A decade ago, Audrey Shulman went ahead with a wacky plan to find a boyfriend. She would bake cakes and bring them to bars in order to meet guys every week for around a year. But it all didn’t go as planned. Midway through this ‘cakebarring’ experiment, her friend Chrissy is diagnosed with cancer. Their real-life friendship becomes the crux of the new Prime Video entry, directed by Trish Sie. It’s the bittersweet tearjerker entry that is headed exactly where it should, but does so with a resonant ode to female friendships and self-discovery that makes you want to sit through and have a slice for yourself. (Also read: Priscilla first reviews: Sofia Coppola’s film gets 7 min standing ovation at Venice Fest, glowing reviews)
The premise
Sitting in Bars with Cake starts with Jane (Yara Shahidi) and Corinne (Odessa A’zion) as best friends who have moved from Arizona to Los Angeles. Corinne works as a junior music agent and Jane is the mail room clerk preparing for law school. But her real passion lies in baking. Yet, Jane is the shy one among the two, and in the early scenes, she declares, “If it works for Mr. Rogers, it works for me.” In another scene, she speaks passively about a cake recipe a second too long for a crowd to pay any heed. Corrine, on the other hand, is sparkly and outgoing, and comes up with the plan of trying out a new bar every week for a year with her homemade cake as a way to meet men. They name this experiment, ‘cakebarring.’
What works
Just as their plan gets rolling and everything seems to go accordingly, Corrine has a seizure. On diagnosis, both of them learn that Corrine has brain cancer. Her parents (played by Ron Livingston and Martha Kelly) arrive shocked and insistent on helping out. But Corrine wants to stay back and be with Jane. From here on, the film takes a restless and frequently predictable turn to manoeuvre the many turns the central friendship endures – shaking and trembling with the energy of its two lead performances.
Final thoughts
Shahidi gives a finely etched performance, yet her Jane largely feels drawn in bold, predictable markers devoid of necessary interiority. In contrast, A’zion manages to do a lot even with so less. She injects Corrine with such spirit, verve, and aching desire that it’s hard to look away when she is on screen. Then there is the underused Bette Midler, who struts and frets on screen and then disappears as Corrine’s boss – forever a scene-stealing delight. In the midst of hospital visits and caregiving, the plot point of the cakebarring project is forgotten somehow.
Still, the latter half of this uncommonly intelligent film stays tightly focused and pragmatic. Even as the moments of devastation appears, Sie covers the predictable ground with understated authenticity. Aided with Lauren Connelly’s sharp editing work and Tracy Dishman’s beautifully succinct production design, Sitting in Bars with Cake offers an acute and sensitive exploration of what it means to care for someone. Perhaps it could have done better with a little formative daring with its ingredients, akin to the clever concoctions of its baked goods. It still deserves a taste.
Sitting in Bars with Cake is streaming on Prime Video.