Laikals
The greatest movie ever made..!
Matialth
Good concept, poorly executed.
CommentsXp
Best movie ever!
Dana
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
joemjv
This movie is very well done. I feel that Jennifer Aniston without a doubt was the perfect actress for the role and her performance on this piece of art speaks tons about her abilities. I feel that the story was missing but nevertheless it is very raw, discusses an important topic and I feel it shows us how important attitude can be.If you have not seen this movie yet you should see it at least to see how convincing and professional Jennifer Aniston can be. Adriana Barraza was also excellent. This is beautiful art.
TheMarco
Like many others who have commented on this piece before, I was never a fan of Rachel, and that dislike naturally affected my perception and judgment of -- as well as expectations toward -- Aniston and her work. The portrayal of Claire caused some massive adjustments, which makes me really joyous. Aniston's character in Cake is interesting and convincing in so many ways, and it gives food for thought in so many aspects -- it makes you wonder what alternative path(s) as an actress she might have taken in the absence of Friends. But never mind all that. Here's hoping (and now also very much expecting -- yeah, revealing one's talent can be a real curse) that we'll get a lot more of THAT actress in the future.The development of Claire's character, and thus the film as such, progresses at a good pace. Don't be turned off by claims that the first half is too slow, it absolutely isn't. Portraying the many facets of pain that represent Claire's reality couldn't possibly be done more quickly, it would be entirely inappropriate. In fact, I assume the director had a lot more material in that section which he was forced to cut to appeal to a broader audience (which is a real shame).Similarly, don't be misled by claims that much of the first part of Cake is a '(self-)pity party'. Whoever spouts such nonsense simply lacks any experience of what chronic pain is like. In a sense, such people are to be admired and congratulated because they seem to have lived rather luckily. On the down-side, lack of personal experience comes with lack of true understanding and empathy, which is unfortunate. If anything, it's rather amazing that Claire manages to operate as well as she does. Many, perhaps most, others in her position wouldn't. That she is snarky and short in her interaction with others cannot possibly surprise, constant pain does that to a person.I also liked that the full spectrum of pains was not revealed immediately. We slowly learn that chronic bodily misery is not the only part of Claire's hell. Rather, psychological pains -- and here too, not just one kind -- represent key aspects of the character's daily experience of 'life'. Over the course of the film, more and more agony gets packed on, making you wonder how she's even able to manage anything other than a crawl. In this respect, I actually found the weakness of her suicidal tendencies (as portrayed) quite unconvincing. How could anyone not strongly wish to put an end to this kind of suffering?? (Religion certainly didn't seem to play a preventative role.)One key question that I wish the film would have had time to consider is how relatively lucky Claire is despite her personal hell. Imagine the same fate had affected not Claire -- who's obviously materially well-off -- but rather her housekeeper Silvana. If Claire's life is agony, what would the existence of an immigrant be like?All in all, much applauded and recommended.
Rae-rae Davis
I adore Jennifer Anniston and if it wasn't for the close ups of her amazingly unlined skin, I would have been bored out of my mind with this dragged out movie. I like explanations if even at the end of a movie...I don't like to guess the story line...Knowing HOW, WHEN and WHY is the key to a good movie for me. The character was not someone you pitied or felt any empathy for. She was nasty to everyone most of the time. The housekeeper, the guy who came to the house the husband of the girl, the pool boy, the support group. All without explanation so you could understand her hostility. Jennifers acting of constant pain was brilliant though, although when she bashed the guy at the house for daring to apologise, she seemed to forget about her pain and stiffness...The ending had no real impact although was meant to signify change. Ppppffft.....Spell it out to me, show me the headstone, show me flashbacks to the accident...Im shallow like that....
Twins65
***MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD*** I finally got around to seeing "Cake" after hearing about Jennifer Aniston's lauded performance from over a year ago, and I gotta' say
Nice job Jen! You made a movie with no makeup on (except for some facial scarring) about drug dependency, suicide and the aftermath of death in the immediate family totally watchable, and I'm going to rate it higher than the 6.5 average it's got on this site.I never really liked "Friends', and only saw a few episodes. And I have generally stayed away from Aniston's generic rom-com movies, which all have pretty-much tanked at the box office. But this one, along with her recent turns in "We're the Millers" (a hit) and "Wonderlust" (which bombed, but she was OK in) were solid efforts. Let's hope for continued bigger and better roles ahead. But as I write this, I see she's in another of those Garry Marshall "ensemble" movies next year---LOOK OUT JEN! All of the other actors were good as well, with a special nod to Sam Worthington, who seems to get bashed a lot by critics, and Adriana Barraza, who I was unfamiliar with.Check this out if you care to.