Cake (2014)

Not sure how they’ll title this one here. Probably just "Cake."
Basically, it's the new Jennifer Aniston flick that earned her a Golden Globe nod for Best Actress in a Drama. She didn't take it home, though—that went to Julianna Moore for "still Alice."
I haven't actually sat down to watch "Cake" or "still Alice," but I'm sure Julianna Moore earned it. Still, I'm pretty stoked for Jennifer Aniston; she's finally stepping outside her usual bubble and playing someone with actual depth for once.
If I had to pick a lighter attempt at this, maybe "Management." Some people are already whispering about Oscar nominations.

You can check out the official trailer HERE.

Here's the gist of it (via IMDb):

"Claire becomes fascinated by the suicide of a woman in her chronic pain support group while grappling with her own, very raw personal tragedy."

So, yet another movie about finding the meaning of life. I say "yet another" like it's a bad thing, but... you know. 😬

The cast includes Jennifer Aniston, Adriana Barraza, Anna Kendrick, Sam Worthington, and Felicity Huffman.
Director: Daniel Barnz

Anyone seen it yet?

So much for an Oscar for Jenny... 🙂

Watched this the other day... Meh. 🙂
It was an okay movie, nothing special. Jennifer Aniston is good, sure, but there’s nothing here worth an Oscar. It might be smart if she stays in this lane; maybe she'll actually pick up a Golden Globe one of these days. 😉

Honestly, one of the biggest letdowns I've seen in a minute. Just painfully dull. How on earth did this not even make the cut for an Oscar nomination?

..

What's the deal with that cake?

And why does she just sit in the car the whole time?

SPOILER

I basically skipped ahead—so, turns out she ran over a kid while she was in the car with that guy... that's why she can't face looking through the windshield anymore, she just can't handle it. 🤔

She’s basically bedridden because her lower back is completely shot; she attempts physical therapy and various other treatments, but let's be honest, she lacks the discipline to actually stick with it, so there's zero improvement... plus, after losing her child in a tragic car accident, she’s been aggressively pursuing that widower from her support group—you know, the guy who already has a kid of his own.

Beyond that, Jennifer Aniston showed exactly what she’s capable of, and she can certainly do a lot, but the movie itself is just one of countless others tackling this same theme... it's slow, a bit aimless, and frankly quite tedious, lacking any real sense of closure. I only sat through it to see the actress, and I don't regret it, though...

Lawrence Edwards58 said:Just let her lie down—her lower back is absolutely trashed.

I mean, does it even make sense? Like, why would she need that much mental strength just to end up breaking down in her car?

She’s walking around upright all the time—so why wouldn't she just sit in the car?
It’s just refusing for some other reason—you know?

Where do you think she gets those scars from?

That's exactly why she's hitting on that widower from her support group—you know, the one with the kid?

She isn't even chasing him—honestly, she’s just totally obsessed with that woman who took her own life... like, she actually wants to jump off a bridge too?
She wasn't even thinking about having a kid at first—so when he actually showed up in the bathroom, it was just... weird, you know?
I don't know, I kind of get the feeling he was just trying to get under her skin—you know?

Man, there are so many similar threads on this topic... just feels like one slow, boring drag without any real payoff. I honestly only sat through it to see the lead actress—no regrets though.

I mean, I get that nothing ever really ends—but is that really an excuse for this? We’ve seen plenty of movies like this before, right?

Maybe the real trick is just connecting all the dots—which, let's be honest, takes a little bit of actual brainpower? 🤷

I love it when a director actually makes you stop and think—you know?

I honestly don't feel like the director is trying to provoke any deep thought here; everything is just laid out on a silver platter for the audience. He brings this killer—who happens to be her own son seeking a forgiveness she simply isn't capable of granting—straight to her doorstep... and then we have this handsome, wealthy, and powerful husband who she can't stand being around anymore...

There are a million movies out there that follow this exact formula, where you start off completely in the dark about what's happening to the protagonist, only for the plot to unfold predictably as the story progresses...

that’s just a side plot in the movie

I honestly can’t think of a single film about a bitter woman who joins group therapy just to become obsessed with someone else's suicide—only to eventually embrace life in a completely different way and accept all her losses
you?

plus you didn't even touch on the scars

and what's the whole metaphor with the cake?

As far as I’m concerned, the scars, the injury to her spine, and the loss of her child are the core of what she went through... the movie is really just about how she learns to live with all of that.

I am totally digging that take on the movie

The film is brilliantly conceived, leaving you free to interpret its meaning however you see fit...

