The Cake Eaters | DVD Review

The Cake Eaters DVD really had me curious, for two reasons. One, it’s directed by actress Mary Stewart Masterson {I’m a Benny & Joon fan}, and it stars Kristin Stewart {I’m an even bigger Twilight fan}. Filmed in 2009 and just released onto DVD today, I took on this DVD review, to see what resulted when Masterson’s directorial debut was combined with the theatrical abilities of Kristin Stewart.

The Cake Eaters Synopsis:
‘The Cake Eaters’ is a quirky, small town, ensemble drama that explores the lives of two interconnected families coming to terms with love in the face of loss.

Living in rural America, The Kimbrough family is a normally odd bunch; Easy, the patriarch and local butcher, is grieving over the recent loss of his wife, Ceci, while hiding a secret ongoing affair for years; Beagle, his youngest son who was left to care for his ailing mother, works in the local high school cafeteria by day but has a burning passion inside that manifests itself through painting street signs; and the eldest son, Guy, has been away from the family for years while pursuing his rock star dream in the big city until the day he learns of his mother’s passing and that he’s missed the funeral.

Upon Guy’s return home, relationships between the characters begin to unravel; Beagle’s pent up emotions connect with Georgia Kaminski, a terminally ill teenage girl wanting to experience love before it’s too late; Easy’s long time affair with Marg, Georgia’s eccentric grandmother, is finally exposed to the Kimbrough children; and Guy discovers that, in his absence, his high school sweetheart, Stephanie, has moved on and started a family of her own.

Through it all, The Kimbroughs and Kaminski’s manage to establish a new beginning in the face of their greatest fears.

I believe The Cake Eaters is all about, “having your cake and eating it too” {after much thought into the title of the movie}. Each character suffers some sort of loss which they try to make up for, and each situation connects to the other. Though this is a sort of movie you may catch on TV, I can’t say I didn’t like it. I thought the actors did a wonderful job, especially Kristin Stewart’s role playing a young girl with a debilitating neurological disorder. It’s so different that how we usually see her in Twilight! Mary Stewart Masterson has such an artists’ eye when it comes to directing, I found her shots quite thoughtful and well placed. In all, it was a nice storyline that kept my attention, I look forward to seeing more of Masterson’s work in the future!

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