MovieChat Forums > Cake (2015) Discussion > was Jennifer Aniston really that phenome...

was Jennifer Aniston really that phenomenal, though?

posted 10 years ago by sexandthechitty
25 replies | jump to latest

I adore the heck out of Jennifer Aniston. but I do NOT think she is THAT great of an actress. She's OK. She gets the job done.but In her Cake performance we finally see her taking a step out of her comfort zone and really put herself out there ,vulnerably. Its about time because all we are used to is her same type of blah character, that really isnt that interesting, same types of movies- weak storylines that are nothing special, boring style, same ol brown hair and tan skin. snooooze.

Did you guys see her in 2002's The Good Girl? It was different than the rest and she was exceptional in it, it made me feel SHE BELONGS IN THAT ROLE. the feeling of "you know what, I really couldnt imagine another actress being better for this role or playing this role" this role was made for Jennifer Aniston. It felt right. her career should have taken off from there. A plethora of interesting, versatile role offers should have been coming her way, She CAN do different. She just needed the chance! she was hot, waiting to strike while the iron was hot....and then just like that, she cooled down. She went back to unfunny, unsufferable comedic roles and I will never understand if it was because she was never offered anything else of substance or it was her that made bad, bad career choices. I will never know. do you? tell me if you do.

CAKE. everyone is raving about her performance. "She was snubbed for an Oscar!" She was phenomenal! But I ask : Was Jennifer Aniston really all THAT phenomenal, though? Or are we all just so pleasantly surprised that she succeeded at giving an honest, believable portrayal of a character that isn't a typical JA predictable, safe, lackluster romantic comedy that we are all so familiar from getting out of her? Were we just so shocked that she wasn't playing a same ol same ol and we are just so dam proud of her for doing us good, that we want to reward her? Do you really feel, out of all the leading lady performances of all the movies this past year- from indie to big budget studio and the ones inbetween- did her actual performance outshine all the others? Or are we hyped and screaming "OSCAR NOM!!! SHE FINALLY DESERVES ONE! all because she did something different than all her other roles and its HER BEST performance of HER career. Or is it the best performance out of ALL the female lead roles out of ALL of the films from this last YEAR?
Maybe our our feelings toward JA and her career are temporarily skewing our judgements because of emotions- we are invested in JA and her hollywood journey and we want so badly for her to be recognized, even if it's not as special of a performance or role as we desperately want it to be. Could it be that we fans are just wrapped up in excitement , thinking about how our girl had it hard in Hollywood the past decade,unlucky in love, taking all the wrong roles, being $hit on by media and the public.... she's been thru alot...so she deserves an Oscar!

Just because we are excited and happy and think JA was fantastic as her portrayal of Claire, doesnt mean she deserves a nomination or a win. I'm not saying she does or doesnt deserve one, I'm just curious if everyday people who have personally selected JA as their winner is basing off of talent, range , type of role it was and how their performance moved us as human beings, and truly stood out from the rest, or we think she did GREAT in this film and we are not used to getting GREAT out of her. BUT she is actress. thats her job to make her role believable. Thats the bare minimun called for actors and actresses to do in films and thats why they hire them. it's the ones that go above, beyond and take our breath away that get the nominations.

Do we think she deserves a nomination becasue she didnt look like her normal flawless self,so we see that as "going all out" for a role?LOOK! she she didn't put on makeup this time, she is not goldenly tan and flawless as usual. She cried, She Yelled, She showed emotions this time! She put on pajamas instead of a curve hugging dress this time. We didnt see her sculpted toned defined legs, abs, arms and stomach! Is this performance mind blowing as some of our past winners and nominees? We have seen people make DRAMATIC physical changes like matthew mcconaughey for dallas buyers club and chrisian bale did for the machinist, did she have to have to work her arse off for months learning to play the guitar and autoharp from scratch as well as take voice lessons to realistically depict June Carter Cash like Reese Witherspoon? did she undergo such a transformation and push herself to BE that character, not just "act" the part.Or do so much research and effort for their role that they stay in character and not break it for months, not even to their family and friends like Jim Carrey did in The Man and the Moon or Daniel Day Lewis in...almost every film he is in. Or is just wardrobe changes?

In her Good Girl peformance, I couldnt imagine anyone else playing the part of Justine.That part was MADE for Jennifer. That's how I want to feel about award winning roles. These actresses BECOME their roles, make us feel NO ONE else can do it but them. And in all honesty, I could imagine Julianne Moore nailing Claire in Cake, with her massive emotional range. I could also see Reese Witherspoon. And Charlize Theron. Naomi Watts. Kate Winslet would be flawless.Sandra Bullock. Hell, even Kate Hudson and I don't like her that much. All of those women I could easily see transforming into Claire and doing it just as good if not better than JA. I cannot feel that this role was written for her ONLY. JA was WONDERFUL but not Oscar Worthy. Do you feel her performance was PHENOMENAL and give her a nomination without thinking twice about it - or are you feeling this performance is the best of her career and she should get one based off that?

