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Bonus: Flamin’ Hot Review

03 October 2023

Runtime: 00:34:36

The trio discuss what they think the Flamin' Hot movie might be about, and then watch the film and review it.

References

Corrections

When Thomas listed the hot sauces at Montañez dinner table, he misidentified “Valentina” as “Valencia.”

Transcript

[Intro music begins]

[Thomas]
I did think in that scene, though, when he turns around and everybody’s clapping, I was like, who’s running the factory where they need 5 million crates of this a day? Like, get back to work. You’re costing the company money.

[Intro music]

[Thomas]
Hey there, story fans. Welcome to a special bonus episode of Almost Plausible. I’m Thomas J. Brown. And of course, I’m joined by Emily-

[Emily]
Hey, guys.

[Thomas]
And F. Paul Shepard.

[Shep]
Happy to be here.

[Thomas]
As you know, the premise of our show is taking some ordinary object and creating a movie plot based on that object. It’s something that Hollywood does every once in a while. So when we heard there was going to be a Flamin’ Hot Cheetos movie, we were immediately interested. And none us has watched the movie yet, but we’re about to, and we wanted you to come along on that journey with us. Our plan is to have a quick discussion about what we anticipate, and then we’ll take a break and each go watch the film. Now, if you haven’t seen the movie yet, that’s the perfect opportunity for you to pause the show and see it yourself. If you have already watched the film, then you’ll be able to jump right into the second part of this episode. So, Emily, Shep, how much do you know about this movie already?

[Emily]
Well, I have seen the trailer. I was the one who brought it to your attention.

[Thomas]
Yes.

[Emily]
And I’m excited because it’s Flamin’ Hot Cheetos movie, which I think looks hilarious. And Tony Shalhoub’s in it.

[Thomas]
Well, that’s fantastic. That’s more than I knew.

[Shep]
So Tony Shalhoub is the only thing I know about it, and that’s what sold me immediately because I love him deeply.

[Thomas]
Right.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
He’s great. The only thing I know about is it’s about Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. And I’ve seen the movie poster, and I’ve seen that, like, one still image on all the streaming things of the dude who’s, like, a working class, Hispanic looking guy, and he’s, like, holding a bag of chips, and he’s sort of, like, coyly looking over his shoulder. It’s like a still frame from the movie, I assume. That’s all I know about it.

[Shep]
Oh, yeah. I have Hulu open right now, and it’s him in the store.

[Thomas]
Yeah. So I guess it’s not what we do where we create sort of a fictional story about an object. It is a biopic about this guy?

[Emily]
Yes. Yeah. It’s a biopic about how he came up with the idea of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and sold it to Lays and how he convinced them to do a- How much can I give away from the preview before we watch this? How much do you guys want to know?

[Shep]
Nothing.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
Okay,

[Shep]
Hold it, hold it.

[Thomas]
Less is, less is more.

[Emily]
Then I’m going to stop because the preview tells you the basics.

[Thomas]
Okay. Yeah.

[Emily]
So yeah.

[Thomas]
All right, so we know it’s a biopic about this guy. What do we think is going to happen? I mean, obviously he invents Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, or he comes up with the idea for it or something? Sort of already interesting to hear that it’s not just, like, something somebody at the company came up with. It’s just something some guy came up with who doesn’t work for the company, maybe? Or-

[Shep]
Is he a scientist?

[Thomas]
Right.

[Shep]
Like, he’s in a lab with- Getting the mixture just right.

[Thomas]
He’s just the janitor. He sweeps up and he’s like all the d- Is he the janitor? Did I get it right?

[Emily]
I will say nothing.

[Thomas]
Oh, my god. That’s funny.

[Emily]
I am hoping it’s gonna be- I love biopics. I do. I don’t care if they’re wildly false. I still love them. And I’m hoping for one of those heartwarming biopics, you know, like Tucker (The Man and His Dream, because I loved Tucker as a kid, which is I’m probably the only person in the world who still remembers that movie.

[Shep]
Wasn’t that depressing? Didn’t he, like, lose everything? Is that-

[Emily]
Well, no.

[Shep]
This is the heartwarming. Am I misremembering?

[Emily]
Did he lose everything? I think I might not remember the ending because I’m trying to think of heartwarming ones where they’re good biopics.

[Shep]
Your parents just turned it off before the last 15 minutes.

[Emily]
Yeah, yeah. It’s that what- Phoebe and the Old Yeller and Friends.

[Shep]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Shep]
Yes.

[Emily]
I do really love The Greatest Showman.

[Thomas]
That’s based off of I mean, like, actually based off of his life?

[Emily]
Vaguely.

[Thomas]
Okay, loose, very loosely.

[Emily]
Very loosely.

[Thomas]
Very, very loosely.

[Emily]
It does not address any of the horrors that he bestowed upon humanity.

[Thomas]
Right. Yeah.

[Emily]
It’s a fairy tale.

