Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that though this comedy may appeal to teenagers because it stars indie fave Deschanel, it has plenty of strong language (including many uses of "f--k") and shows its characters smoking and drinking fairly often. And though it's good-natured, there's something a little disturbing about the one-upmanship between Neal and his girlfriend. Plus, the movie is cereal-obsessed; the characters live and breath cereal trivia (kind of like the way the folks in High Fidelity obsess over music) to the point that the movie almost feels like a cereal infomercial.
Families can talk about how the film pits art against commerce. Is it really that black and white? Can you be an artist and a successful businessperson at the same time? Would someone like that be an interesting subject for a movie? Why or why not? Families can also discuss Neal's relationship with his girlfriend. Do they act like loving partners? What's with all the plotting against each other? Why does Hollywood have a penchant for relationships gone awry?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: S. Jhoanna Robledo
Cereal is the ultimate comfort food: easy, uncomplicated, reliably pleasing. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for FLAKES -- the latest film from director Michael Lehmann (he also helmed Heathers) -- despite the fact that it's about the hipsters and hippies who hang out at a restaurant that serves nothing but the boxed breakfast staple.
Neal Downs (Aaron Stanford, pleasant but much too sluggish to inspire) is a musician who moonlights as the manager of Flakes, a quirky café that serves only cereal. His artist girlfriend, Miss Pussy Katz (Zooey Deschanel), wishes he would ditch the day job and finish the album he's been working on so they can finally start a life together that will have them happily-ever-after-ing in a shiny Airstream trailer in their old age.
But Neal can't seem to shake Flakes, especially since its foggy-minded (drug addled?) owner, Willie (Christopher Lloyd, in an entertaining-enough turn), is almost always out to lunch. When Pussy offers to man the fort while Neal focuses on his music for a week and he refuses, she hightails it over to the upstart cereal bar across the street.
The place is owned by a nerdy wannabe, Stuart (Keir O'Donnell), who's co-opted the Flakes concept and slightly revamped it; now his bar's very existence is threatening Flakes' stability. Still, if it closes down, Pussy surmises, maybe her beloved will hunker down with his art for good. But Neal isn't about to go down without a fight. Needless to say, their relationship suffers.
If that seems like too little to sustain a whole movie, that's because it is. Charm alone -- the movie stars Deschanel, after all, and makes some interesting (albeit unoriginal) points about art vs. capitalism -- can't carry Flakes through. It's fun to see New Orleans through the camera's affectionate, even longing, gaze, and the cast clearly has rapport, but in the end, Flakes is simply much too soggy to relish.
Fans may prefer Deschanel in other movies, like The Good Girl, All the Real Girls, or even Elf. For a better comedy about self-aware, minutiae-obsessed hipsters, try High Fidelity.
Rate It!
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| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual ContentA couple makes out in their bedroom and are then shown in bed, under covers -- the man is naked from the waist up, the woman wears a camisole. Some innuendoes about having sex, but nothing too candid. |
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ViolenceSome yelling between couples. Neal kicks and smashes his speaker. |
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LanguageFrequent use of "f--k" (and another variation, "motherf--ker"), "sh-t," "a--hole," and more. |
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Social BehaviorThe protagonist means well; he's so devoted to his boss that his own work suffers. The relationship between Neal and his girlfriend seems very loving, though when they fight they often hit below the belt. A businessman steals a franchise idea from an entrepreneur. |
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CommercialismName a cereal brand, and it's visible and talked about, including Count Chocula, Lucky Charms, etc. Signage for the two featured restaurants. The whole film seems like an homage to New Orleans, with its montages of the city's tourist haunts. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoLots of drinking (mostly beer, and only by adults) and smoking. In fact, in one scene, Neal smokes so many cigarettes that he arranges the butts to stand up like a phalanx of soldiers. Allusions to drug use, especially in relation to Willie. |
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