Subscribe
Follow Us
One month ahead of its release on Hulu and Disney+, Searchlight Pictures has dropped the trailer for its upcoming biopic on Richard Montañez, the creator of snack sensation Flamin' Hot Cheetos. The pic is the feature directorial debut of Eva Longoria, and boasts an impressive cast led by Jesse Garcia, and including Dennis Haysbert, Emilio Rivera, Tony Shalhoub and Matt Walsh.
The film appears to fit the Disney mold of being a sweet underdog story — showcasing Montañez as a rags-to-riches Frito-Lay janitor turned inventor of the spicy snack craze — while also expanding the genre into fresh, quirky territory in its specificity. The trailer description describes the movie as “the inspiring true story of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), the Frito Lay janitor who channeled his Mexican American heritage and upbringing to turn the iconic Flamin’ Hot Cheetos into a snack that disrupted the food industry and became a global pop culture phenomenon.”
As Montañez proudly puts it through voice over, “I’m the guy who helped bring the world the most popular snack it’s ever seen.”
Maybe that's overstating it a bit, but the line feels well within Montañez's character, and there's no doubt the pain-inducing treat has been a fiery sensation on snack shelves ever since its release. As Montañez' son tells him after a tense taste test, “it burns good!”
The chip has also clearly had a cultural impact in the Mexican American community. In one scene, Montañez practices his pitch that “the Hispanic market will not be ignored!” Later, he punctuates his presentation to a roomful of executives by saying “If we knew there was a product out there for us, we’d say, ‘Take all our money, cabrones!'” Then, after a pause, he admits, “I got a little ‘hood there at the end, but …”
All of these factors undoubtedly made Flamin' Hot an enticing directorial debut for Eva Longoria, and the trailer makes the film look almost as delectable as the snack itself.