[Thomas]
It seems that way. Yeah. Cantinflas. It’s another one that’s fairytale-esque, maybe a little more grounded. I wonder how true to life this will end up being.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
Well, I’m ready with my Flamin’ Hot Cheetos here. Do you guys have some Flamin’ Hot Cheetos?

[Emily]
I did go to the store, and as soon as I pulled out of the parking lot, I was like, “Oh, I forgot the Cheetos.” I have regular Cheetos and I have chili pepper, so-

[Thomas]
There you go.

[Shep]
I got the Flamin’ Hot Mix, which is Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Crunchy and Puff, Flamin’ Hot Chester’s Fries, Flamin’ Hot Fritos and Flamin’ Hot Nacho Doritos.

[Thomas]
Oh, my goodness.

[Emily]
Oh.

[Shep]
Yes.

[Thomas]
I had Flamin’ Hot Ruffles or something the other day. The sour cream and… no, no, the… yeah, the Sour Cream and Cheddar or whatever. And Flamin’ Hot. There was a lot going on there.

[Emily]
That’s a lot. That’s a lot in one chip.

[Thomas]
All right, well, I haven’t had a Flamin’ Hot Cheeto in a long time, so I’m going to have one and see.

[Emily]
I haven’t had one in ages. And I was looking forward to it, knowing it would burn my mouth.

[Shep]
I thought that you were going to come by today.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Shep]
That’s why I got this. It’s enough to share. This is two of each.

[Emily]
That was the original plan. But I ended up having to visit a friend yesterday who was going through something rough.

[Thomas]
They’re pretty good.

[Shep]
So I had not had Flamin’ Hot Cheetos before this came up, and I love them.

[Thomas]
Yeah, these are good.

[Emily]
They’re fantastic.

[Shep]
They’re so good. It’s a shame that they’re not sponsoring this episode.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
I know.

[Shep]
I’m so addicted to them to the point where it’s like eating away at my mouth. Like when you’re a kid and you eat the sour worms or whatever, to the point. Like, the inner lining of your cheek just melts off and your skin falls off. That’s what it’s like, because I can’t stop eating them.

[Thomas]
I haven’t had these in a really long time. I wasn’t sure what to expect based off of those Flamin’ Hot Ruffles or whatever, because those were just sort of like too many competing flavors. It was a lot going on.

[Emily]
Yeah. That’s a lot of flavor.

[Thomas]
No, these are fantastic. Great texture.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
They taste like Cheetos, and they’re a bit spicy, but without being that type of spice that just destroys your taste buds and you can’t taste anymore, which I like that sometimes.

[Emily]
Right.

[Thomas]
But I also love the way that Cheetos taste. So, yeah, it’s good.

[Shep]
Yes.

[Thomas]
You get spice and that Cheeto flavor. I see Shep is eating his Cheetos with chopsticks, which is the same way that I eat them.

[Shep]
Keep the fingers clean.

[Thomas]
Yep.

[Emily]
Have you seen they make the special ring specifically for Cheetos?

[Thomas]
Yes.

[Shep]
Ah.

[Thomas]
My mom told me about that. I think she watched Shark Tank and they were on or something.

[Emily]
I saw somebody using them the other day and I was like, “Oh…”

[Thomas]
Gosh. All right, well, it sounds like we’re ready to watch the film, so we’re going to stop recording and go do that. As I said before, if you haven’t seen the movie yet, stop this episode during the break and go watch it yourself before you continue. If you’ve already seen the film, then just keep listening to hear our reactions and what we thought about it. All right, I’m going to grab my bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and go watch the movie. We’ll see you back here afterward.

[Movie Break]

[Thomas]
Well, we are back from having watched the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos movie. And just as a final warning for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. We are about to discuss the film, so there will be spoilers inasmuch as that’s possible in a biopic. So this is your last chance to pause the episode before it happens. Okay, everyone ready?

[Shep]
I can’t believe he died at the end.

[Thomas]
Ha ha.

[Emily]
It was so devastating.

[Shep]
What a twist.

[Thomas]
Amazing.

[Emily]
That explosion, man.

[Thomas]
Yes.

[Shep]
That’s why it was Flamin’ Hot.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
I’m amazed that they still have a little bit of his ashes to include in every bag.

[Emily]
Right? It’s so great.

[Thomas]
That’s-

[Emily]
Every Flamin’ Hot Cheeto is a little bit Richard Montañez.

[Thomas]
In all seriousness, though, what did you guys think about the movie?

[Emily]
I enjoyed it greatly, but I’m very easy to please, I know this. But I did. I thought it was- they did it in a really fun way.

[Shep]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
Yeah, I thought it took something that could easily be very dry and made it fun and approachable.

[Shep]
Now, I famously do not like almost anything-

[Thomas]
Right.

