There’s always room for Cake – especially now that the wider cast list of this upcoming independent film has been announced. The comedy-drama from director Daniel Barnz (Won’t Back Down) will soon be heading before the cameras with Jennifer Aniston in the lead role, but with a varied resume – swinging wildly from the tedious Bounty Hunter to the excellent Good Girl – an Aniston movie can go either way. Ultimately, it’s the script and supporting cast that determines which end of the quality spectrum the film swings toward.
In that regard, things are looking very good for Cake. The story sees a woman (Aniston) become fascinated with the suicide of a member of her chronic pain support group. Digging deeper into the dead woman’s life, she develops a relationship with her widower, while dealing with her own tragedies. Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect) will play the role of the suicidal group member, and Sam Wothington (Avatar) will play her widower. Chris Messina (The Mindy Project) will play Aniston’s ex-husband, and Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) will fill the role of the support group facilitator.
Rounding out the cast are William H Macy (Fargo), Britt Robertson (Delivery Man), Lucy Walters (Bones), Camille Mana (High School) and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without A Trace). The script comes from relatively untested writer Patrick Tobin, under the stewardship of producers Ben Barnz, Kristin Hahn (The Departed, The Switch), Mark Canton (Immortals, 300), Courtney Solomon (Getaway), and executive producers Shyam Madiraju and Aniston.
There is every chance that, with such a strong supporting cast, this project could give Jennifer Aniston the opportunity to flex some real dramatic muscle, of which we have only seen tantalizing glimpses in the past. Currently set for release early in 2015, we can only hope that Cake is full of richer, deeper flavours, rather than being heavy on the frosting.
