Flamin’ Hot, a.k.a. the Cheetos movie, is a biopic about the inventor of the titular snack food, but there are other exciting details surrounding the film than just its brand recognition. Based on the 2013 memoir A Boy, a Burrito and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive by Richard Montañez, Flamin’ Hot tells the story of the creation of Frito-Lays’ Flamin’ Hot Cheetos line of snacks. It’s a rags-to-riches tale following Montañez from his humble beginnings on the floor of a Frito-Lay factory to the executive suite. Directed by former Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria, Flamin’ Hot depicts how a culture-shifting product is created and what happens to its inventor.
PepsiCo subsidiary Frito-Lay is a massive manufacturer of corn and potato-based snack food products including Fritos, Doritos, Lay’s, Ruffles, and Cheetos. The Cheetos snack foods are a crunchy, cheese-flavored corn puff snack introduced in 1948. Frito-Lay had hit a sales slump in the 1980s, according to Montañez’s story, and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos were just the answer. The flavor has become wildly successful, even leading to some schools banning the snack for its popularity (via the L.A. Times). Flamin’ Hot may not be the whole story of the Cheetos brand, but the cast, story details, and trailer suggest it's an inspiring journey and fascinating study of the popular treat.
Flamin' Hot Movie Latest News
The latest news for Flamin’ Hot, the Cheetos movie, is that a trailer was released on May 10, 2023. This first Flamin' Hot movie trailer gives a considerable overview of the plot and, in particular, allows Jesse Garcia to shine as Richard Montañez, whose life will be shown across various points in time.
Flamin' Hot Movie Release Date
Flamin’ Hot has a unique streaming release plan for when it’s available to wide audiences. The Cheetos movie releases online on June 9, 2023, and will be available on more than just one streaming service. Unusually, and perhaps progressively, Flamin’ Hot will release on Disney Plus and Hulu simultaneously. Most movies drop on only one streaming platform, but Flamin’ Hot will be available to a wider audience with its multiple-service release plan. Disney Plus owns 66 percent of Hulu, so it’s a good pairing of services to test the release on.
The movie already premiered to a limited audience at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival on March 11, 2023. Reviews following the event have been largely positive, with Flamin’ Hot earning an initial 72% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Flamin' Hot Movie Cast
Jesse Garcia stars in Flamin' Hot as Richard Montañez, the real-life character and author of the memoir being adapted for the screen. Garcia is best known for his work in the award-winning film Quinceañera and his recurring role on Narcos: Mexico as Sal Orozco. Annie Gonzalez, who plays Richard’s wife, has a recurring role on Netflix’s Gentefied and also appears in an episode of Shameless. Playing the role of Richard’s friend Clarence Baker is Dennis Haysbert, best known for Lucifer, 24, and his Allstate commercials. Rounding out the main cast is Tony Shalhoub, of Monk and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel fame, as real-life PepsiCo CEO Roger Enrico.
The Flamin' Hot supporting cast includes Emilio Rivera as Vacho Montañez. Rivera is best known for playing one of the few characters in Sons of Anarchy and Mayans M.C., Marcus Álvarez. Matt Walsh (Veep) has been cast in an unknown role, as has Pepe Serna. The latter is most recognizable as the man in Scarface who is dismembered by a chainsaw in the famous shower scene. Bobby Soto (Narcos: Mexico), Jimmy Gonzales (Mayans M.C.), and Brice Gonzalez (Lopez vs. Lopez) have all been cast as unnamed characters while Peter Diseth from Better Call Saul plays the part of James Finley.
Flamin' Hot Movie Story Details
Flamin’ Hot follows the true story laid out in Richard Montañez’s memoir. After a young life of petty crime and troublemaking, Richard settles down with his family and gets a job as a janitor on the factory floor at Frito-Lay. When sales start to plummet for the company, the lower-level workers become in danger of losing their jobs. This threat, combined with the challenge by management for someone to come up with a new product to improve sales, inspires Richard to think bigger. His moment of revelation comes when he is eating Mexican street food with his sons, as he realizes similar spicy food could be brought to American markets.
With this idea, Richard studies and prepares to make his presentation to the executive committee. His proposal goes over extremely well, and soon Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are on shelves across the United States while Richard finds himself quickly climbing the corporate ladder at Frito-Lay. It’s a heartwarming story about taking a chance and trusting oneself. While everyone knows how the movie ends, with Richard celebrated and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos ubiquitous, the winding road to get there is a fascinating look into American corporate practices and an inspiring glimpse at one man’s efforts to achieve success.
Flamin’ Hot Movie’s Memoir May Be Embellished
As fun and inspiring as the story of Flamin’ Hot is, it has been revealed that Lynne Greenfeld, a junior employee at Frito-Lay, was actually the person responsible for creating the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Greenfeld contacted Frito-Lay in 2018 after hearing about Montañez, and after some internal research, the company released a statement stating that Montañez did not invent the snack, though they appreciated his time at the company.
Montañez has not responded to these accusations but continues to tell his story, even releasing a second memoir in 2021. At the very least, Montañez’s memory of the timeline of events is blurry. With key figures, like Enrico, long gone, the real story may never be known. The central theme of Flamin’ Hot does seem to be unequivocally true. Montañez did start off at Frito-Lay as a janitor and rose up to become a marketing executive. It’s not clear how much of a hand he had in the actual development of the product, but his arc in the company is still impressive.
Flamin' Hot Movie Trailer
The Flamin’ Hot trailer sets the tone of the Cheetos movie as a funny, silly, but ultimately good-natured story about the American Dream. Each of the main characters gets some screen time and the general story beats are shown. Garcia’s portrayal of Richard is seen at various points in time throughout his life, and the character almost never stops smiling. If there are setbacks, Richard is sure to overcome them.