As Good As It Gets

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

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 movie has ripped off a New Orleans musical mainstay known as Quintron and Miss Pussycat (www.quintronandmisspussycat.com) without giving them any due credits or consultation. Lehmann has cheapened, and poorly disguised, what most New Orleanians consider a musical and cultural asset to our community. It's a shame that some locals participated in the making of this movie, knowing what a sham it was. Quintron and Miss Pussycat are an inspiration to post-Katrina New Orleans and their likenesses/ story shouldn't have been abused in this way, especially considering how terrible this film is. Do yourself a favor and skip this. Check out the real Quintron and Miss P instead.

I generally write comments for movies I like (like most people do, whether it's an intentional choice or not) and even if I'm not too crazy about one, I still try to remain Mr. the-glass-is-half-full. Sadly however, there was nothing in this little indie flick, starring Zooey Deschanel and Aaron Stanford as a couple of semi-rebels who both aspire much but are not likely to actually achieve anything. While he is working in a cereal bar 'for the time being' (funny how many people who say that end up being permanent employees), she tries to sell art commercially (ironically enough) in a small stand. No matter how much the makers try to charm up the conversations, the mood can only be described as lifeless and if there was any chemistry I didn't see it, it's a shame the delightful Ms. Deschanel chose to waste her time with this kind of pointless movies.

Michael Lehmann's new film, Flakes, could have been a quirky comedy, centered on a new type of concept "cereal" bar. Instead, it tries too hard to be a romantic comedy with a quirky setting, and unfortunately, doesn't really deliver anything romantic or comedic. I mean, the setting really is great. And the overlying plot--young entrepreneur threatens to Starbuck over a local establishment with a local following--might have worked, if the film had been completely different.But instead of focusing on the fact that these guys live, eat and breathe cereal, Lehmann decides to cliché it all up by introducing the same old, badly written girl-wants-slackerboy-to-quit working-his-dead-end-job-and-focus-on-his-aspiring-music-career theme. And because of this, we never really get to learn that much about cereal, or what great toys come out of cereal boxes, or really anything cool at all. We do get some slack-off acting and a shameful appearance by Christopher Lloyd. All-in-all, it's a waste of time and plays more like a badly written sitcom than an actual feature film.