Whatever the limitations of
"mumblecore" movies like Mutual Appreciation and Hannah Takes The Stairs, those films at least have an
insider's take on the comfortable ruts of post-graduate life. The indie comedy Flakes belongs on the same dusty shelf as Reality
Bites, the TV
series Love Monkey,
and that old Subaru commercial that compared an Impreza to punk rock. Aaron
Stanford plays an aspiring New Orleans rocker who never has time to work on his
music because he's too busy managing a hipster hangout that only serves retro
cereal. Zooey Deschanel plays Stanford's girlfriend, a boho painter who tries
to force Stanford to pick up his guitar again by bolstering the fortunes of the
corporate cereal bar across the street. Nearly every conversation Stanford
has—either with Deschanel or with their friends—is about how cool
he is for not selling out. Shaded just a little off-center, Flakes could be a satire of blinkered hipsterdom.
