Do you remember when Amazon was content with being the world’s largest online merchant and shipping company? As Jeff Bezos’s octopus has continued to expand, sending its tentacles into every branch of the business world, it’s no surprise that the company would eventually become an entertainment producer.
Amazon has provided film and tv content for many years through its streaming service, Amazon Prime Video. In recent years, the company has started producing original content with Amazon Studios. In late 2022, its film manufacturing was elevated to a new level with its purchase of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Although once the greatest Hollywood studio, MGM has struggled with bankruptcy for decades, losing its status as one of Hollywood’s “Big Five” major companies in 1986.
This has begun a new era of relevance for MGM, although most of its recent output has been streaming only, not released in theaters. Among recent releases from the new Amazon MGM Studios is a film with a very ungainly title, “Sitting in Bars with Cake.”
The Latest
“Sitting in Bars with Cake” was released on Amazon Prime Video on Sept. 8, 2023. The production companies were Amazon MGM Studios, Resonate Entertainment, All Night Diner, and Big Indie Pictures. It was based on a 2016 book of the same name by Audrey Shulman, who also wrote the screenplay. It was directed by Trish Sie and produced by Susan Cartsonis, Brent Emery, Suzanne Farwell, and Nick Moceri. It stars two young actresses, Yara Shahidi and Odessa A’zion, who are making strides with their careers. Bette Midler is the only big name in the film, but her role is basically a five-minute cameo appearance.Jane (Shahidi) and Corinne (A’zion) are childhood best friends who now live in Los Angeles together, where they both work at a talent agency. Confident Corinne is the personal assistant of powerful agent Benita (Midler), while shy Jane works in the mailroom. Jane’s parents want her to be a lawyer, like they are, but she secretly wants to be a professional baker. On Corinne’s birthday, Jane bakes a beautiful cake for her, and they take it with them to a bar to celebrate. They end up sharing the cake with other people in the bar, leading Jane to talk to more men than she ever has before. Corinne realizes that this could be a great way for Jane to meet men and find a boyfriend, so they plan to go “cakebarring” every week for a total of 50 different cakes and bars in a year. Despite Jane’s hesitance, they begin implementing the plan successfully. Meanwhile, Corinne is promoted to junior agent. However, their world is shattered when Corinne is diagnosed with a brain tumor. She decides to stay in Los Angeles, and Jane nurses her as they figure out how to navigate her illness and still try to have fun.
The Greatest
“How to Marry a Millionaire” was released on Nov. 5, 1953. Released by 20th Century Fox, it was directed by Jean Negulesco and produced by Nunnally Johnson. It starred three female cinematic icons, Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable, and Marylin Monroe. Their male co-stars included stars William Powell and Cameron Mitchell and supporting players David Wayne and Rory Calhoun. The screenplay was written by Johnson, based on two plays, “The Greeks Had a Word for It” (1930) and “Loco” (1946).Three unmarried models, Schatze Page (Bacall), Loco Dempsey (Grable), and Pola Debevoise (Monroe), rent a New York penthouse. They have decided to pool their resources, their wits, and their charms to trap millionaire husbands for themselves. Schatze is the brains behind the operation, having determined to find a wealthy husband after an unsuccessful marriage with a no-good “gas-pump jockey.” Loco is very friendly and flirty, and she loves to eat. Pola is the ditzy bombshell who walks around in a nearsighted haze most of the time because she believes “men aren’t attentive to girls who wear glasses.” Pola meets a dashing oil tycoon (Alexander D’Arcy), whom she doesn’t realize is a phony. Loco meets a slimy older millionaire (Fred Clark), who turns out to be a married man with shady intentions. Schatze meets two men: refined middle-aged millionaire J. D. Hanley (Powell) and sloppy young scallywag Tom Brookman (Mitchell). Hanley is just the sort of man Schatze hoped to trap, but she fights against her attraction to Tom, whom she erroneously assumes is penniless.
Missed Sincerity
Each of these two movies was a first. “How to Marry a Millionaire” was the first Fox film made with the new CinemaScope technology. “Sitting in Bars with Cake” was the first film released under the new Amazon MGM Studios banner. Although the newer film has received generally positive reviews, it isn’t likely to become a beloved classic like the earlier film.
“Sitting in Bars with Cake” is yet another example of a modern film which could have been thoroughly wholesome by rooting itself in the most inspiring parts of the authoress’s real experiences. This basis in a true story gave the film a genuine quality and a touching message of friendship which many people appreciate. Others have called it a bad knockoff of the 1988 Better Midler film “Beaches,” which brought us the beloved song “Wind Beneath My Wings.” This is obviously a case of life imitating art, since it was based on a true story.
The possible sincerity in many scenes was exchanged for the cheap, suggestive flavor which has become so common in comedies. If this story had been made 70 years ago, when “How to Marry a Millionaire” was made, it would have had more of an emotional impact, without the sleazy costumes, suggestive dialogue, and crude references.
