Themes: Writer's Life, Fathers and Daughters, Single Life
Main Cast: Heather Graham, David Sutcliffe, Taye Diggs, Sandra Oh, Cheryl Hines, Sarah Chalke
Release Year: 2005
Country: US/CA
Run Time: 94 minutes
Plot
A single and freewheeling travel writer finds that adapting to the nine-to-five lifestyle isn't as easy as it looks when her ailing father hires her to take control of his successful bridal magazine in this marriage-minded comedy starring Heather Graham, David Sutcliffe, Sandra Oh, and Taye Diggs. Upon returning to her hometown to once again be a bridesmaid in yet another wedding, jet-lagged, gin-soaked travel writer Pippa McGee (raham) soon learns that her tyrannical publishing magnate father has been hospitalized after suffering a serious heart attack. As Pippa rushes to his bedside and the ailing mogul asks her to take editorial control of one of his most popular magazines, her excitement soon turns sour upon learning that the magazine in question is not a political or travel magazine, but the one and only Wedding Bells monthly. Determined to succeed despite the constant reminders of just how single she truly is, Pippa is horrified to learn that the man her father has chosen as her publishing mentor is the same man that she drunkenly came on to at her close friend's recent wedding. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Review
Although its plot, characters, and themes stick well within the chick-lit/romantic comedy formula, this breezy Heather Graham vehicle manages to entertain thanks to a strong ensemble, a well-crafted script, and plenty of intellectual asides. Not many "date movies" have room for multiple jokes about French poststructuralism, but Cake clearly aspires to be a smarter variation on Sex and the City. Multicultural touches abound, from colorblind casting to gay sidekicks, yet the entire enterprise manages not to feel focus-grouped. Instead, it's as if screenwriter Tassie Cameron and director Nisha Ganatra set out to create a film whose content was as inclusive and up-to-date as its form was conservative. The cynical window dressing forces the script to spend way too much time getting to the inevitable happy ending. But Graham makes a capably neurotic heroine, and it's hard not to enjoy a flick that gives Sandra Oh, Cheryl Hines, and David Sutcliffe the chance to work their respective charms in enjoyably formulaic supporting roles. In fact, "enjoyably formulaic" is the perfect summation of Cake as a whole. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Reagan Pasternak - Sydney; Keram Malicki-Sanchez - Frank; Bruce Gray
Credit
Joyce Schure - Costume Designer, Nisha Ganatra - Director, Mike Munn - Editor, Heather Graham - Executive Producer, Jennifer Jonas - Executive Producer, Regina Robb - Line Producer, Andrew Lockington - Composer (Music Score), Matthew Davies - Production Designer, Gregory Middleton - Cinematographer, Miranda de Pencier - Producer, Tassie Cameron - Screenwriter
