Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Beautiful performances, lovely scenery.  But I found it boring.

I'm talking about The Cake Eaters, Mary Stuart Masterson's film about dysfunction, and function, in two families.

Mom has passed away, and Dad (Bruce Dern), nicknamed Easy, is doing what he can, to move forward in his life.  His two sons are as different as can be.  The younger son (Aaron Stanford), nicknamed Beagle for no reason that was ever explained, lives at home.  Older son, Guy (Jayce Bartok) left home for the city with plans to make it big.  He left, and never once looked back.  Until now, after Mom's already dead and buried, when he finally decided to come back home.

Across town, three generations of women are learning how to cope when a devastating, terminal illness hits the granddaughter.  Kristen Stewart plays Georgia - a young woman whose body is failing, but not her spirit.  But her over-protective mother (Talia Balsam) is trying not to let her grow up.  Only her free-spirit grandmother (Elizabeth Ashley) wants to see her live life to the fullest, just as she, herself is doing, secretly dating Easy, despite how it "appears" to others.

There you have it - two families brought together by tragedy, illness, and in the end, love. 

I wish I could tell you that there were suspenseful, exciting scenes, that kept me on the edge of my seat.  But that's not the case.  In fact, the whole film was fairly dull.  No laughs, no big surprises, no tears, and not much reason to watch it - except for the performances.

Kristen Stewart was amazing.  Just 16 years old, she handled this part with a grace and professionalism that was just unbelievable.  Portraying a young woman with a debilitating illness can not be easy.  Especially when the part calls for awkward gait, difficult speech patterns, and facial expressions of pain   I sat there, mesmerized by this performance.

The others were pretty good, too.  Both sons were very believable, one who was selfish, and now sees the error of his ways.  Especially as he realizes just how much he lost, in pursuit of his own success.  And the other son who gave up everything to care for his dying mother, and now shows huge reserves of kindness and respect for Georgia.  Just beautiful performances from both of these fine actors.

In fact, these young stars outshone the elders, in this case.  No one else really did anything worth writing home about.

Visually, this movie was quite appealing, with gorgeous scenery and sunsets. 

And there are some nice messages in this movie - showing that life is meant to be lived, enjoyed, and shared with those you love.  Life is short - eat dessert first!

But good performances, nice messages, and pretty colors can only do so much, for a movie that starts out interestingly enough, but fails to really shine.  Stuff happens, then more stuff happens, and then it ends.  With no real memorable scene that makes you take notice.   The actors did what they could, but with a dull script, this movie had no chance.

Recommended: No

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age