Review: 'Cake' starring Jennifer Aniston, Anna Kendrick, and Sam Worthington

Oh quiet down, Team Jennifer fans: your favorite Friends star wasn't snubbed by the Oscars for her grief-stricken performance in Cake. That's not to say she isn't deserving of some measure of kudos for taking on a role much darker than we've seen since she was briefly an indie darling for The Good Girl. Aniston does deserve credit for that, but the film itself is an inelegant look at misery and depression that holds her back from reaching real emotional depths.

The oddly-titled Cake is just as odd of a nut to crack. At times it's so bleak and humorless that to watch it can be a real drag, but then the next moment it resembles a snarkier version of Spanglish, which is about as lame as that sounds. Aniston takes a break from the lame rom-coms and gives an intermittently powerful performance as Claire Simmons, a woman scarred in just about every way imaginable. Both physically and emotionally she is a damaged woman, who hides her pain by the constant taking of prescription pills and a "who gives a crap" attitude about everything. That includes her treatment of loyal housekeeper Silvana (Adrianna Barrazza), who functions as a sort of cheerful enabler to Claire's negativity. Claire is so terrible she's lost just about everyone: her husband (Chris Messina) has long since moved on; her support group wants her to seek help elsewhere; and even her physical therapist (Mamie Gummer) thinks she's given up.

While the story of an extreme depressive's turn towards redemption can be a powerful one if told with an honest accounting of struggles involved, Cake takes an unnecessarily quirky route and never quite recovers. After nearly killing herself on drugs, Claire begins to see visions of and have combative conversations with Nina (Anna Kendrick), a former member of her self-help group who committed suicide. Nina becomes obsessed with Nina's life, visiting her former home and encountering her widowed husband Roy (Sam Worthington), who seems remarkably open to being stalked by an unstable woman. He doesn't seem to mind that she keeps showing up out of the blue, and Claire doesn't mind using him to make herself feel better. She doesn't mind using anybody, for that matter. Claire is a user, first and foremost.

Claire is also not especially likable. She's not nearly as funny as the screenplay wants her to be, and every attempt to make her so comes across as mean-spirited and selfish. There isn't enough consistency in her character to make us pity her, and it's a complete disservice to Aniston who dives into Claire's grief with both feet. We've never seen her play a character this unhappy, this sour, this defeated by life, and it's startling given the sexy comedic roles she's had of late. While it doesn't rank with some of the more challenging female performances that did get Oscar nominations, Aniston has set herself up for greater dramatic roles in the future. With the warm, comforting Barrazza they make for an interesting oil & water duo to watch when not tripped up by shapeless screenplay. Unfortunately, Cake is an unsatisfying meal too unsure tonally and lacking in any serious revelations on breaking free of despair.

 Rating: 2.5 out of 5

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Samuel L. Jackson is POTUS on the Run in Trailer for 'Big Game'

The premise of Jalmari Helander Finnish action-comedy Big Game certainly sounds as audacious as the title would suggest. Samuel L. Jackson plays the President of the United States (already an out-there idea) who is stranded in the wilds after Air Force One is attacked. To survive, he'll need the help of a 13-year-old boy played by Omni Tommila. Sounds great, right? But the film is actually something of a genre parody, and the first trailer doesn't give any hint that the tone is quite right.

Co-starring Ray Stevenson, Felicity Huffman, Jim Broadbent, and Ted Levine, the film has a lot of talent but seems to be trying to have it both ways. Some moments seem to be playing it straight while others are clearly in jest, and it makes for a trailer that is less than the sum of its parts. You won't be surprised to learn that was the common critique of it in early reviews from TIFF.

Big Game has yet to get a release date in the U.S.

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Jennifer Aniston Drinks and Pops Pills in First Trailer for 'Cake'

We've been down this route with Jennifer Aniston before; the one where he takes on a completely stripped down role in an indie feature and turns everybody's head with her acting. That was more than a decade ago with The Good Girl, a film that earned her an Indie Spirit Award nomination and other accolades. Earlier this year Aniston began generating some festival buzz for Cake, which sees her once again stripping down the glamor (rather than just stripping down as in Horrible Bosses 2 or We're the Millers) in taking on the darkest role of her career.

