Customer Reviews

The Cake Eaters

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I wasn't really sure if I wanted to see this film; a Twilighter friend of mine ranted and raved that it was a must watch(although she was yet to see the movie, and knew little of the plot besides "Bella"(Kristen Stewart) was in it) but being the independent and existential film enthusiast that I am, I rented it with high expectations.

The Cake Eaters is a story about 16 year old Georgia(Kristen Stewart) who lives with Friedreich's Ataxia, a disease that she knows will kill her, if her overprotective mother doesn't drive her crazy first.


While spending time with her grandmother(Elizabeth Ashley) who is her one escape from her mother, she meets Beagle(Aaron Stanford) an older boy who works in her schools' cafeteria, and has plenty of problems of his own.

Beagle is still dealing with the recent loss of his mother, when his estranged brother Guy(Jayce Bartok) comes back into town dragging his crushed dreams of being a musician along with him. And not to mention, their father seems to be handling everything just a little too positively for Beagle to manage.

Of course Georgia and Beagle turn to each other, and with the other just might be able to get through their chaotic lives. That is until Georgia pushes the fact that she wants to lose her virginity to Beagle, and now!


The Cake Eaters is my updated version of A Walk to Remember. Girl has terminal disease, boy is still dealing with loss and ability to love... but this one is just a little less cookie-cutter and a little more sundance.(and a lot less romantic!)

I can't say this will be a favorite, and I don't know if Stewart's Twilight fan base will enjoy it(based on the film alone)...but it is solid, enjoyable, just maybe not quite as eye-opening as it could have been.

First, I love Kristen Stewart. Not because of Twilight, although I did enjoy the books and I did appreciate the movie. But lets be honest, Twilight was not one of the best written movies. You know it, I know it, and everyone else knows it.

Cake Eaters, however, was fantastic. Kristen Stewart plays a young girl, 16 i think, with a muscular disorder and she is curious about the opposite sex. She meets a young man who has just lost his mother and they instantly have an attraction.

There are a couple other side stories going on that are entertaining. All the stories share the same amount of screen time but my main interest was towards Kristen Stewart and Aaron Stanfords relationship. Bruce Dern did a fantastic job as well.

I would highly recommend this movie if you are a fan of Kristen Stewart. I would also recommend Into the Wild. I cannot wait for The Runaways, K-11, and Welcome to the Rileys to come out.

Kristen stewart is magical in this film. Mary Stuart Masterson is the magic fairy in this film, Melissa Leo was marvelously seen on flashbacks but Bruce Dern is the one that tops the Cake. You will not recognize Aaron Stanford here, since he plays no X-man mutant, but a young imploding dutiful son.

The title of the film is explained in the director's commentary in case you are wondering. I won't spill it because you need to watch the film and be mesmerized by the beauty of Cake Eaters. Yes I said beautiful because there is no other way to qualify this film.

Such incredible, talented people gathered in this indie film will make you feel good about your own life. The message of the movie will leave you asking for seconds of this Cake.

Kristen Stewart's Georgia character is the best of her long career, her second being Melinda on the film Speak (also an indie film).

If this movie was overlooked at Oscar time we have critics that cannot see beyond their teenage years. Although I was drawn to this gem on the strength of Kristen Stewart's haunting and growing library of solid acting chops to date, enlarged deservedly by "Twilight," her range of work predicts an ascent to the heights of Streep with no reservations. This film is perfectly cast and exquisitely written as it explores the territory of generational love, as well as a Camille-like subplot of Kristen's terminal condition(not the story focus),and still delivers roundhouse performances from all the ensemble cast, particularly Bruce Dern and Elizabeth Ashley, two old studio veterans, that allows them to make up for their lengthy absences from the big screen. I have not seen a film cover such wide ground of emotions in so concise a manner so completely. Every character in this small, independent offering towers in courage before your eyes with fine shadings of flawed humanity and dignity. You will find yourself in this bitter-sweet offering in one of the characters and never forget what was so well unspoken long after each character had their say about the complexities of finding love in time. I can only explain the Oscar robbery as the Mona Lisa effect, cluttering the back room until it gets truly discovered by one with an eye for greatness.

I came across this movie while searching for other Kristen Stewart movies. Kristen Stewart dosen't get enough credit as she is an extremely talented actress. She plays a girl with special needs and was so believable. She really makes you feel for the character Georgia who along with her special needs has a control freak tyrant for a mother. Talia Balsam stars as the mother and she made overbearing look darn good! Bruce Dern(hilarious)and Jessie L Martin from Law and Order also star so a realy good cast as well. I loved it and definitely recommend it!

