Flamin' Hot
Hulu | Release Date (Streaming): June 9, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
16
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Film ThreatMichael Talbot-HaynesJun 16, 2023
Watching Flamin’ Hot mirrors the joy of scarfing down a bag of the crunchy red stuff yourself. It makes your eyebrows raise, is instantly addictive, and goes by very fast. Read full review
90
VarietyPeter DebrugeMar 11, 2023
Inspiration and entertainment can make corny bedfellows, but Longoria pulls it off, to the extent that a moment of faith when Richard and Judy pray doesn’t feel preachy, but a reflection of their priorities. Read full review
80
Total FilmEmily MurrayJun 8, 2023
There is some doubt as to the facts of the story (isn’t there always, with Hollywood biopics?), and Longoria hardly shakes up the biopic formula. But the result is a tasty treat that will satisfy a thirst for entertainment. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckMar 11, 2023
The film’s lengthy chronology and constantly shifting tones would be challenging for any director, but Longoria, making her feature debut, handles things expertly, infusing the proceedings with a loving appreciation and authentic-feeling depiction of the Latino community at its core. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeOdie HendersonJun 8, 2023
The marriage between its uplifting personal message and its embrace of big business is a rocky one, but Longoria and company hold the union together. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMartin TsaiJun 7, 2023
Garcia delivers a standout turn as Richard. It helps that he’s not yet a household name, so he isn’t carrying the baggage of any external frames of reference. His earnest and engrossing performance absolutely carries Flamin’ Hot. Read full review
75
The Film StageJohn FinkMar 13, 2023
Embellishments aside, Flamin’ Hot is like the perfect snack or comfort food: consistent, delivering an experience that pleases because it is so familiar, and a classic Hollywood rags-to-riches story with a heavy dose of Latin flavor. Read full review
75
The PlaylistStaff (Not Credited0Mar 11, 2023
What Longoria has created is less a history lesson and more a fairy tale that reframes an American success story within California’s Hispanic community. You may doubt its accuracy, but the message will resonate, and that is a far more interesting conversation than how closely Flamin’ Hot matches the Montañez Wikipedia. Read full review
73
TheWrapLex BriscusoMar 11, 2023
Eva Longoria’s directorial debut about the power of identity and resilience is too much fun to miss out on in spite of whether or not the real story holds weight. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesCarlos AguilarJun 16, 2023
Garcia is an utter joy to watch. His disarming lack of cynicism and optimistic disposition while in Richard’s shoes compel us to wish the humble character’s grand aspirations materialize. May Flamin’ Hot serve as testament to Garcia’s range and ability to lead a cast. Meanwhile, a marvelous Gonzalez rides a similar wavelength of cheerful determination. Read full review
70
IGNRafael MotamayorMar 23, 2023
Flamin' Hot is a charming and funny rags-to-riches story with a strong cast, some clever editing, and good use of narration as comedy that make up for its superficial depth. Read full review
67
Paste MagazineAbby OlceseJun 7, 2023
Would all this be better if Flamin’ Hot weren’t based on one guy’s well-documented self-mythologizing? Sure. But like the exaggerated yarns Montañez weaves throughout the movie, the truth is much less interesting. The legend, on the other hand, is colorful, heartwarming and surprisingly fun, and Flamin’ Hot is far from the only movie of its kind to tell a tall tale disguised as an account of actual events. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 8, 2023
Longoria keeps her directing eyes on the “feel-good movie” prize, which limits the film’s ambition as we bounce from scene to uplifting scene, many of them involved adorable moppets taste-testing very hot chili baths to bake into the Cheetohs. Read full review
63
The Associated PressMark KennedyJun 7, 2023
This is more than just a snack-version “Rocky” story, with the filmmakers exploring the insecurity of factory shift workers, the stress of integrating into white culture, how hard it is for corporations to innovate and the ability to silence the voices in your head that urge you to quit. Read full review
60
EmpireJohn NugentJun 9, 2023
The story of how Flamin’ Hot Cheetos came to exist barely demands to be told (if it is even true). But like all good junk food, there are still some guilty pleasures to be had here. Read full review
