Adrienne Shelly\u2019s Waitress<\/em> did this ably, melding its charming romance, friendship, and all those pies (sigh) with a bit of sadness to create the perfect bittersweet mix. Those elements never come together in Sitting in Bars with Cake<\/em>. Audrey Shulman based the screenplay on her own experiences and book of the same name<\/a>, which appears to focus on the cakes and men she meets, rather than on her best friend\u2019s illness. Sitting in Bars with Cake<\/em> can\u2019t really decide on what it is or who it\u2019s about. It begins as very much Jane\u2019s movie, with Corinne in the secondary role as her best friend, then shifts to being more about both of them, while still feeling uneven in its perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We meet Shahidi\u2019s Jane at a party, where she\u2019s off to the side and dressed to fade into the background. She struggles to connect with everyone there and with her crush at the office, Owen (Rish Shah), but Corinne \u2014 her outgoing best friend, roommate, and coworker at a talent agency \u2014 has the solution to her shyness. Every week, Jane will bring a cake to a new spot around L.A., and men will finally notice how amazing she is. (This requires a typical suspension of disbelief: you have to buy that heterosexual dudes would only be interested in someone as stunning as Shahidi if she bribes them with cake. But I digress.) They plot out a whole year \u2014 50 cakes, plus time off for holidays \u2014 across the city\u2019s watering holes, charting Jane\u2019s progress. But just when Jane is beginning to come out of her shell, Corinne is diagnosed with a serious illness, and Jane vows to care for her through her treatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A movie that prioritizes female friendship and glamor shots of cake feels like it should be exactly my taste. Give me more films where it\u2019s less about romantic relationships and more about the connection between two BFFs, but please actually commit to making that, rather than a messy melange that is never sure of what it is or what it\u2019s about. Well-intentioned and not unpleasant, Sitting in Bars with Cake<\/em> has all the ingredients of a good film, but the end result at once feels overstuffed and underbaked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Sitting in Bars with Cake” premieres tonight on Amazon Prime Video<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/sitting-in-bars-with-cake2-1024x679.jpg\")
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Director Trish Sie (Pitch Perfect 3<\/em>) adds some fun visual flourishes, particularly in the treatment of the cakes, but outside of Jane and Corinne, the people on screen don\u2019t receive as much attention. The various desserts \u2014 like red velvet with cream cheese frosting, cherry CBD THC cake, and carrot cardamom cake with maple frosting \u2014\u00a0are more interesting and better defined than most of the characters. (Except for the \u201clicorice and leather\u201d cake, because what the fuck is that and why doesn\u2019t the film elaborate on it?!) There\u2019s a subplot about Jane\u2019s lack of desire to follow in her parents\u2019 footsteps as lawyers, but there\u2019s no tension in that thread. Her romantic pursuits are equally underdeveloped, earning zero investment from Jane or the audience in literally any of these guys.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nC+<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n