But is the film any good? Well...that's up for debate. While the reviews were split after it premiered at Toronto, the real proof may be that producers failed to find distribution, ultimately being forced to start their own company to release it.  Rarely is that such a good sign. Aniston plays Claire Simmons, an emotionally crippled woman who begins obsessing over the suicide by a member (Anna Kendrick) of her support group. Meanwhile, the self-absorbed Claire begins having an affair with the dead woman's widower, played by Sam Worthington. Adriana Barraza, William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman, Lucy Punch, Chris Messina, Britt Robertson, Mamie Gummer, and the late Misty Upham co-star with Daniel Barnz (Beastly) directing.

We've seen a complete transformation in Aniston as she's embraced her risque side in R-rated comedies, but dramatic roles have been few. The thing is, she's actually pretty good when given the opportunity to branch out into more serious work. Cake may not be the film that gets her any awards contention but it may open the door to other opportunities. After a one-week Oscar qualifying run next month Cake will open in January.



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Trailer for William H. Macy's Directorial Debut 'Rudderless' with Billy Crudup, Selena Gomez, and Anton Yelchin

One of the movies I heard a great deal about at Sundance, some of it good and some bad, was William H. Macy's directorial debut, Rudderless. The film sounds a lot like John Carney's recent musical drama Begin Again, exploring music and its power to make our lives better even in the face of terrible hardship. And with a release date only a few weeks away the first trailer has been released and it looks those who heaped praise on it may have been right.

Macy has gathered a strong cast with Billy Crudup, Anton Yelchin, Selena Gomez, Felicty Huffman, Laurence Fishburne, and Jamie Chung for the story of Sam (Crudup) a father struggling to deal with the death of his son. Turning to alcohol to cope with the pain, he finds a different coping mechanism when a box of his son's demo tapes is uncovered, revealing a gift for music Sam never knew he had. Learning to play the songs as a means of connecting with his child, Sam and another young man (Yelchin) form a rock band that becomes more popular than expected.

Rudderless hits VOD and theaters on October 17th.


Rudderless trailer 1 (2014) - Selena Gomez Movie (HD) by MovieTrailerz

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Snap Judgments Review: Clark Gregg's 'Trust Me'

Clark Gregg (The Avengers, Agents of SHIELD) writes, directs, and stars in the Hollywood-skewering comedy, Trust Me, playing Howard Holloway, a former child actor-turned-agent for child actors who can't catch a break. With his company on the verge of going under after he loses yet another client to his archnemesis (Sam Rockwell), things start to look up for Howard when he meets the supremely talented Lydia (Saxon Sharbino), a young actress who just secured a major Twilight-esque franchise and wants to be Howard's client....assuming he doesn't screw things up.

Trust Me is available now On Demand. Check out my Snap Judgments review of Trust Me below.

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Trailer for Clark Gregg's 'Trust Me' Starring Sam Rockwell

It's been six years since Phil Coulson...er, Clark Gregg's last directorial effort, the Chuck Palahniuk adaptation, Choke. He's been pretty busy dealing with superheroes in the Marvel Universe ever since, but now he's getting back behind the camera for Trust Me, and now it has a trailer.

Gregg also wrote and stars in the film, playing an agent for child actors who discovers a teenaged star (Saxon Sharbino) who may finally catapult him into the big time. But first he has to deal with the girl's overprotective father, scheming producers, and his nemesis played by Sam Rockwell. The cast is great with Allison Janney, Amanda Peet, Felicity Huffman, and her husband William H. Macy all making appearances. It's a premise brimming with potential, so hopefully Gregg is able to make the most of out of it.

Trust Me hits VOD on May 6th and theaters a month later. 

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Anna Kendrick and Sam Worthington Serve Up 'Cake' with Jennifer Aniston

After a couple of $200M R-rated comedy hits in Horrible Bosses and We're the Millers, Jennifer Aniston is going a different route with the indie drama, Cake. And while director Daniel Barnz (Beastly, Won't Back Down) scored quite a coup getting her to headline the film, the rest of the cast is shaping up to be even more impressive.

According to The Wrap, Anna Kendrick, Sam Worthington, William H. Macy and his wife Felicity Huffman, Britt Robertson (Tomorrowland), Chris Messina, Lucy Walters (Shame), Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Camille Mana (Smart People), and Manuel Garcia Rulfo have joined the cast. Patrick Tobin's script wound up on the 2013 Black List and has Aniston playing "an acerbic woman named Claire who becomes fascinated by the suicide of Nina, a woman in her chronic pain support group. As she uncovers the details of Nina's suicide and develops a poignant relationship with Nina's husband, Claire also grapples with her own very raw personal tragedy." Kendrick will play Nina who reappears as a ghost to taunt Claire, with Worthington as Nina's husband.  Messina will be Claire's ex-husband while Huffman is the facilitator of a support group.