60
CNNBrian LowryJun 9, 2023
Playfully presented, it’s the kind of mildly tasty cinematic snack that doesn’t exactly stick to your ribs. Read full review
60
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyJun 8, 2023
The most effective scenes in Flamin’ Hot prod gently at how disharmonious the relationship between the man on the floor and the man in the boardroom can be. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicKaely MonahanJun 7, 2023
On the whole, Flamin’ Hot plays like a feel-good family flick. Nothing is too heavy, and some parts feel a bit overdone, but it’s fun for the most part. Read full review
60
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiMar 16, 2023
Flamin’ Hot is not only entertaining, but feels like a warm hug. It’s sentimental enough, but doesn’t overstay its welcome. Longoria has ultimately crafted a sweet, funny, and bright movie that will surely have viewers looking up Montañez on Google after the film ends. Read full review
60
Screen DailyTim GriersonMar 11, 2023
Flamin’ Hot is a breezy affair accented by Jesse Garcia’s winning performance as the budding Mexican-American entrepreneur, but this underdog tale ultimately proves to be too unremarkable to generate much heat. Read full review
58
ColliderChase HutchinsonJun 7, 2023
Even without the questions about the veracity of the story, its rah-rah style makes it feel superficial rather than sweeping. In the end, Flamin’ Hot comes across as a selling of a story and a brand rather than a genuine retelling of one. Read full review
58
IndieWireKate ErblandMar 11, 2023
It’s entertaining enough, but this is a story that doesn’t feel real, mostly because it isn’t. Read full review
50
ScreenCrushMatt SingerJun 16, 2023
While Flamin’ Hot’s choice of subject might separate it slightly from the larger canon of great-man biographies, it’s otherwise a very familiar recipe coated with a little new seasoning. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloJun 9, 2023
As a Latina critic who has been writing about my community’s stories for as long as I’ve had a career, I want better for us and our storytellers. While I enjoy some aspects of this movie, I’m not sure the means justified the lackluster result. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJun 8, 2023
Eva Longoria’s Flamin’ Hot is a well-made but overly conventional and borderline corny (pardon the pun) biopic chronicling the rags-to-riches tale of one Richard Montañez, a maintenance worker at Frito-Lay who invented the globally popular Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, forever changing the snack-food game. Read full review
50
The New York TimesLisa KennedyJun 8, 2023
Longoria, working from a screenplay by Lewis Colick and Linda Yvette Chávez, sprinkles lessons in self-esteem throughout. (The movie is Longoria’s feature directing debut.) And the women here — including Montañez’s mother and Judy — are more than run-of-the-mill catalysts. Still, should it come as a surprise that a movie this puffed up has a dusting of flavors that might not be real? Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJun 6, 2023
It’s not especially new to see a story about a guy who pulls himself up by his bootstraps, even one this hyperbolic. One might say that Flamin’ Hot is just another serving of cinematic junk food: corn chips sprinkled liberally with the moviemaking equivalent of maltodextrin. Read full review
50
SlashfilmJacob HallMar 11, 2023
The very idea of a biopic about a guy who claimed to invent a hot Cheeto feels like a gag, but it could've sidestepped all of that by avoiding the usual biopic cliches. But Flamin' Hot leans into them with an aggressiveness that makes "Bohemian Rhapsody" look like "I'm Not There." It would be insulting if it wasn't so tired. Read full review
40
The GuardianBenjamin LeeJun 11, 2023
It’s cheerily done and competently made but broadly sentimental to a fault, the strings being pulled too visible for the film’s many coerced moments of emotion to really work. For a film all about the importance of heat, it’s frankly lukewarm. Read full review
40
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeJun 9, 2023
One yearns in vain for some acknowledgment that the creation being celebrated is nothing more than a bag of squashed organic matter coated in a modestly spicy mulch. Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreJun 15, 2023
What makes Flamin’ Hot such a depressing offering isn’t the relative truthiness of its source material, but the qualities it holds aloft as inspiring. Read full review
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