Flakes is a quirky comedy set in the New Orleans French Quarter about a cereal restaurant and the capitalist pig who tries to steal the idea and open his own "Flakes" across the street. But not really. It's actually about the relationship between Neal Downs (Aaron Stanford), wannabe rock star and his offbeat girlfriend, Miss Pussy Katz (Zooey Deschanel), artiste extraodinaire. Neal works as manager at Flakes, a local dive owned by crackpot Willie (Christopher Lloyd) where friends come to eat little known types of cereal and dish the dirt about cereal trivia. Miss Katz loves Neal and wants nothing more than for both of them to attain their dream of stardom - that and their dream of growing old together while traveling the countryside in their shiny, silver Airstream. But Neal can't become a star until he finishes his record, so she offers to work at Flakes for free for a week so he can do just that.

In walks Winston Zeringue (Robb Conner), eyeing the shop and asking all sorts of questions. Lo and behold, after Neal tells him all about the business, Winston opens "The New Original Flakes" across the street later that week, a Starbucks version of their cereal bar! The locals are outraged at this blatant capitalist who has stolen their idea and infringed on their territory. They know he is doomed to failure because the loyalists will stay with the real Flakes. Or will they?

When Neal refuses to let Miss Katz work for Flakes and instead hires the sexy "Strawberry" (Izabella Miko, Coyote Ugly), so named for her strawberry backpack, he and Miss Katz have a blowout fight, and she goes to work for the competition to get Neal's goat. As she and Neal drift further apart and the real Flakes is driven out of business, Willie and Neal band together and hire Winston's father's (also a lawyer) arch enemy to sue the fake Flakes. As the legal battle plays out, you'll never guess the ending.

I like a good independant film now and again, but they have to really impress me. Now, Zooey Deschanel doesn't have to do much to impress me aside from appearing on screen. I think she's terrific and her role in this film in no exception. The film being set in New Orleans also appealed to me, it being my birthplace. The fact that Karey Kirkpatrick and Chris Poche of Over the Hedge and Spiderwick Chronicles fame wrote it only added to the allure. Let me say that I was not disappointed. While not uproariously funny like Drillbit Taylor, this movie is more what I would call "smart and artsy funny." I laughed a lot, loved the actors in their roles and would damn near eat at Flakes every morning if it existed. Cereal nerds - who'd have ever thought? If you like quirky comedies along the lines of Empire Records, give Flakes a try.