The best compliment you can give to flakes is that you'll want to work there and believe me I did. The place looked fun and full of life. This film has a similar premise to Empire Records and in some ways I prefer this one as I found it quirkier and more indie. I love Indie films because they function in a way that is all their own. I don't mean that every single indie film functions in the same way, what I mean is one indie film is different from another. Much like Empire Records the subject (the shop in question) just looks like a fun place to work. As for the film, it was really clever, fun, warm, idiosyncratic and very much enjoyable from start to finish. Aaron Sanford shows he can act and of course Zooey Deschanel, picture perfect as always. The most impressive thing you can say about these two in both the writing and performance is they went beyond the chemistry of these two characters and took it to another place by having them have a dynamic. It was there in the writing and in the performances. Simply having the couple not let the work dynamic get in the way of their personal life and in a way does in simple subtle ways is a joy to watch and what I mean. The rest of the cast do fantastically well as well. It's nice to see Christopher Lloyd too.The other aspect of the film I loved was the set design and soundtrack which brought it to life. On the whole this was a superb film with heart and soul and brains to match.

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.

Who doesn't love cereal? I had no idea what this movie was about and being surrounded by the "culture", I thought it was yet another movie about pot-heads. I was wrong again! Pleasantly surprised, Flakes dove me into a world of cereal that I have never imagined. A cereal bar! How cool is that? I would love to go to one and have my favorite cereal and listen to gossip from the town's folk. I have to admit that I thought that the idea of a cereal bar was just crazy and could never exist however, upon researching it I've found that there ARE cereal bars! I have to go to one and it is because of this movie! The actors did a good job of portraying regular (and not so regular) people doing what they have to do in a world where everything is so flaky (yep, intended :p). We all experience people that are "fake" or "zoned out" or "uptight", etc. Movies are a reflection of the world and although many movies create improbable situations, the characters that are in them have their real-life counterparts in our everyday, real lives and all over the world. There were some messages in this movie that I got such as the corporate America killings of mom-and-pop shops, the need for people in a relationship to pay attention to one another, the must for more assistance to be given to other's in need, and that cereal is indeed a culture all it's own. I had no idea.Flakes portrays a character that sells old and discontinued cereals to the cereal bar. That seems like a bit too much however, I do know that uncoated cereals can last for years and years without losing too much of their shelf-life. I personally would not try to eat such old cereal however, there are people that would and this movie caters to that. Bravo! I do have to admit, the part where Neal made that all chocolate concoction for the cussing customer made my mouth water! I paused it, made Coco Puffs and unpaused it!

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.