A company course on cutthroat capitalism disguised as a slacker comedy: Thats the kindest way to describe Michael Lehmanns Flakes, a film which shares the smug, hipper-than-thou sensibility of its sour protagonist, Neal Downs (Aaron Stanford).
An aspiring rock musician that manages New Orleans eatery in which the only real bill of fare is breakfast cereal, Neal is a hotly contested deadbeat whose alike sour girlfriend, Pussy Katz (Zooey Deschanel), shares his eponymous dream of traveling the nation in an Airstream trailer, which makes music and art.
The walls of the restaurant, known as Flakes, are lined with cereal boxes, including rare quit brands. As customers slop up exotic combinations, the film suggests a deadpan spoof of gourmet fetishism. One house specialty chocolate-flavored grains steeped in chocolate sounds particularly nauseating.
Owned by Willie (Christopher Lloyd), a decrepit hippie geezer with mad-scientist baldness, Flakes limps along as a hangout for deadbeats until a bright-eyed yuppie visitor, Stuart (Keir ODonnell), proposes turning it into a profitable franchise. After Willie and Neal express no attention, Stuart establishes a rival Flakes round the street, and the New Orleans cereal wars start.
Hoping to put Stuart from business, Neal begins playing dirty tricks, the nastiest of which will be the distribution of slopes into the homeless promising 10 free bowls each client at his opponents institution. The prank sets off a near-riot which Stuart skillfully turns to his benefit.
Neals brand new stay-at-home relationship with Pussy begins to curdle when she turns traitor and proceeds to work for its competition, trusting that the passing of the original Flakes will abandon Neal with time to finish his CD. In case the title of his group, ” Killers, is totally chosen, its audio is a joke.
Once lawyers become involved in the dispute, the films anti-establishment attitude disappears, as does the teeny little levity Flakes has created.
FLAKES
Founded on Wednesday at Manhattan; also on Video on Demand.
Directed by Michael Lehmann; written by Chris Poche and Karey Kirkpatrick; manager of photographs, Nancy Schreiber; edited by Nicholas C. Smith; songs by Jason Derlatka and Jon Ehrlich; created by Gary Winick and Jake Abraham; published by IFC First Take. At the IFC Center, 323 Avenue of the Americas, at Third Street, Greenwich Village. Running time: 1 hour 24 minutes. This film isn’t rated.
WITH: Aaron Stanford (Neal Downs), Zooey Deschanel (Miss Pussy Katz), Christopher Lloyd (Willie), Frank Wood (Bruce), Ryan Donowho (Skinny Larry), Izabella Miko (Strawberry) and Keir ODonnell (Stuart).
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