No word on when filming will begin or how this will fit into Kendrick's schedule. She has Pitch Perfect 2 coming up, and recently wrapped Disney musical, Into the Woods. She had three movies at Sundance that are all expected to drop some time this year: Joe Swanberg's Happy Christmas, Life After Beth opposite Dane DeHaan, and Marjane Satrapi's The Voices.

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William H. Macy adds Selena Gomez, Billy Crudup, Laurence Fishburne, and Anton Yelchin to "Rudderless'

 

In a way it's surprising that William H. Macy is only now making his feature directorial debut with the musical drama, Rudderless. A consummate character actor who has worked with some of the great filmmakers over his 30+ year career, including David Mamet, the Coen Brothers, and Paul Thomas Anderson, Macy has always seemed like a natural to make the transition behind the camera. With his wife Felicity Huffman set to co-star alongside him, Macy has now gathered an impressive group to help make his first film go smoothly.

Laurence Fishburne, Selena Gomez, Billy Crudup, and Anton Yelchin have joined Rudderless, which is based on a story conceived by Macy along with screenwriters Casey Twenter and Jeff Robison.  The film follows a grieving father in a downward spiral who discovers a box of original music written by his dead son. He forms a band to perform the songs and in the process learns to find peace and cope with the loss. No word on the roles each actor will play, but we know Macy will take on the lead role of the father.

It's a solid group that should fit in well with the sorts of films Macy usually finds himself acting in. The only exception may be Gomez, and it'll be interesting to see how she fits into the picture.  Filming on Rudderless begins later this month. [Variety]

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The Queue: Phoebe in Wonderland (2009)

I still have no idea how this got on my queue. It's not the type of movie I usually would go out of my way to see, nor would I put it anywhere near the top of my list. Fortunately I gave it a real chance, because it turned out to be a surprisingly powerful film.

Elle Fanning stars as Phoebe, a young girl who's sick of playing by the rules. Rules at school, rules at home, rules seemingly everywhere. Phoebe often finds herself getting in trouble at school, and doesn't fit in with the students around her. Her parents have their own problems. Her mother is struggling to write a thesis based on Alice in Wonderland. Her father is a writer who's sudden success causes rifts within the marriage. Phoebe's only real outlet is her vivid imagination, where she imagines herself and the people around her as charaters from Wonderland. When the opportunity arises for Phoebe to star in a play based on the story, she leaps at the chance. The play is directed by the artful Ms. Dodger(Patricia Clarkson), an enigmatic figure who sees parallels between herself and Phoebe.

Phoebe finds her true calling on stage, and flourishes. But her issues with staying out of trouble continue to haunt her. She becomes increasingly obsessive over minor details. She acts out in uncontrollable rages and bursts of cruelty that leave everyone off guard. Phoebe has a form of Tourette's Syndrome, but her parents refuse to accept it, choosing to ignore the issue for fear of having their child labeled.

This is Elle Fanning's debut in a starring role, and I gotta say that she's already showing the emotional maturity that has made her sister Dakota such a huge star. My biggest fear when dealing with any movie about a specific disease or syndrome is that the performance will be steeped in stereotype or caricature. I never felt that way for a second here. Every performance within is top notch, in particular Clarkson and Felicity Huffman as Phoebe's mom. Personally I'm sick of Bill Pullman and that droopy Dad thing he always does. The guy always looks and sounds like he just got back from a conference on water spigots or something.

I would've liked to have seen this film in the hands of a more dynamic director. Not that Daniel Barnz's approach is bad, it's just not very exciting. The camera remains pretty static throughout, and I often found myself drifting off during the quiet moments. Considering this is a film that's pretty much all quiet moments, you see my problem. But that doesn't negate the strong efforts by the cast, nor the message within. Phoebe in Wonderland is a film that would be perfect for a family movie night, or if you're trying to impart lessons to your kids about being unique and understanding those who are different. Worth checkin' out.

6.5/10

Next up on the Queue: Thomas Jane and Ron Perlman's MUTANT CHRONICLES (2009)

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