Cake

Film festivals seem to squeeze out facile explorations of grief and depression by the dozen every year, and sure enough the Jennifer Aniston vehicle Cake is almost as tedious as last year's The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby. The only reason Daniel Barnz's movie-like substance is even playing in theaters instead of debuting on VOD (or nowhere) is a mercenary PR campaign designed to capitalize on a “weak” Best Actress crowd and get Aniston some face time on awards telecasts. It worked, to the extent that Aniston received token Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for her performance, but now we're all stuck with this lightweight and forgettable slice of misery porn. Aniston does solid but indistinct work as Claire Bennett, a prickly accident survivor nursing chronic pain and protecting any number of big secrets. Cake is a so-so Lifetime special and a pretty lousy film.