[Shep]
And I loved this movie, and it’s like it’s schmaltzy glurge.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Shep]
Like, it’s a feel-good nonsense, and I loved it.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Shep]
Now, I may be high because I’ve eaten many bags of Flamin’ Hot. I tried one of every of the, in the variety pack. Every type of Flamin’ Hot.

[Thomas]
Oh, my god. Okay, what’s the winner, then, of those?

[Shep]
Oh, Flamin’ Hot Crunchy Cheetos. That’s by far the best.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Shep]
The Fritos are also really good, and the rest are just okay.

[Emily]
I will say, I like how in the movie, he initially is like, “Will you do it on Cheetos, Doritos-“

[Shep]
“Popcorn.”

[Emily]
He’s like, naming all the products that they now have Flamin’ Hot.

[Shep]
Right.

[Thomas]
Right.

[Emily]
But everyone it’s still always the Cheeto. The Cheeto is the big one because it’s the best.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Shep]
Yep.

[Thomas]
And I think it’s funny how in the movie, they really play down Cheetos.

[Emily]
Right.

[Thomas]
It’s like the last one he lists, he’s like, oh, it’s almost like an afterthought. “I guess we could put it on Cheetos if that’s, like, a thing people want.”

[Emily]
But it’s clear that they work in the Cheeto factory in California.

[Thomas]
Right? Yeah.

[Emily]
I mean, you see other chips occasionally, but you only really ever see the Cheetos in the tumblers.

[Thomas]
Right. They really focus on that futuristic looking tube in the background that distributes all the Cheetos out to the bags.

[Emily]
Right?

[Thomas]
Yeah. No, this movie was tons of fun. Literally, the first note I wrote down was “Fun intro”. I liked the graphics and the music, and already, like, okay. I’m in a good mood. This is fun and exciting and upbeat. I actually think it sets the tone really well for what’s about to come.

[Shep]
Yeah. I had to turn on subtitles because I thought I couldn’t hear what he was saying, and then it turned out he’s just speaking Spanish.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
Okay. So that thought this was weird. I always like it when people are speaking in Spanish and it’s subtitled in English because I know just enough Spanish to sometimes catch when things aren’t subtitled correctly.

[Emily]
Right.

[Thomas]
Or, like, they’ll have said something different and the meaning is slightly different. But what struck me in this movie was, like, parts where certain things were that definitely didn’t need to be. Like, when the priest comes in, he goes, “Exacto.” Yes. We all know that means exactly. There was no mystery there. But then later, when the dad says “Por favor, mijo,” like, “Please, my son,” but they didn’t subtitle it, and I’m like-

[Shep]
Yes, and it’s not subtitled!

[Emily]
It’s not subtitled.

[Shep]
It just says, “Speaking Spanish.” What? Even I understood that.

[Emily]
Everybody knows “Por favor, mijo,” but not everybody knows “Exacto.”

[Thomas]
Yeah, I just thought that was weird. Like, that was more and something that could potentially be confusing. They didn’t bother to subtitle it. I was like, weird. Weird.

[Emily]
I have to say, from the opening the script just shown for me from the line “Looking like Sean Connery dipped in Abuelita chocolate.”

[Thomas]
Yeah. Yes.

[Emily]
I was, yes. Yes, I’m sold.

[Thomas]
I loved that as well. That got me. You know, one of the things I really liked is that they don’t shy away from his criminal past.

[Emily]
Yeah. I did make a note that, like, part of me is like, no, I love it. I love that he embraced that. That was who he was.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
It’s not who he is now, but it was part of his past and it’s okay, but then part of me is like but he’s still getting drug dealers to help distribute Cheetos?

[Thomas]
Right.

[Emily]
Like, am I supposed to be like Yay, or am I supposed to be like Yay? But they made them the gangsters with a heart of gold because they were all doing it for legitimate reasons.

[Thomas]
Yeah. I like when they’re handing out the things, he’s like, “I told you, only one bag per person.”

[Shep]
The first one is free, the next you have to pay for.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
Right, exactly.

[Emily]
MMM.

[Thomas]
I love they had that line like, “You got to pay after this.” That was funny.

[Shep]
Yeah. And he’s slinging drugs because his mom has cancer, and in America, we don’t have health care, so what are the options?

[Thomas]
Yeah. Right.

[Emily]
I mean, none of that is inaccurate.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
He’s a poor Latino. What are his options?

[Thomas]
I also didn’t expect such an unflinching look at racism in the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos movie.

[Emily]
Right.

[Thomas]
We keep calling it the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos movie. It is just the Flamin’ Hot movie.

[Emily]
It’s just called Flamin’ Hot.

[Thomas]
I suppose it’s about the flavor, not about Cheetos specifically. But I guess that’s one of the things, like, especially at the end when they show you all the different products, I was like, oh, yeah, I guess Flamin’ Hot does kind of like I always just think of that as Cheetos.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
Like, when you say Flamin’ Hot, my brain just auto fills Cheetos.

[Shep]
Right. It’s the best one.

[Thomas]
It really is.

