Hulu's Flamin' Hot movie eventually becomes an inspirational origin story about a self-made, 1st generation Mexican American millionaire who rebranded a popular snack line. But the map to getting there is long and labor-intensive as the viewer must sit through a primitive style of storytelling that's replete with exposition, weak gags and exaggerated tropes that lampoon authentic Mexican culture.
The score is over-bearing and the sound mix is too loud during major plot points. "The Cisco Kid" by War was licensed and situated at the perfect mark in the story. I think the filmmakers should've licensed more popular songs like it to punctuate the era and story's timeline even more.
Jesse Garcia is perfectly cast as Richard Montanez, a reformed miscreant-turned-family man whose resilience is eventually rewarded with a C-suite at Frito Lay.
Annie Gonzalez who plays Richard's wife, Judy, delivers a grounding performance as his anchor and muse, making sure he isn't his own diversion.
Rounding out the cast are Dennis Haysbert, Tony Shalhoub and Matt Walsh who meet the requirements of any given biopic---oppositional characters micromanaging the protagonist to ensure the journey to his ultimate goal is challenging long enough for the payoff to be emotional. It's very systematic in that way.
All in all, Flamin' Hot has major issues as it relates to the filmmaking, in style and tone, but by the end of it, you will have rooted for the underdog, Richard Montanez.
The score is over-bearing and the sound mix is too loud during major plot points. "The Cisco Kid" by War was licensed and situated at the perfect mark in the story. I think the filmmakers should've licensed more popular songs like it to punctuate the era and story's timeline even more.
Jesse Garcia is perfectly cast as Richard Montanez, a reformed miscreant-turned-family man whose resilience is eventually rewarded with a C-suite at Frito Lay.
Annie Gonzalez who plays Richard's wife, Judy, delivers a grounding performance as his anchor and muse, making sure he isn't his own diversion.
Rounding out the cast are Dennis Haysbert, Tony Shalhoub and Matt Walsh who meet the requirements of any given biopic---oppositional characters micromanaging the protagonist to ensure the journey to his ultimate goal is challenging long enough for the payoff to be emotional. It's very systematic in that way.
All in all, Flamin' Hot has major issues as it relates to the filmmaking, in style and tone, but by the end of it, you will have rooted for the underdog, Richard Montanez.