Now on Hulu: 'Flamin' Hot' Is the Crowd-Pleasing Untrue True Story of the Creation of Flamin' Hot Cheetos

By Dustin Rowles | Film | June 7, 2023 |

By Dustin Rowles | Film | June 7, 2023 |

Eva Longoria makes her directorial debut with Flamin’ Hot, the funny, heartfelt, and crowd-pleasing story of Richard Montañez, the Mexican American janitor purportedly responsible not only for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos but the spicy snack revolution and for being a pioneer in marketing by targeting Hispanic consumers.  The film, which debuts on Hulu today, is well suited to the streamer, where I suspect it will draw decent numbers, but it’s a shame that more people will not be able to appreciate it in a huge crowd who laugh at all the right moments and occasionally get choked up at a film with a big heart worn firmly on the sleeve.

Montañez is played terrifically by Jesse Garcia (Quinceañera). He comes from an abusive home, has a troubled upbringing, and does stints in gangs selling drugs. When his wife Judy (Annie Gonzalez in adorable, full protector mode) gets pregnant, Montañez is determined to go straight for his family. He lands a job as a janitor at Frito Lay where he endeavors to learn as much as he can, particularly from a machinist named Clarence (Dennis Haysbert).

Thanks to his efforts, Montañez manages to avoid layoffs over the next decade even as the white doofuses in management overlook most of his contributions. As the lean years continue, Montañez comes up with a plan to save his factory: Spicy Cheetos. He and his wife spend months on recipes, and Montañez manages to land a phone call with the CEO (played hilariously and lovingly by Tony Shalhoub), who puts a plan to market the snacks to Hispanic communities into motion.

The film is based on Montañez’s disputed claim from his memoir A Boy, a Burrito, and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive that he invented the line of spicy snacks (Frito Lay denies the account although they agree that he did rise from janitor to marketing executive — the Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, reports that the Montañez story is urban legend).

Whatever the truth, it’s refreshing to watch a movie about an entrepreneur who is not white, did not invent an app, end up in prison, or resign in disgrace. The writing is occasionally clunky, and there is nothing subtle about Longoria’s direction. But the big swings befit the story that is essentially a tall tale, and in her first feature directing effort, Longoria proves to be an immensely adept and funny storyteller. To her credit, Longoria does also allude to the Frito Lay scientists who invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in a lab, but at least in this case, there is nothing inspiring about the truth (unless you are an aspiring Frito Lay lab scientist).