Flakes

According to boxofficemojo.com, Michael Lehmann's "Flakes" raked in all of $778 in revenue when it was released in late 2007. And although one hates to kick a well-intentioned, low budget film when it's down, the truth is that "Flakes" is a cute idea that doesn't really amount to all that much in the long run. In fact, the film is so benign and innocuous that it seems to be evaporating even as you're watching it.

Neal Downs (Aaron Stanford) is a struggling musician who works as manager of a little New Orleans eatery called Flakes (owned by Christopher Lloyd) that serves nothing but cold cereal to its loyal clientele. When a rival franchise opens up across the street, Neal's girlfriend, the self-named Pussy Katz (Zooey Deschanel), applies for a job at the new establishment as a means of getting back at Neal for refusing to hire her at his own place.

The pro-capitalist vs. anti-capitalist theme that runs through the storyline is halfhearted and underdeveloped at best. Moreover, while the cast is engaging and appealing (especially Deschanel), the undernourished Chris Poche/Karey Kirkpatrick screenplay doesn't give the actors a whole lot of solid material to work with. And even the relatively fresh and novel New Orleans setting isn't exploited as much as it could be for its old-world atmosphere and charm.

This is a movie that tries to be poppy and indie at the same time. There are lots of movies that do this, and they rarely hit the mark. There's enough quirkiness to keep you watching it, but not enough to really make you remember that you actually did watch it the day after. As amusing as the concept is of guys who buy black market cereal is, there's only so much you can do with the concept, and it ends up with a story line about a nice girl with a jerk boyfriend who really doesn't have the ambition to record his mediocre songs. It is nice to see New Orleans, and to see Christopher Lloyd dusting off his Jim-from-taxi persona one more time. It's the kind of movie you could recommend to your parents when they're trying to figure out how to set up their Netflix queue, unless they don't like swearing, that is. In the end, they probably should have just scrapped the whole idea of being edgy, and gone for the poppy movie thing.

Watching this, i was not expecting much. I have to say i was pleasantly surprised. During the start of the film i was left in awe at how cool the actual set was, the cereal bar is a work of mise en scene genius. But even with an exciting set a film can still be rubbish.

Flakes is not as quirky as it looks. It's dialogue is impressive and the performances are understated and all work perfectly with the story, see Skinny Larry and Winston. There are moments that made me laugh, granted it was more of a chuckle than a hysterical laugh. The thing that strikes me the most about this movie is how well the writers formulated their characters. All very well judged with good casting in them, the only role i was left wondering about was that of Strawberry as she was pretty pointless. Christopher Lloyd is awesome in this, i read on another comment that Christopher Lloyd does his usual but if you grew up watching him as Doc, this really isn't his usual.

Good characters, good premise, original storytelling and the ever lovely Zooey Deschanel. This is worth a watch, it is not a groundbreaking concept, it will not blow your brains out, it will not keep you on the edge of your seat, however it will charm you and leave you thinking about it. Well it did for me at least.

Top 3 Reasons Not to See Flakes

1: Zooey Deschanel. She plays a terribly dressed, self-absorbed ditzy hipster named Miss Pussy Katz who runs around saying things like "you can't nurture your soul and accumulate at the same time" and ruins everyone's lives with her self-righteous drivel. For the first time, Zooey Deschanel loses that endearing balance between obnoxious and endearing and goes full on obnoxious. Don't watch it unless you're willing to run the risk of hating Zooey Deschanel forever.

2: The plot. A guy (Aaron Stanford) works at a cereal bar (it's just what it sounds like). Another guy opens a less dirty version of the cereal store across the street. They call each other names for 45 minutes, then hand out a bunch of flyers and make DIY t-shirts. Then the movie is over. Seriously. That was the whole movie. It grossed a whopping $311 dollars in its opening week.

3: Hipsters. There is nothing more obnoxious than listening to a bunch of post-teens waxing self righteous the "best" years of Cap'n Crunch and the bouquet and mouth feel of Fruity Pebbles like baby wine snobs. Except when they eventually switch topics to rip on "suits" and "consumerism". The dialogue does its best to remind us why we hate hipsters in the first place: because they're really just hateful little future conservatives dabbling in corporate sponsored "counter culture"...it's like Urban Outfitters started making people.

Michael Lehmann tells a charming little story about an aspiring rocker, Neal Downs, and an aspiring artist, Pussy Katz. Neal feels obligated to work fulltime at a cereal diner, Flakes, but his girlfriend Pussy Katz wants him to pursue his dream in becoming a musician. She even offers to take over his job, without payment. However, Neal declines. Meanwhile, a rival diner sets up in front of Flakes and in order to teach Neal a lesson, Pussy Katz takes up a job at the new cereal bar.

'Flakes' is overall a fun movie. While the concept is very appealing, the screenplay and execution are splendid. Although the pro-capitalist vs anti-capitalist theme is underdeveloped and the ending felt a little rushed, the comedy mostly makes up for it. The clever humour works brilliantly. I liked the art direction. The colourful sets looked very inventive and authentic. The cinematography is good too and the soundtrack fits well with the atmosphere and flaky surroundings.

Aaron Stanford and Zooey Deschanel form a likable and believable pair. They have great chemistry. Standford is competent as the scruffy wannabe rocker who's afraid of the uncertainty of a musician's future. Lovely Deschanel is a delight to watch. Her natural performance stands out, Christopher Lloyd, Keir O'Donnell and Izabella Miko provide great support.

The jokes made me laugh out loud. This film has heart and brain Positively flaky, fun, energetic and delicious, 'Flakes' at the very least brings a smile to the face. I'll definitely be revisiting this one.