Wow, what a movie. Honestly, it totally wrecked me... hit all the right emotional spots. It’s heavy, yeah, but so raw and real. Jennifer Aniston absolutely carries this entire thing on her back—this has gotta be the best performance of her career. Seriously, she deserves an Oscar for this one. What really killed me was how she played such a depressed, gloomy character but still managed to sneak in those little flashes of her natural sense of humor. Total must-watch!

Nicole Fox35 said:what's the deal with that cake?

and why does she just stay in the car the whole damn time?

SPOILER

I skipped ahead so basically she ran over her kid while she was in the car with that guy, so now she can't even look out the windshield... she just can't handle it 🤔

Spoiler

She’s probably lying down because of the emotional trauma from the accident where she lost her child. It’s not about a spine issue; it’s about being unable to face life, and being in a car just reminds her too much of the crash. It’s pretty obvious by the end.

She didn't run over the kid. That guy who showed up on her doorstep caused the accident that left her badly injured and killed her child.

A cynical, witty, and sharp individual... Honestly, even before the accident, Jennifer Aniston probably wasn't the easiest person to live with or engage in deep conversation. It was an incredibly powerful performance, and she absolutely deserved that Oscar nomination.
She’s always been a talented actress—just look back at her work with Jake Gyllenhaal in 2002 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0279113/—she just had a habit of picking mediocre projects...

Nicole Fox35 said:that's just some side plot in the movie

I honestly can't think of a single movie about a bitter woman who goes to group therapy only to get obsessed with someone's suicide, just to finally accept life in a different way and deal with all her losses
how about you?

and you didn't even explain the scars

and what's the whole cake metaphor about?

Spoiler

The cake metaphor comes from that woman who took her own life. During one of the group therapy sessions, the therapist asks them what they’d do if they didn't feel any pain anymore, and she said she'd bake a real, homemade cake for her kid. When Claire is having hallucinations in the hospital, she remembers that because the hallucination of the deceased woman brings her a cake. So, at the moment she realizes she can actually move on and choose life over death, she takes the cake that little brat made for her and brings it to the kid of the woman who died. Then she just visits her son's grave and moves forward. There's also that scene where her physical therapist at the pool tells her there hasn't been a shred of progress in six months, and it's not even about the physical pain—it's clearly a mental block. The movie is showing the entire process of survival and healing for someone standing right on the edge after a massive trauma...

Lawrence Edwards58 said:cynical, funny, smart guy. honestly, even before the accident, Jennifer Aniston probably wasn't the easiest person to deal with... she's a great actress though, totally deserved that Oscar nomination.
she's always been solid (remember her with Jake Gyllenhaal back in 2002 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0279113/), she just picked trash roles too often.

Yeah, I saw this one. She’s good here, but she was way better in Cake. Like, miles better.
You can tell she’s really grown up, both as a person and an actress.

To me, Jennifer Aniston earned an Oscar nod way before Reesa did—especially since Reesa basically plays a similar character in Wild, just in a slightly different, maybe more polished way.

Even if Wild is the better movie overall, Jennifer Aniston definitely gave a stronger, better performance.

It was actual physical pain. If this were just some mental block, she wouldn't have felt the need to head down to Mexico to chase after drugs...

She’s better now—older, more seasoned, I suppose. Still, I find it hard to believe she'll ever actually snag an Oscar, unless it's some kind of lifetime achievement award at the very end of her career...

Kate Miller95 said:Spoiler

She’s probably lying down because of the emotional trauma from the accident where she lost her kid. It isn't about her spine—it's about being unable to face life, and driving just triggers memories of the crash. It's pretty obvious by the end.

She didn't run over the child; it was that guy who showed up on her doorstep who caused the accident that left her badly injured and killed her child.

glad you liked the movie as much as I did--and honestly, what you said about how Jennifer brought her signature sense of humor into that depressed character...
it really gave some light at the end of the tunnel throughout the whole thing🙂

SPOILER

my take was that he was driving and she was in the passenger seat, they hit the little boy, and she flew through the windshield...
which explains the facial scars from all that shattered glass
and just like you said, I think she won't sit upright not just to avoid facing life, but because looking through that front windshield is just too painful.

yeah, I interpreted the cake thing the same way
I was reading on IMDb and saw the metaphor "you can't have your cake and eat it too" (used when you can't have two conflicting things at once).
so even though her son is gone, she can fill that void with someone else—that's why she decides to give the cake to the little guy, and even though she can't bake it herself, she can find someone who will.🙂