[Emily]
It is.

[Thomas]
I was also pleased that they talked early on about Mexicans being hardworking

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
Because there’s that perception in this country that Mexicans are lazy, and that has never been my experience.

[Emily]
I have never met a lazy Mexican, ever.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Shep]
What is that based on?

[Thomas]
I know. I think it’s based on Mexicans relaxing after working really hard.

[Emily]
Yeah. After a really hard day’s work, you know, they get up at four in the morning and do the job.

[Thomas]
Right.

[Emily]
So by two, they’re fucking tired. So they’re taking a siesta.

[Thomas]
Honestly, I think that’s a really good point, that oftentimes they work hours that, frankly, white people don’t want to work.

[Emily]
Right.

[Thomas]
And so they’ll take those jobs, but that means that their work ends earlier because they got up earlier. And so yeah, their day is already done. And so maybe that’s part of where that perception comes from is like, “Hey, I just got off of work, and they’re already, like, sitting around having beers.” Yeah, because they got off of work hours ago.

[Emily]
Oh, yeah. They’re out and about during the day because they work overnight.

[Thomas]
Right. Or whatever it is. But yeah. No, I have never seen lazy Mexicans. That’s not been my experience ever. So I’ve always wondered about that stereotype. It’s probably also another one of those lies that racists tell to be racist.

[Emily]
Absolutely. Because if they were lazy, who would be bringing in the crops for all those years?

[Thomas]
Right. That’s hard work, man.

[Emily]
My mom did it for one summer in Pasco to earn some extra money, and she was like “It was the most exhausting thing. And I didn’t even get a quarter of what the migrant workers were getting.”

[Thomas]
Yeah. Shep, you mentioned earlier about a line that caused you to laugh out loud.

[Shep]
Oh, yeah. “Hey. What’s the ‘C’ four? What’s the ‘C’ stand for?”

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Shep]
And Dennis Haysbert’s like “Charisma.” I like Dennis Haysbert so much.

[Emily]
Oh, he was so good at it.

[Shep]
Do you ever watch Now and Again? I think was the name of the show. It’s about he is a scientist, and he puts John Goodman’s brain in a young guy’s body. You guys know what I’m talking about?

[Thomas]
No.

[Shep]
That was my introduction to Denis Haysbert.

[Emily]
Wow.

[Shep]
So every time I see him on, you know, 24 or insurance commercials, it’s like, oh, it’s the guy from Now and Again, a show that went, like, one season and no one remembers.

[Thomas]
The line for me that got me to laugh out loud was when the one dude says, “What’s the worst you could do? Break a mop?” And he very quickly goes, “But I won’t.”

[Emily]
The little kid, the youngest son.

[Shep]
Oh, yeah.

[Emily]
Oh, my god, I want to put him in my pocket and I want to carry him everywhere. He was the cutest thing in the world.

[Shep]
“I like it. It burns good.”

[Emily]
“It burns.” Good goofy face. When he’s going down the soccer field. He’s like, hitting on the girl.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
It’s so cute. I love him so much.

[Thomas]
He had, like, the little pointing and everything.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
Yeah, it was funny. He was cute. Emily, you talked earlier, too, about some of the tone and how things were presented, and I feel like those fantasy sequences were so good. They were so funny.

[Emily]
I like the idea that he tried to make the corporate room relate to his vision of what he knows bosses are like on the streets.

[Thomas]
Right.

[Emily]
He’s not really wrong. I mean, that’s basically what they’re doing. Just in very polite white man speak. I really liked everything. I liked how they kept doing. like, “There’s food at the house. There’s food at the house.”

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
Like, what person from that time frame never heard that phrase?

[Thomas]
Right.

[Emily]
Like, “No, there’s food at the house.”

[Thomas]
Could we talk about the burritos at the beginning? That like the kids- holy shit, those burritos look good. I wanted one so bad.

[Shep]
Should have planned ahead like Emily.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Shep]
Emily was having burritos while she watched.

[Emily]
I did have a burrito while I watched.

[Shep]
Smart.

[Thomas]
Man.

[Shep]
I didn’t think about it. Oh, man. I, see, I didn’t know she watched the trailer, so I didn’t know.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
I actually didn’t know about the burrito piece. I just really wanted a burrito tonight.

[Thomas]
I’m actually curious. Emily, after having watched the film, how much does the trailer do you think sell the film? Accurately? Inaccurately? Tell too much?

[Emily]
It doesn’t tell too much, actually, at all. I think it tells you just enough to know this is the story of, like, a janitor going from janitor to creating this product. And then it kind of presented some scenes in a different way to where you’re like, “Oh, okay.” There was, like, way more between this part and this part, but, yeah, I think it really set the tone, for sure, with that comedy and the commentary in the background and stuff.

[Shep]
Was this a rom-com?

[Emily]
Doesn’t it feel like it or is it just because we’re in love with Tony Shalhoub?

