Sitting in Bars with Cake Review: Another Entry in the Classic Cancer Tearjerker that Provides Just the Right Amount of Sweetness
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Sitting in Bars with Cake Review
A decade ago, Audrey Shulman embarked on a peculiar mission to find love. She spent nearly a year baking cakes and delivering them to people, one meeting at a time. However, the course of events didn’t unfold as originally envisioned. Amidst this “cakebarring” experiment, her friend Krissy was diagnosed with cancer. Their real-life friendship has now turned into a poignant Prime Video entry directed by Trish C, a bittersweet entry that’s going exactly where it should, but with a touch of female camaraderie and a haunting tune of self-discovery that inspires you to take a slice for yourself. (Also Read: Priscilla’s First Review: Sofia Coppola’s Film Receives a 7-Minute Standing Ovation at Venice Film Festival, Glowing Reviews)
The premise Sitting in Bars with Cake
Sitting in Bars with Cake begins with Jen (Yara Shahidi) and Corinne (Odessa A’zion) as the best of friends who have moved from Arizona to Los Angeles. Corinne works as a junior music agent, while Jen is a law school aspirant working as a mailroom clerk. But their real passion lies in baking. However, Jen is somewhat reserved, and in the opening scenes, she proclaims, “If it works for Mr. Rogers, it works for me.” In another scene, she casually mentions a cake recipe, but it goes unnoticed in the crowd. On the flip side, Corinne is vivacious and adventurous, introducing a new bar with her homemade cakes every week for a year, a plan she calls “cakebarring.”
What It Does
As their plan is in full swing and everything seems to be going their way, Corinne is struck by a medical emergency. Upon diagnosis, they discover that Corinne has brain cancer. Her parents (played by Ron Livingston and Martha Kelly) are taken aback and start rallying to help. But Corinne wants to stay with Jen. From here, the film takes a restless and often unpredicted course, with several twists in the central friendship – shaken and stirred by the energy of their two leading performances and shivering with anticipation and pathos.
Final Thoughts
Shahidi delivers an excellent performance, yet her Jen feels somewhat lacking in the necessary emotional depth, pulled by the preconceived markers. On the contrary, A’zion manages to do so much with so little. She fills Corinne with such emotion, zeal, and heartbreaking desire that it’s hard to look away when she’s on screen. A lesser-used Bette Midler is there, making her presence felt on screen, hamming it up and disappearing as Corinne’s boss – a scene-stealer forever. Amidst hospital rounds and caregiving, the Cakebarring project somehow fades into oblivion.
Still, this unusually clever film’s climax is tightly focused and pragmatic. Even as the moments of impending doom reveal themselves, CE covers the anticipated ground with authenticity. Lauren Connolly’s brisk editing work and Tracy Dishman’s beautiful production design, aided by Setting in Bars with Cake, presents a sharp and sensitive exploration of what it means to care for someone. Perhaps it could have performed better with a touch of its ingredients, a bit more creative courage, like its well-mixed batter. It still deserves a taste.
‘Sitting in Bars with Cake’ is available for streaming on Prime Video.
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