September 7, 2023
FILM: SITTING IN BARS WITH CAKE
DIRECTED BY: TRISH SIE
STARRING: YARA SHAHIDI, ODESSA A’ZION, BETTE MIDLER
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
First off, this film is NOT about young women sitting in bars with cake! Hardly. And far from it! Yes, it’s based on a book with the same name by Audrey Shulman who also wrote the screenplay. However, this more than anything is a film about friendship and the power of selflessness.
When Sitting in Bars with Cake begins, best friends Jane and Corinne decide to make cakes and bring them to bars in L.A. to meet guys. That’s the basic premise that is being sold in trailers for this film. The concept though, like so much here, is highly underdeveloped. One can imagine some great bar scenes with lots of dancing, highly energetic music, and young women seeking hot guys. A few such scenes are shown but it’s not the focus of the whole film. Both women have steady jobs working for the same company. Corinne is an assistant of sorts to high powered Benita, played by Bette Midler. Jane is the mail carrier in the company. How Jane has time to bake these beautiful cakes is never really explained or seen, especially in the film’s early scenes when they serve as the basis for the early plot. She seems to also have time to make several cakes that get cut into different pieces and brings them to work for her co-workers. Why? While the end result of the cakes look amazing, the film is missing those scenes of sumptuous prepping and baking that we’ve seen in related food films such as Big Night and Waitress (not to mention TV’s The Bear) that should make the audience salivate.
Therein lies the problem with the title as well as how the film is being sold. The focus of the narrative switches fairly early on when Corinne receives a life-threatening health diagnosis. Jane is nothing but supportive to her friend. She represents the ideal person we all wish we had in our lives when such bad news arrives. I won’t say more as it would spoil the plot but suffice to say, this friendship is where the heart and success of the film lies.
There is so much excess though that makes the film suffer. It’s clear this was based on Shulman’s real life experiences and book. Without having read it, I’ve no doubt that she presents a much wider view of the world of these characters. The film itself features some additional friends of Jane and Corinne that are present but not at all developed. There is also a boyfriend of Corinne’s who is barely visible and contributes absolutely nothing to the relationship or the film as a whole.
Then there’s Bette Midler. Why, oh why did she want to take the part of Benita? At first it appears that she might be a version of Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada but instead she is given nothing to do. She has no big scenes here to warrant her star presence. Her character is woefully underdeveloped and could have been played by any actress of a certain age. Shulman and director Trish Sie must have seen some connection between this story and Midler’s 1988 friendship tear jerker Beaches. Perhaps Midler was tickled with the attention and decided to take what is ultimately a very small and unnecessary part.
Also, oddly cast, are Ron Livingston and Martha Kelly as Corinne’s parents from Phoenix. Livingston sports a mysterious accent from some unknown region in Arizona that is sadly distracting. Kelly’s usual dry delivery feels out of place here too. We typically see her slow cadence used for comedy which this film does not need her for.
So, given the myriad problems I have with the film, why would I give it three out of four stars? Well, the relationship and development of the two main characters, Jane and Corinne, really do standout. They have an undying bond that will no doubt leave the film’s targeted audience feeling highly emotional by the end. They’re also interesting young career women who are hardly the type to waste too much time in bars waiting for guys to admire their cakes. Yes, this is the original draw but they offer so much more than that. They have life aspirations and are taking steps to improve their lives. They’re serious adults. The actresses who play them, Yara Shahidi (Jane) and Odessa A’zion (Corinne), both deserve Emmys for their quietly understated work in the film. Sie never takes them over the top. They are both grounded in their roles and have very powerful chemistry. So, in these regards, the film is a success. It’s the extra stuff that takes away from an otherwise beautiful story of friends who would do anything for each other.
Sitting in Bars with Cake (oh! that title..!) premieres this week on Amazon Prime.
FILM: SITTING IN BARS WITH CAKE
DIRECTED BY: TRISH SIE
STARRING: YARA SHAHIDI, ODESSA A’ZION, BETTE MIDLER
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
First off, this film is NOT about young women sitting in bars with cake! Hardly. And far from it! Yes, it’s based on a book with the same name by Audrey Shulman who also wrote the screenplay. However, this more than anything is a film about friendship and the power of selflessness.
When Sitting in Bars with Cake begins, best friends Jane and Corinne decide to make cakes and bring them to bars in L.A. to meet guys. That’s the basic premise that is being sold in trailers for this film. The concept though, like so much here, is highly underdeveloped. One can imagine some great bar scenes with lots of dancing, highly energetic music, and young women seeking hot guys. A few such scenes are shown but it’s not the focus of the whole film. Both women have steady jobs working for the same company. Corinne is an assistant of sorts to high powered Benita, played by Bette Midler. Jane is the mail carrier in the company. How Jane has time to bake these beautiful cakes is never really explained or seen, especially in the film’s early scenes when they serve as the basis for the early plot. She seems to also have time to make several cakes that get cut into different pieces and brings them to work for her co-workers. Why? While the end result of the cakes look amazing, the film is missing those scenes of sumptuous prepping and baking that we’ve seen in related food films such as Big Night and Waitress (not to mention TV’s The Bear) that should make the audience salivate.
Therein lies the problem with the title as well as how the film is being sold. The focus of the narrative switches fairly early on when Corinne receives a life-threatening health diagnosis. Jane is nothing but supportive to her friend. She represents the ideal person we all wish we had in our lives when such bad news arrives. I won’t say more as it would spoil the plot but suffice to say, this friendship is where the heart and success of the film lies.
There is so much excess though that makes the film suffer. It’s clear this was based on Shulman’s real life experiences and book. Without having read it, I’ve no doubt that she presents a much wider view of the world of these characters. The film itself features some additional friends of Jane and Corinne that are present but not at all developed. There is also a boyfriend of Corinne’s who is barely visible and contributes absolutely nothing to the relationship or the film as a whole.
Then there’s Bette Midler. Why, oh why did she want to take the part of Benita? At first it appears that she might be a version of Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada but instead she is given nothing to do. She has no big scenes here to warrant her star presence. Her character is woefully underdeveloped and could have been played by any actress of a certain age. Shulman and director Trish Sie must have seen some connection between this story and Midler’s 1988 friendship tear jerker Beaches. Perhaps Midler was tickled with the attention and decided to take what is ultimately a very small and unnecessary part.
Also, oddly cast, are Ron Livingston and Martha Kelly as Corinne’s parents from Phoenix. Livingston sports a mysterious accent from some unknown region in Arizona that is sadly distracting. Kelly’s usual dry delivery feels out of place here too. We typically see her slow cadence used for comedy which this film does not need her for.
So, given the myriad problems I have with the film, why would I give it three out of four stars? Well, the relationship and development of the two main characters, Jane and Corinne, really do standout. They have an undying bond that will no doubt leave the film’s targeted audience feeling highly emotional by the end. They’re also interesting young career women who are hardly the type to waste too much time in bars waiting for guys to admire their cakes. Yes, this is the original draw but they offer so much more than that. They have life aspirations and are taking steps to improve their lives. They’re serious adults. The actresses who play them, Yara Shahidi (Jane) and Odessa A’zion (Corinne), both deserve Emmys for their quietly understated work in the film. Sie never takes them over the top. They are both grounded in their roles and have very powerful chemistry. So, in these regards, the film is a success. It’s the extra stuff that takes away from an otherwise beautiful story of friends who would do anything for each other.
Sitting in Bars with Cake (oh! that title..!) premieres this week on Amazon Prime.