[Thomas]
It’s like him and the company… are the partners.

[Shep]
I mean, there was a lot of romance between him and Judy.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
Yeah, I liked that. I liked that they showed this strong relationship between them.

[Thomas]
One that obviously was a big thing, considering they’d been together for 40 something years and yeah.

[Emily]
I know.

[Thomas]
So that was, I think, accurately reflected or well reflected in the film and brought in in a way that wasn’t like it didn’t feel forced, at any rate.

[Emily]
Yeah. I thought the whole storyline with the father, too, was really poignant.

[Thomas]
MMM.

[Emily]
I mean, I hope that that’s fairly accurate. That yeah, sometimes guys are assholes when they’re drinkers and then they stop drinking and they slowly stop being assholes. It is a slow process, though, from my experience. But having had an uncle who went from drinking to God, I could relate to that.

[Thomas]
Yeah. The movie was more religious than I was expecting.

[Shep]
Oh, yeah.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Shep]
That’s one of my notes, is, I did not expect so much religion in Flamin’ Hot.

[Emily]
That does explain that one poster of him, like, the Creation of Man style with the Cheeto in his finger.

[Shep]
Right. Yes.

[Thomas]
Yes, that’s true.

[Shep]
Yeah. I should have got it from the poster. I guess.

[Emily]
Does Tony Shalhoub read audiobooks? Because I just love his voice. I mean, I just was like “Just you talk through the whole movie.”

[Thomas]
It was his voice that finally clicked for me. I was like, I didn’t recognize him until he spoke.

[Shep]
What?

[Thomas]
And then I was like, oh, it’s Tony Shalhoub.

[Shep]
Oh, man.

[Emily]
I mean, the hairpiece is fantastic.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Shep]
Yes. I loved it. The very beginning when he’s in the magazine, I’m like, “Oh, Tony Shalhoub is here. Yay!” And it’s like, you don’t see him actually in the movie for 30 more minutes. It’s like, “Oh, man, they got my hopes up.”

[Thomas]
Hair was a big thing in this movie. Lots of different-

[Emily]
Such a big thing.

[Thomas]
Interesting hairstyles.

[Emily]
Tony, the one guy that got him the job at the Factory.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Shep]
Yeah. We know who Tony is.

[Emily]
I was- okay. That hit my early 90s, like, gangster-with-a-heart-of-gold fantasy right on the head, where it’s like, “Oh, he’s just troubled. I could fix him,” kind of thing. And then when he comes back and he’s got that hair that, like, glued down gelled hair, I’m like, “Yeah, he was hot shit.”

[Thomas]
Right. Yeah.

[Shep]
I like that Richard had basically the same facial hairstyle, except over time, it would get thicker or thinner to show that time had passed.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Shep]
Like, that’s a nice little detail.

[Thomas]
There were a lot of nice little details. Like when Enrico calls him after eating the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and his fingers are red.

[Shep]
Oh, yeah.

[Emily]
Oh, yeah.

[Shep]
It’s got the dust.

[Emily]
They’re covered in the dust.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
I loved that.

[Thomas]
It’s like he hasn’t even had time to wipe his fingers off. He’s got to call him so quickly.

[Emily]
I liked how he was like, “Give me water.” But he’s still eating them.

[Shep]
Yes.

[Thomas]
But he pops the rest of them in his mouth. Yeah.

[Emily]
Because they’re addictive.

[Shep]
They’re so good. Speaking of good scenes, I really like the Reagan years scene, where you see the different years on boxes and stuff in the background and things are moving around and as people are walking, like, behind pillars and behind things, they’re disappearing to indicate that they’ve been laid off.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Shep]
Like, that was a really good sequence.

[Thomas]
Yes. Agree.

[Emily]
One criticism.

[Shep]
Oh, no.

[Thomas]
Okay. I have one as well.

[Emily]
It’s so stupid because I always pick up on the stupidest one. Okay, so when they wheel the TV into the cafeteria, that TV is not from 1992.

[Shep]
Yeah.

[Emily]
That is a 1998 or later television set because it is a flat screen and it has the three things in the front of it.

[Thomas]
RCA.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
No, that is not that old of a TV. You used the wrong TV.

[Thomas]
It’s funny because I wondered whether that blue screen that comes up from the VCR, that felt not quite of that time to me. I think you still would have had snow at that point, but maybe not.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Shep]
Oh, yeah.

[Thomas]
I’m not sure. I don’t remember that time period well enough.

[Shep]
Well, this explains the 6.9 rating on IMDb.

[Emily]
Is that TV?

[Shep]
Because I thought the movie was great, but the anachronisms, forget about it.

[Emily]
I did, too. Yeah.

[Shep]
One star.

[Emily]
Also, just because I’m a woman and I have to bring this up, Eva Longoria directed this?!

[Thomas]
Right?

[Shep]
Yeah.

[Emily]
I’m so like good job, Eva. That was amazing.