I absolutely loved this movie. But I think you have to be a fan of not only Kristen Stewart, but also this type of movie. It's quirky and fun, but not in the Juno-esque sense. Kristen Stewart does her best acting yet (no, she's not in love with a vampire in this one, get over it). Don't expect to see cake or people eating it. This is a movie about breaking free and doing things your way. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I'm not sure how many others would.

Kristen Stewart really redeemed herself for me in this film. I was not a fan of her in Twilight. I thought her acting lacked emotion. I didn't really know what to expect of this film but was pleasantly surprised. Kristin played a girl who suffered from a nueromuscular disease and did an excellent job. There were times in the movie when the transitions were weird and the plot was unrecognizable. I must say I was a bit disappointed with the ending because it left a some loose ends. Overall a good movie.

Nothing like having a $200 million exposure (this made 6 films ago from Twilight for Stewart) and an Oscar nomination (M. Leo) to highlight an unknown film. To be clear, Melissa has two minutes of non-dialogue screen time in a flashback montage and Kirsten has intermittent segments in the first 35 minutes of this 80 minute film. Bruce Dern and others have equivalent lines in this film throughout so I would consider this an ensemble piece, especially once the ending plays out.

Several stories parlay into this segment of NorEast lifestyles entailing two families' rural existence complicated by past and present loves tying said families together. The performances are nuanced and let loose an idea of what small-town romances can be like over two related generations. In plot summary, do not expect much in opening and closing; the opening discussion is about cereal and the closing discusses what to make for dinner. The middle tried to fit in three love stories with the remaining 60 minutes. The writing is inconsistent throughout, bolstered several times by moments of people needing to react differently than they should have.

The DVD quality is adequate, the supplements list a commentary, exclusive behind-the-scenes, deleted scenes and a 5.1 sound. To be honest - the supplements are completely forgettable and the film's 5.1 only gets used a handful of times. The cast interviews total three minutes of how phenomenal Kristen Stewart is (not kidding), the "exclusives" are an additional three minutes of film making and the deleted scenes were irrelevant.

The fan base of this film is fanatical, so expect lots of slams unless one reviews this film as the best thing since Don't Come Knocking on the minimalist front. But to be real, this is the story about a neurological/muscular disorder challenged teen losing her virginity, nothing more or less. Solid performances and decent music lend this a few stars above normal, that and a plethora of new Twilight fans giving this a much higher rating then other films similar in nature. A 4-star prop on Stewart alone providing an out-of-the-ordinary showing (filmed almost three years ago).

I really wanted to like this movie and forced myself to watch it after an immediate whiff that this was a stinkeroo right from the start. I wanted to like it as it has some good actors and I like Masterson. Usually don't watch anything with Stewart in it as I feel she is one of the worst actresses around. Despite being talentless, they cast her in a difficult role of capturing a girl with that type of illness - not easy to portray. The overall acting in this film was just terrible. Of course, they didn't have much to work with as the scriptwriting and dialog was almost laughable at times. The music, in places, was out-of-sync with the scenes. When music distracts me (in a bad way) from what's going on, that's not a good thing. The sets were fake-looking. What else can I say other than I'm sorry I backed the wrong horse by watching this one.

The Cake Eaters definitely feels like a low budget type drama, but it does an okay job telling a story involving three separate love conflicts among a smalltown family. It's basically like an enhanced episode of the hit TV show Parenthood.

The main love story revolves around a 16-year old teenage girl with a terribly fatal muscular disease (this is the most popular of the three), another one involves a middle-aged woman who's an advice-giving hairdresser (hardly receives much attention) and the final one involves a much older couple.

Basically, since the storyline mainly focuses on the young girl with the muscle disease, the plot develops around her as she tries desperately to function as a typical normal teenager.

The entire storyline takes place in a small town in the middle of nowhere, and perhaps the most unusual thing about the movie is how extremely unsettling and quiet the volume is. In the background you practically don't hear *anything* at all.

The acting is decent enough, though I've seen a heck of a lot better in many other films. The biggest problem is the fact the storyline is ridiculously rudimentary, and so it's very easy to grasp the events taking place to the point of being almost mindless. Besides that, it's alright.