Cake 2014

Wesley Morris, Grantland: The movie is actually smart about the seriousness of grief without being oppressive itself. And [Aniston's] performance is equally intelligent. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Aniston proves, as always, a modestly gifted actress, only this time with scars and weedy hair. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: The sheer courage of Ms. Aniston grows on you, like a lichen. So does the movie. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: "Cake" gives us an interesting character and a fine performance, nestled into a movie that doesn't really work. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: At the last minute, "Cake" becomes a film not about chronic pain, but a different subject entirely, and one about which it doesn't have all that much new to say. Read more

Jenni Miller, AV Club: A movie that tries so hard to be edgy that it tips over into silliness. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Another in a long line of films in which beautiful people dowdy themselves up in an effort to Be Taken Seriously. Read more

Peter Keough, Boston Globe: Perhaps a more imaginative director might have brought some genuine feeling or grace to this bathos, but Barnz merely allows Aniston maximum screen time and shoots her to highlight her artfully ratty hair and crosshatched skin. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Whether or not Aniston ever gets another role like this one, I have a hard time imagining anyone else in it -- and that's the sign of a genuine actor. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: I wish the movie were messier, more surprising. But as with most of what we see, made on small budgets and large: The performances are not the problem. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Cake could have used more layers. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Jennifer Aniston burrows into Claire's walking-wounded gait and eclipsed mood. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: 'Cake' is delicious stuff - low key but affecting, funny while tragic, quirky but never so bizarre it loses you. Read more

Melissa Maerz, Entertainment Weekly: The smaller scenes that focus on the everyday reality of depression stick with you ... Read more

Leslie Felperin, Hollywood Reporter: Less emotionally potent than it wants to be, and feels as if it might have been overmedicated by script doctoring to make it more palatable to Aniston's fan base. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: For all the pain, grief, sadness and suicide that layers Cake, it is a serious treat to see the actress stretch herself. Hopefully this film won't turn out to be a single slice. Read more

Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: It's a letdown that the film itself, written by Patrick Tobin and directed by Daniel Barnz, doesn't take half the chances its leading lady does and is content to paddle around the shallows rather than plunge into the deep end. Read more

Amy Nicholson, L.A. Weekly: There's an irony that Claire, a victim with bottomless resources and no responsibilities, so easily crumbles, but the film doesn't press the point. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: Claire is the sort of role fortysomething actresses dream of: utterly unglamorous; biting; wounded. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Solid performance by Aniston, but her character's trip from point A to B plots a well-trod course. Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: The slack and purposeless direction leaves the entire cast emoting in a void. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: It's not a bad film. But you would have to live within Claire's very small and pampered world to think it was a brave one. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Alas, "Cake" can't rise simply from Aniston's performance. Had the script been sharper and the direction tighter, she might just have made the Oscar list. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: The movie hits so many familiar beats that it's impossible not to see what's next. It does what you expect at almost every turn ... Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Directed in moody, downbeat tones by Daniel Barnz, Cake doesn't know when to stop piling on the angst. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The script goes soft, not Aniston. Instead of playing symptoms of chronic pain, she finds what's raw and festering underneath. Way to go, Aniston. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: The good news of "Cake" is that it proves that Aniston can be appealing without being exalted or gorgeous, by simply being average. Read more

Kristin Tillotson, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Five words I never thought I'd string together: Jennifer Aniston made me cry. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: A misguided therapy dramedy that attempts to portray pain and grief with strained whimsy. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Unsure of whether it wants to be comedy or tragedy, it meanders along an awkward middle path. Read more

Inkoo Kang, TheWrap: "A thoughtful and frequently moving drama that insightfully illuminates what it's like to live with illness and agony." Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: It's a drag to see Aniston doubling down on the kind of sour, embittered role Cake offers, one with very little latitude for her comic chops or her natural way with a seen-it-all sigh. Read more

Liz Braun, Toronto Sun: Cake starts off like an edgy indie film and wraps up like one of the more serious episodes of Friends. Once Aniston's warts 'n' all performance has been highlighted, the movie seems to fizzle out, losing its momentum. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Nothing about Cake is remotely tempting or sweet. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: This Cake isn't fallen. It's just a bit deflated. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: There's no doubt that Aniston deserves more roles like this one but, with luck, in less maudlin, more surprising movies. Read more