[Shep]
I only know her from Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and she was only in like one or two or three or four episodes.

[Emily]
She was in Desperate Housewives. She’s married to some really hot dude.

[Shep]
Yeah I don’t watch Desperate Housewives.

[Thomas]
Yeah. I know her as an actor, not as a director.

[Shep]
Right.

[Emily]
Right!

[Thomas]
I mean, I know she has directed other stuff, but looking at her IMDb, there’s a whole lot more than I even realized. Lots of episodes of television shows.

[Emily]
Well, I thought she did a fabulous job. I thought it was very cohesive and well done.

[Shep]
Yep. Agreed.

[Emily]
So kudos Eva Longoria. I know you wanted my approval, and you have it.

[Shep]
Thomas, you said you had another criticism.

[Thomas]
Oh, it’s a minor technical thing. A few of the scenes were overlit. The one that really stood out to me was they’re at the father’s house and the priest is there and he’s standing up to the dad. It’s just a bit overlit to the point where it was noticeable.

[Shep]
Ruined.

[Emily]
It’s another star down.

[Shep]
Yeah. Minus one stars.

[Thomas]
I’m looking at the one-star reviews here on IMDb. “Not a biography, it’s complete fiction. So why watch it?” “A heartwarming lie.” “Ignore the shill reviews from obvious plants.” “Something so spicy turns bland.” What’s that person talking about?

[Emily]
What?

[Thomas]
“Just awful capitalist propaganda.”

[Shep]
So they didn’t like it because it’s not a documentary, it’s a movie.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
And biopics always stretch the truth and make it a little more palatable for people.

[Shep]
Palatable. Because it’s delicious.

[Thomas]
Yeah. Well, the big thing that I think people are talking about is that Richard Montañez has claimed basically that this story is true, that he came up with it, and there’s not really any evidence to back that up. You remember the story about the guy who’s like, “Yes, I definitely worked for the CIA.” And everybody was like, “I don’t know. Did you?” Like, there’s no way to know for sure. They made a movie about it. God, what was it? He was like, TV producer.

[Shep]
No idea what you’re talking about.

[Emily]
Oh, is it that…?

[Shep]
Oh, the Gong Show guy.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Shep]
Yeah.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Shep]
What was that movie? I saw that movie.

(It was Confessions of a Dangerous Mind)

[Thomas]
Anyway, it’s the same sort of thing, right? It’s like nobody can prove it one way or the other.

[Shep]
Right.

[Thomas]
So I guess in 2021, the LA Times published an investigation and actually discredited him as the flavor’s sole creator. According to a quote from FritoLay, “None of our records show that Richard was involved in any capacity in the Flamin’ Hot test market.” And it actually sounds like where he was living was not the market where things were being tested or developed. It says “Flamin’ Hot Cheetos were created by a team starting in ’89 in Plano, Texas.” So who knows?

[Emily]
Not even the Midwest. The movie’s just full of lies.

[Shep]
Well, it’s ruined, minus five stars.

[Emily]
Well, here’s what I have to say about that. Sometimes, stories are fun. Like having that legend, that tall tale. Like Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, they’re fun. Johnny Appleseed, which is the most accurate of those three. It’s nice to have that sort of hero that comes up from the trenches and is inspiring.

[Shep]
Right. When Roger Enrico at the end was like, “I told the shit out of that story.”

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Shep]
Like, yeah, it’s a great story.

[Emily]
Great story. And isn’t it just inspired by true events?

[Shep]
It doesn’t even say “Inspired by” or “Based on”.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
I think it’s based off of an autobiography of his, if I’m not mistaken.

[Emily]
I believe it’s based off of a book that he wrote. On that note, I will say that the cynic in me at some point, especially when Rico made that speech, about, you know, “I told the shit out of that story.” It reminds me of all of these corporate books that I used to get in various positions I had where it’s like “Johnny the Bagger, he had autism and he managed to be the best happiest worker ever.”

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
“If a guy with autism can enjoy his job, you can be the best checker in the world.” Literally. That is a story that I was given at work one day. So it’s like part of me is like, okay, but now this bleeds into that capitalist corporate lie that you could be the lucky one. Just hustle your butt and put in the extra mile and go harder. And then you might be the next millionaire. You might be the next CEO of your company, even though you started as a lowly administrative assistant.

[Thomas]
I mean, that definitely is, like, the American capitalist dream. Right?

[Emily]
Right.

[Shep]
This is The Hudsucker Proxy again, that you were talking about earlier.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
But I still enjoyed the movie. But I did get a little, I’m like “Errr…” And I again think it’s because I’m jaded and angry now.

[Thomas]
Well, there’s, I think, definitely a lot of “Hail corporate” type of stuff where it’s like, oh, he’s doing all this work in his off time, and he’s just giving the formula to the company. And so that was actually one of the criticisms here of one of these one-star reviews on IMDb. But then there’s the whole scene where he gives the big, “Hey, this factory doesn’t move without us” almost pro-union speech.

