The Cake Eaters (2007)
Directed by the incredible Mary Stuart Masterson, The Cake Eaters isn’t just a great chick flick, but a great movie overall. Kristen Stewart (Twilight) plays Georgia, a young woman with Friedreich’s ataxia – a disease that causes nerve damage and eventual heart disease – beautifully and it’s impossible not to love Elizabeth Ashley as Georgia’s free spirited grandmother. I absolutely loved this movie, although there was one serious flaw, so let’s get to that now.
The Cake Eaters was written by Jayce Bartok who also plays the completely unnecessary role of Beagle’s older brother Guy. I kept waiting for something to happen with his character that factored into the story, but it never amounted to anything. He shows up, does his thing and is in the final scene of the movie, but he really has no impact on the movie at all. Jayce gave a great performance in the movie and wrote a great script but his character seemed to be written in as an excuse to cast himself in the movie.
Aside from that, I really have no complaints about the movie. Some people are frustrated by the ending (which I won’t ruin here) but I love a movie that doesn’t wrap everything up in a neat package and lets you draw your own conclusions. If that isn’t your thing, you might want to skip The Cake Eaters.
