Three sentence movie reviews: The Cake Eaters

While sometimes grabbing an unfamiliar movie from the library works out, sometimes it means 90-120 minutes of “ugh”.  So was the case for this movie which despite starring Kristen Stewart (who I like) and being directed by Mary Stuart Masterson (who was good in some key movies in my life) was not a very good movie at all.  Aside from the fact the title never bothers to connect itself to the movie,* the plot itself has many confusing attributes** that were just annoying.

*No cake was eaten, no discussion was made about cake, frosting or any desserts at all.
**Here’s a partial list:

  • Kristen Stewart’s illness was never really explained.  If you are going to have a rare disease in a movie, it pays to let your audience know what’s the deal.  
  • They live in a tiny town and yet these people seem to have no idea of the existence of each other.
  • “Intricately plotted” should only be used when the plot is, well, intricate. This was just members of the same two families sleeping with each other.
  • If you are going to have a “very sad realization” happen to one of the characters, you need to spell out a little better what the heck the realization is.
  • Movies where hair is cut in a dramatic fashion should manage the wig situation well enough so that the audience can’t tell there is a wig involved.

Cost:  Free from library (thank goodness)
Where watched:  at home.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2009/cake_eaters.html

(note that the cover of the DVD had a big picture of Kristen Stewart unlike this original poster.  I think this film was picked up because of Twilight.)