[Shep]
Right.

[Emily]
Right.

[Thomas]
There’s a strong socialist element to it. They just never actually take over the means of production. That’s all.

[Shep]
Speaking of him giving away the formula, the scene where he and Judy are developing the recipe with all the chilies they could find in town, and then you see the scientist guy and he’s like, “Maltodextrin. Monosodium glutamate. Disodium inosinate.” Those are all real ingredients that are really in Flamin’ Hot right now.

[Thomas]
So, okay, was that basically, in the movie where he takes the one off the line, he goes, “It’s not her recipe, but it’ll do.” Is that what they’re saying, is like, they take his idea but not his recipe? That was the implication I got, was a-

[Emily]
I kind of I kind of had that thought too, that maybe that’s where it led. It was like, “Oh, you’re proving that this spicy can work. And maybe we can use what we’ve already been working on and combine it a little bit with what you’ve been working on and make the perfect commodity product.”

[Thomas]
One of the things that his supervisor says is it takes years of research and that they’d already been doing research. So I could definitely see it’s like, hey, this is safe. It’s super measurable. And you want that consistency across products that you might not get from batches of spice or whatever.

[Shep]
Right.

[Thomas]
I will say, if there really is a original Judy recipe out there, I would love to try it.

[Emily]
Oh, yeah, 100%. It did really make me want elote.

[Thomas]
Oh, yeah.

[Emily]
I was like, Man, I do like some spicy corn.

[Thomas]
That scene where she’s selling the tortillas out in front of the shop, I was like, oh, man, I bet those are so good.

[Emily]
Oh, yeah. The people are like, “No, I don’t want it.”

[Thomas]
I know.

[Emily]
I’m like, what’s wrong with you?

[Thomas]
They’re fresh tortillas.

[Emily]
You always buy tortillas and tamales out of the old lady’s car.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Shep]
Did you spot the real Richard and Judy at 1 hour and 22 minutes into it?

[Thomas]
I did not.

[Emily]
I figured it out after, at the end credits.

[Thomas]
Where were they?

[Shep]
They stuck out so much. Yeah. At the end, then you see them-

[Emily]
Yeah. And I was like, oh, yeah.

[Shep]
Right before the credits when Judy has the dyed blonde hair. It’s like, oh, hey, that looks familiar. No, they stuck out so much because they’re clearly not actors that I paused it and Googled Richard Montañez to see what he looked like. I’m like, oh, that’s him. That’s why these non-actors are speaking in a movie.

[Emily]
Yeah. It did very much stick out because I remember thinking, oh, that was oddly, like, awkward.

[Shep]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
Which scene was that?

[Emily]
It’s when they’re passing out all the Cheetos to everybody and they go to, like, a birthday party in the park and it’s the movie Richard. And then there’s the blonde lady and her husband. Yeah. And he’s like, “Thanks, man.”

[Thomas]
Okay, I know who you’re talking about now.

[Emily]
The product placement in this movie is the only time that much product placement is acceptable.

[Thomas]
There’s so much. I did notice at the very beginning, they had Tapatío, Cholula, Valencia (correction: Valentina). They had like all the different hot sauces on the table.

[Shep]
Yes.

[Thomas]
I was like, nice.

[Emily]
Yep.

[Shep]
I noticed the Cholula right away, which is my favorite.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
Oh, yeah. I was like, I got a bottle of that in the cabinet.

[Shep]
Here’s another detail that I really liked. When he first sits at the director’s desk, what’s the first thing he does? He cleans it.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
He wipes it down, yeah, I noticed that as well.

[Shep]
He wipes it down.

[Thomas]
I thought that was nice. It’s like just in his bones at this point.

[Shep]
Right.

[Thomas]
It’s in his DNA to do that.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Shep]
I thought it was really funny that he just wanted the machinist job, like, after everything he did.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
Right. I knew when he told him that specific room, I was like, they’re gonna give him a job job. Boom.

[Shep]
I didn’t know. I guess I’m naive.

[Thomas]
I did think in that scene, though, when he turns around and everybody’s clapping, I was like, who’s running the factory where they need 5 million crates of this a day? Like, get back to work. You’re costing the company money.

[Emily]
They get a five-minute break.

[Thomas]
Yeah. I mean, we all know how corporate America works. You’d have a couple bosses you hate, shake your hand and then walk away.

[Emily]
Yes. 100%.

[Shep]
You get a pizza party.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
Yeah, that’s true.

[Thomas]
Probably at the factory, you get the rejects party. They’d probably have like all the burn chips and the-

[Shep]
Oh, yes, the brown ones that they were going to throw away.

[Thomas]
The Cheetos that don’t have the dust on them.

[Shep]
Undusted Cheetos.

[Emily]
I kept waiting for him to pick one up and try it and then be like, “These are disgusting.”

