'Flakes' is likable film about life, love, dreams and breakfast cereal
'Flakes' is likable film about life, love, dreams and breakfast cereal

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Published: July 25, 2008

"Flakes” is a story of love, devotion, manipulation and cereal in the French Quarter of New Orleans. It's a story where dreams of a better life in a shiny steel trailer influence the decisions of a young couple who yearn for more than their boring existence. Seriously, it's all true.

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Aaron Stanford (maybe most recognizable as Pyro in the X-Men movies) is Neal, a musician who has been working on his first CD for a long time. To pay the bills, he's been working as a manager in a cereal bar called "Flakes.” The bar is owned by a burned out and slightly confused but loveable hippie, Willie, played by Christopher Lloyd, and is frequented by a loyal crew of misfits, including various stoners, a crabby yet flirtatious old woman and a cereal-obsessed guy who keeps buying old discontinued cereals and strange cereal-related items off the Internet and selling them to Neal.

Neal's artist girlfriend, Miss Pussy Katz (the always likeable Zooey Deschanel), really wants Neal to finish his CD instead of wasting his time managing the cereal bar. So when a dorky rich kid with a pocket full of Daddy's money and visions of a franchise operation (he's probably thinking Starbucks, which isn't the best idea considering how poorly Starbucks is doing these days) decides to open a competing cereal bar across the street, she takes advantage of the situation with some funny results.

This movie is decent, with the great performances by Deschanel, Stanford and Lloyd making it more appealing. There are lots of nice shots of the French Quarter and some fun scenes with a high-powered attorney looking to give some grief to his biggest competition in town. And it's always fun to watch the little guy take on the big guy who's doing him wrong.

And the relationship between Neal and M.P. is really fun to watch as well, because despite their disagreements and arguments, they clearly do love each other. The question is, can that love carry them through the cereal bar wars unscathed? And will poor Willie have to drink all the milk so it doesn't spoil?

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