Cake (2014)

Very disappointing...

Powerful

Good movie but grossly overrated

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Please, give Jennifer Aniston an Oscar already. If only so she can stop making movies like this one. If you watch the preview, it's pretty obvious she wanted a nomination. If you watch the movie, you'll think to yourself, "Oh man, she really looks like she's in pain!" for about five minutes. Then, turn it off. Trust me.Aniston plays a woman who's been in an accident and is in constant, terrible pain. But before you feel sorry for her and hand her that gold statue, know this: throughout the entire movie, she makes bad choice after bad choice, and she's not likable in the slightest. The story is simultaneously boring and frustrating. And where did the acting go? Aniston's press agent spent a season touting her acting in preparation for the nomination she didn't receive, but the finished product doesn't show any of it.If you want to see someone with back pain, rent The Answer Man. It's much more enjoyable. Cake is terrible. Frankly, it gives desserts a bad name.

The main thing Cake really has going for it would be the strength of Aniston's performance. She's already proved her solid comic timing in Friends and the stream of so-so romcoms that followed. Here, she uses comedy to heighten the drama and heartache of her caustic character. She makes it an uncomfortable watch, as you genuinely believe she's in pain throughout the film.Unfortunately, the screenplay lacks a coherent sense of direction; the scenes featuring Anna Kendrick's character constantly feel like a distraction, like moments that simply get in the way of the story, and and the film really wasted its opportunity as one of the few films covering the topic of chronic pain by bumbling into yet another film about grief. However, it does give Aniston some wicked one-liners, and a few scenes are very moving indeed.

Having seen a lot of movies with Jeniffer Aniston I had her in my mind as a comedy actress with just a pinch of drama talent. Everyone is familiar with her work at Friends but back then she wasn't a grown actor. I think that in Cake she accomplishes a low-belt hit to every stereotype that has been formed about her. She is simply stunning in a well-written movie with interesting plot that keeps you stuck to the screen and you can not believe that she is she. Her glammed profile is demolished and she is capable of making you cry, laugh and angry. To all the reviews that see the movie as a shout for award attention, I can only say that you just saw the movie. You haven't really watched it.

I hadn't even heard of this movie before noticing it on Netflix. I was intrigued to see a different kind of performance from Jennifer Anderson, showing that she doesn't always have to be the sweet girl next door type in romantic comedies. I was also intrigued to see Sam Worthington in another movie. I like that he's allowed to keep his Aussie accent in his movies!I found this movie very moving, and the fact that it made me tear up tells me it was very well done. It was quite slow moving, definitely not action packed, but I really enjoyed seeing the character development as it slowly unfolded. Anna Kendrick played a fairly small part but I suppose her character was a catalyst for a lot of change in the main character's life.Although I probably won't feel the need to watch this movie again, I think it's one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I judge movies on whether I found anything to be stupidly unrealistic, jarring me out of the story. The characters in this movie were also people that I could admire as human beings, even with all their imperfections. And it was great to see a significant role for an older Latino female actor - a role of great substance and importance.This movie to me is an example of one that is the film industry doing things right. Of course, the fact that it's an independent film probably has something to do with that.