Trivia / Cake (2014)

• Creator Backlash: Not to the film itself but Jennifer Aniston was very annoyed with the press going on about her "hidden talents" - as it implied she had put zero effort into Friends. She also got annoyed with people saying they might not find her character likable - pointing out men rarely get asked that question.
• Dawson Casting:
  • At the age of twenty-four, Britt Robertson plays a character who appears to be several years younger than she is.
  • Inverted for Anna Kendrick, who played a character a couple years older than herself (and who is said to have been Older Than They Look by Claire).
• Doing It for the Art: Word of God is that Jennifer Aniston attached herself to the project when there was "zero financing involved" just out of love for the material.
• Fake American: British actress Lucy Punch as Nurse Gayle. Averted with Sam Worthington, who keeps his own Australian accent.
• Playing Against Type: Jennifer Aniston playing a bitter, near-suicidal character in a drama.
• Playing with Character Type: Anna Kendrick plays her usual dorky characters for serious Nightmare Fuel, playing a suicide victim who only appears in hallucinations.
• Real-Life Relative: William H. Macy plays Leonard and Felicity Huffman plays Annette. They are married in real life.
• Reality Subtext:
  • Jennifer Aniston drew inspiration from her friend Stacy Courtney - a stunt woman who was injured in an accident and suffered from chronic pain for over twenty years. She worked as a stunt co-ordinator on this film.
  • Claire mentions a "Dr Shipman" when trying to get more painkillers. A real Dr Shipman was convicted in 2004 for over-prescribing pain killers to many of his patients, who died.

• Tom Hanks Syndrome: Jennifer Aniston is of course mainly known for sitcoms and romantic comedies. Although she already had The Good Girl to her dramatic credits, Rotten Tomatoes describes her "making the most of an overdue opportunity to test her dramatic chops."

• What Could Have Been: Jennifer Aniston claims that she wasn't the first choice and that she was only considered because another famous actress turned the film down. She did not say who the actress was.

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