It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

The first must-see film of the year.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

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.

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.

Checked out this movie OnDemand last night on a lark - my girlfriend and I read the description and decided to give it a shot. I wish I could get my six bucks back. It was the kind of movie that looked like it was written and directed by a 14-year-old trying really, really hard to be "indie." I was shocked that Zooey Deschanel and Christopher Lloyd allowed themselves to be associated with this awful excuse for a film.The dialog was cliché at best, the acting was miserable, and the entire premise of the movie was ridiculous. How can you eat vintage cereal? I know the stuff is loaded with preservatives, but I'm pretty sure you can't open a box of cereal from the 70s and eat it.After about 45 minutes of watching this trainwreck of a movie, we decided we couldn't take it anymore and turned it off. The only advantage of watching Flakes was that it made the Arrested Development episodes we watched immediately afterward look like the most genius pieces of entertainment ever crafted.