[–] Romtonkon 10 years ago

Your post is too big So I didn't read it. I'll just answer the title question:

No, she's far from phenomenal here. People are raving about her because she's out of her comfort zone here.

[–] suze-4 10 years ago

I did read your whole post and agree with you 100%. I imagined other actresses in the scene with the psychiatrist, which was not compelling because Jennifer did not project enough emotion to make me engage with her character. I can understand why the Academy did not nominate her.

But I do give her credit for taking the role.

[–] usherman 10 years ago

Anyone that's in SAG knows that this was the last DVD to arrive. Does anyone else other than me think that maybe Aniston was playing the diva card? She was good imo, but not as good as Moore. In fact, I think she was 3rd best behind Pike.

[–] yahko_kun 10 years ago

I didnt read your post because its long and I'll read it later on.

I can only compare her to the other actresses in this year's nominations. So far I saw Wild, Gone Girl, Still Alice and now Cake. To my taste Pike and Aniston were first place and Moore and Reese were second place. Why?

Still Alice was good but the timeline was somewhat concentrated on her demise from beginning to end rather than a more concentrated week long view on the world she is trying to overcome on a daily basis. All the elements were thrown in like forgetting names, shampoo in the fridge, washroom location, speech problems but I found that those were just there to show us what the elements of the disease are.

Wild - Reese did a good job but to me there was nothing really there as far as acting. It was a good movie, it showed personal struggles and the reasons to go on a journey of self discovery. I dont see an acting depth of a character as far as the overall storyline of the movie.

Pike did a great job of portraying that dark mind of hers and the mental games and the overall timeline of meeting Ben, marrying him, hating him, etc etc etc. I was terrified of her while watching the movie.

Aniston in Cake, to me, did a good job in showing us that there are many steps to overcome when one is facing a tragedy of her kind. Family, relationship, friendship, employees, staggers, drugs, alcohol, future, past, etc. I almost feel that Wild and Cake are the two contenders on who can reach our hearts better. Cake did it for me because the movie wasnt as dark and depressing as Wild/Still Alice.

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[–] yahko_kun 10 years ago

I guess thats the reason I liked it more and I wasn't looking for realistic portrayal of the scars and the hair. I liked that it had lightness to the theme of the movie yet it was able to present heart wrenching emotions throughout the movie but not in a depressing way. I guess that's a directorial angle of the movie. If David Fincher were to make Cake it would had looked much darker and different.

David Fincher would not had featured the possum, twice, in making the movie. I guess that's where we have difference in opinion because we are looking for different stuff in the same movie and I assume that the Oscars team is going through the same process of opinions.

[–] bea37 10 years ago

I totally agree with you! Barraza is an amazing actress and we don`t doubt for a moment that she`s Silvana.

[–] mooncalled2 10 years ago

No, she wasn't. Silvana out acted her, Adriana Barraza was amazing. I also had issue about how they went on and on about her no make-up, scarred face. You couldn't even see the scars most of the time, and they were not very noticeable when you did. I felt her "transformation" was only done half way. She was still fit, and had a trendy haircut. Reese also did no make-up, plus dirt, but no mention of that anywhere. She didn't rely on that for buzz. I felt she was fine but not amazing. Being surrounded by such great actors did her no favors.

Agreed. Well said. 

[–] mikeyflatley 10 years ago

It wuz good not grate. she wuz better in good gurl. I think she can win oscar but need 2 be focused like Matty mcconnehey. No more awful Vince vaungh comedies or horrible bosses 3.

I think best actress dis yr is Helen miren in 100 foot journey.

Pike playz hammy villain, Reese playz a borin b char no1 likez, and Moore is as dull as da alice movie

[–] jrhpax 10 years ago

Jennifer Aniston is very good in this role. I don't know anyone who thinks she was phenomenal, but she deserves awards attention. If this helps her get better scripts and better roles, amen. She's a good actress and a good person, and I don't understand the haters.

[–] mooncalled2 10 years ago

No more awful Vince vaungh comedies or horrible bosses 3.

No more awful Vince Vaughn comedies?? Jennifer Aniston has only been in 1 film with Vince Vaughn, right? It was called The Break-Up from 2006. The film actually made $204.9 million Worldwide ($118.7 million Domestic).

[–] mikeyflatley 10 years ago

So u sayin daz a good movie

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[–] e827 9 years ago

If she wasn't that good, I don't see why The SAG would nominate her, and that's actors honoring their peers. That alone should end the argument.

So if the SAG nominates a performance, that means it must be one of the five best of the year, and no one can suggest otherwise?

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[–] eclipsed-bythe-moon 10 years ago

As a huge JA fan I am inclined to agree with the OP. I think she was great, but I like her best in comedic roles. Unfortunately she hasn't always gotten great comedic roles either. I liked Pffice Space for example. Horrible Bosses and other recent movies... It's like she's just there as Jennifer Aniston to draw in viewers rather than as an actress. I watch friends incessantly and she's absolutely hilarious! I think she so needs better chemistry with fellow cast members. Marley & Me was good, so was Bruce almighty. But sometimes the other actors just don't seem to mesh with her and the comedy falls flat.