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Everything I’ve heard thus far about Cake is that it’s “generating Oscar buzz.” When the trailer premiered on Good Morning America, ABC said it’s “scoring star Jennifer Aniston lots of Oscar buzz.” Though as far as I can tell, that buzz has been generated mainly by Cake‘s marketing department. But hypothetically speaking, why would Cake be generating Oscar buzz? Because star Jennifer Aniston bravely went without make-up, you see.
“It actually was extremely liberating,” Aniston said. Speaking about going sans makeup, she explained, “As women, we do feel that we have to live up to an expectation whether it is on camera or going to the market or whatever it is. The truth of the matter is that that is not always the way it is. We don’t always have our high heels on. We don’t always have our hair and makeup on. And this character is basically someone who had just given up, just on even waking up sometimes.”
So brave
much method
many Hero
wow
Still, outside of Pete Hammond, who flails around for superlatives any time a pretty girl rubs a little dirt on her face, the critics haven’t been especially kind. Here’s the rundown:
Claire Simmons (Jennifer Aniston) is in pain. Her physical pain is evident in the scars that line her body and the way she carries herself, wincing with each tentative step. She’s no good at hiding her emotional pain either. Blunt to the point of searing insult, Claire’s anger seethes out of her with nearly every interaction. She has driven away her husband, her friends – even her chronic-pain support group has kicked her out.
The only one left in Claire’s otherwise solitary existence is her housekeeper-cum-caretaker, Silvana (Academy Award nominee Adriana Barraza), who barely tolerates her boss’ need for liquor and prescription pills. But the suicide of Nina (Academy Award nominee Anna Kendrick), one of Claire’s fellow chronic-pain group members, prompts another fixation. In pursuing questions about the death of a woman she barely knew, Claire explores the boundaries between life and death, abandonment and heartbreak, danger and salvation. As she inserts herself into the lives of Nina’s husband (Sam Worthington) and the son Nina left behind, Claire just might find salvation.
Well sure, it sounds awardsy enough. Though it’s interesting that they’re trying to market it as an Oscar movie, considering Cake opens January 23rd in New York, meaning it wouldn’t be eligible for the Oscars until next year. Either they’re banking on a lot of really old people remembering a for-your-consideration campaign for an entire year, or this campaign is a bit of a bait and switch.
I just wish they would’ve gone with my tagline, “Cake: What’s eating you?”