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“Cake”

Directed by: Daniel Barnz

Screenplay by: Patrick Tobin

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, William H. Macy, Anna Kendrick, Sam Worthington, Felicity Huffman, Chris Messina, Mamie Gummer

“Cake” is dense, but not in a good way like that yellow cake with homemade fudge frosting that a runaway teens makes for you in your home.

Jennifer Aniston, usually noted for her comedic roles, plays Claire, a heartbroken mother. Claire loses her son in a car crash that severely injures her as well. In the course of the film, you see her slowly accepting her fate — but her progress is not fast enough to engage the viewers.

There are so many layers to the film, but somehow they just don’t come together. It’s messy and because of the various underdone plotlines, the main point of the story just crumbles. From smuggling drugs from Tijuana to stalking a widower to weird comedic moments, the film tries hard to have everything, but in the end, it’s left with nothing.

In addition, there are weird snippets of artistic shots that don’t work in the film. The uncanny transitional clips and the awful ethereal scenes with Anna Kendrick don’t add anything to the film, it just makes the viewers wonder why they paid $10.

It was Aniston’s valiant effort at a serious role; however, don’t get caught up with the fact that people are calling this a redefining moment in her career. She does just as well in her comedic roles, if not better. Although it’s definitely a different angle for Aniston, it’s not necessarily a better one.