SxSW Reaction: FLAMIN’ HOT – You Want Some Cheetos With That Heat?

Both Antonio and I saw the World Premiere of Searchlight Pictures’ FLAMIN HOT yesterday at SxSW Film & TV with filmmaker Eva Longoria and the entire cast & crew! Check out our reaction below.

ABOUT: “Flamin’ Hot” is the story of Richard Montañez, the Frito Lay janitor who channeled his Mexican American heritage and upbringing to turn Flamin’ Hot Cheetos into a snack that disrupted the food industry and became a global phenomenon.\

Jason’s Reaction: FLAMIN’ HOT is a very entertaining rags-to-riches story about the man who created the Flamin’ Hot variety of Lay’s snacks while he was a janitor-slash-maintenance technician working at the factory. It’s a great concept of Richard Montañez and his family coming up with a Spanish spice recipe that revolutionized the snack industry. Eva Longoria directs with such visual flair, a real knack for comedy and the performances she gets out of everyone is really something special (I am surprised she didn’t create a role for herself in this one either), right down to Tony Shalhoub, almost unrecognizable as the Frito Lay/Pepsi CEO. The real Richard (in attendance at the screening) was very much a person who stuck to his guns but also had a strong, passionate wife and family that also pushed him forward. The result of all of this made Richard a billionaire, and the whole snack community is happy for it.

Searchlight/Disney/Hulu is putting this one out later in the year and I hope it gets into theatres; I get the vibe this could be a Disney+/Star streaming movie, but after the rousing reaction this got I think it would play best to a packed audience, which is always the highlight of seeing movies at SxSW.


ANTONIO’S REACTION: Eva Longoria’s directorial debut is the Tall Tale of the man that came up with Flamin Hot Cheetos. The origin of the Flamin Cheetos has been disputed, but this was a fun story with a brilliant cast. It might not be completely historically accurate; but it was entertaining.


Leave a Reply