t listen to him, he has to contact the CEO of PepsiCo (played by Tony Shalhoub).

Here’s the honest truth: I’ve never tried a Flamin’ Hot chip (I’m not even sure they sell them over here). That said, I do know them by their reputation. Ultimately, I pressed play on the film on a whim. A part of me surely thought it sounded like a decent film to relax to. But I will also say that I was admittedly intrigued too see it because this was apparently Eva Longoria’s narrative feature directorial debut. Now, while it isn’t exactly Citizen Kane or particularly original, I must say that I really enjoyed what Eva Longoria — best known for her time on Desperate Housewives — cooked up here. Flamin’ Hot has modest aims but with some nice touches along the way, such as the way she showcases the passing of time.

Does it get a little bit silly that there are numerous moments where characters speak in these inspirational speeches that can get a bit overwhelming eventually? Sure, but the speeches are well-intentioned, and they are delivered with a warm sincerity that ultimately made me ‘okay’ with these dialogue imperfections. I will also add that I really enjoyed how the film took a page out of Marvel’s playbook. What I mean by this is that Eva Longoria’s Flamin’ Hot makes use of the same kind of explanation-storytelling comedic trick that the first two Ant-Man films did, i.e. how we’d see Michael Peña’s character ‘Luis’ tell a story where we’d see it happening and then we’d switch to the characters that he is talking about actually speaking with his voice and move their bodies in a way that matched the enthusiasm and emotion in his voice. It’s not exactly original, and it can definitely be done too much, but I think this film gets just enough out of it without overdoing it.

You don’t have to love chips, doritos, or cheetos to enjoy this one. Though not exactly original, Eva Longoria’s Flamin’ Hot is a relatively exciting and inspirational crowd-pleasing feel-good movie firmly focused on self-realization and, simultaneously, fighting to have your culture be seen by a significant American conglomerate with a narrow and — perhaps even close-minded — focus. It is definitely more sweet than spicy but that doesn’t make it any less nice to watch.

6.5 out of 10

– Review Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.