[Thomas]
Holy shit. Was that line clean or what? Those machines were brand fucking new.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
I was like, there’s no way this is a factory that’s been in use.

[Emily]
Well, the factory manager was very on top of the things.

[Thomas]
Right. I love his line where he’s talking about like, “Oh, you’re going to clean up all the health food violations.” I’m like hold on. Your factory has health food violations? What are we admitting?

[Emily]
Yes.

[Thomas]
That’s why it tastes so good. That’s the secret ingredient. Everybody knows.

[Emily]
Overall, I thought it was really fun. I loved the cars.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
I thought that was a really nice touch too.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Thomas]
I love when Lonnie sits in the car and he’s like, “Nice.”

[Emily]
And he’s like, “Can I touch it?” So great.

[Thomas]
Although I did notice that it cuts immediately to a shot where he’s not in the car.

[Shep]
Yes.

[Thomas]
My eye went right to it.

[Shep]
Yep. I liked it.

[Thomas]
Yeah, I liked it. Overall, I don’t really care if this story is true or not. Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are delicious, regardless of their genesis. And I don’t care if it was this guy or a group of people or whatever. It doesn’t really detract from the movie because at the same time, we know that all biopics are falsified in some way. And if it turns out it’s 90% false, okay, whatever. I don’t care. It was still an enjoyable movie that was entertaining.

[Emily]
Right.

[Shep]
Yep.

[Thomas]
It gave me an excuse to eat some Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

[Shep]
Yep.

[Emily]
That’s exactly how I feel about The Greatest Showman.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
The music is banging and fantastic, and both the male leads, so hot, so I don’t care that it paints P. T. Barnum as a very nice man who did good for people when that is not the truth. Look it up. Smithsonian has a very good article on it.

[Shep]
Or don’t look it up because everything is depressing.

[Emily]
Yeah, that’s the other thing. Okay, so what? The real story is just some geeks in a lab in Plano, Texas? That’s not interesting.

[Shep]
I mean, it could be interesting. You can make a movie out of that, too. It would be a different movie than this.

[Thomas]
Any other thoughts?

[Shep]
Oh, at the end there was one of the products when they were doing Flamin’ Hot, everything was Flamin’ Hot Mountain Dew, and it’s like, what the what?

[Emily]
I have seen it in stores.

[Thomas]
They had ice cream suggesting there’s Flamin’ Hot ice cream? EW.

[Emily]
I’ve seen that, too.

[Thomas]
No, thanks.

[Emily]
Yeah, I’ve seen both of those products in the stores.

[Shep]
I can’t even imagine what it would taste like.

[Thomas]
Yeah.

[Emily]
Oh, no. Flamin’ Hot Mountain Dew? Like, why would you want a spicy drink? I’m sorry. No.

[Thomas]
I’m trying to think of spicy drinks.

[Shep]
Just drink Cholula straight from the bottle.

[Thomas]
Yeah, right.

[Emily]
Right.

[Thomas]
That’s what I’m thinking.

[Emily]
That’s what-

[Thomas]
Just-

[Emily]
I mean, the spiciest thing I can think that I drink is Mexican hot chocolate.

[Thomas]
MMM.

[Emily]
And even I don’t really like that because I just don’t like spicy drinks.

[Thomas]
Yeah, I don’t think I want a spicy- maybe some people are into spicy drinks. There must be a market for it. Well, that’s what we thought, but we’d love to hear your thoughts on the Flamin’ Hot movie. Was it dangerously cheesy or ridiculously cheesy? Let us know by leaving a comment on our website, reaching out on social media, or sending us an email. Links to all of those can be found at AlmostPlausible.com We hope you enjoyed this bonus episode. If you want to hear more episodes like this, reach out using the aforementioned links and let us know. Emily, Shep, and I will return next week for another regularly scheduled episode of Almost Plausible.

[Outro music]

[Shep]
You know what I learned was a thing recently? This is unrelated to the movie or anything we’re talking about.

[Thomas]
Okay.

[Shep]
French tacos.

[Thomas]
What?

[Shep]
Yeah.

[Emily]
Is it duck confit?

[Thomas]
Ooh.

[Shep]
No, it’s French tacos.

[Emily]
What makes them French? Are they just tacos in France? Because I had that idea. I wanted to open a taco truck in Nice.

[Thomas]
That’d be nice.

[Shep]
They’re like a tortilla filled with meat and stuff and then pressed on a griddle.

[Emily]
But is it filled with French meat, like coq au vin?

[Shep]
Yeah, it’s French food. They’re things you can find in France. They’re not really tacos, but they are made with tortillas.

[Emily]
Okay.

[Thomas]
Interesting.

[Emily]
Now I want a duck-confit-with-garlic taco.

[Shep]
We’re just going to talk about food?

[Emily]
Yeah.

[Shep]
All I’ve had to eat is Flamin’ Hot variety pack. I’m so hungry right now.

[Emily]
Should have got a burrito. I’m so full.

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