La vida es un pastel

Great acting from all in this movie. I laughed, I cried and Lots of smiling. I'm so glad I tuned in to this film. Although the beginning is super cute - out going and fun, as there have mentioned - it gets sad mid way. I had hopes that the story would change direction but it didn't and so have tissues ready. Ron Livingston is a great dad, Bette is amazing as always but the 2 stars of the film nailed every scene - amazing talent for those 2 young women. I sure hope to see them in many more films. Lastly, it's a true story and I'm glad it was made - truly honors her best friend in every possible way. Thanks you for sharing this story with us.

It's so fitting that Bette Midler appears in this movie as it does have strong Beaches vibes. I love her role as boss lady with a big heart. But the real gems are the two leads who play best friends. We see their highs and lows, their wrestling with the decisions in young adult life, but also their complete sacrificial love for one another as the movie progresses. Another thing I loved was that both girls had strong parental support (imperfect, but definitely loving and supportive). It's rare these days to have main characters with parents still married. Love that. You get really drawn into loving both female leads. I loved the ending, which I don't often say with movies. It felt right and good. This is sweet. Sad, yes, but so sweet and endearing. It will stick with you.

I didn't know anything about this movie before I watched it. After watching it, I would recommend it to everyone. It's a feel good movie in the sense that two lifelong best friends show how when you find "your person" they become framily, and framily gets you: good, bad or indifferent. It's about seeing the best in other people and wanting to help them shine.

This movie is bittersweet, and sad at times, but it never loses sight of its original intent. I recommend watching it with your best friend, or someone you feel close too, and afterwards reminding them how much they mean to you! Bette Midler is fabulous as always!

Cutesy poo to the max even with a brain tumor.

BEACHES with a cake thrown in makes this a crumby affair of two female pals to try to bait men in bars by baking cakes and handing out slices. What's wrong with this picture?

Would bars and other venues actually allow people to bring in cakes and hand them out for free? Seems doubtful. And while this plot issue is never addressed, what about the female perp date rapist? I guess it's OK if the perp is a female?

The only ones in this film who come off as real are the parents played by Martha Kelley and Ron Livingston. All the others are duds.

And what's with Bette Midler in this nothing role? It's basically just a cameo and serves no purpose.

Watch this 2-hour dirge and you'll be screaming at the screen DIE! DIE ALREADY! .... even before the tumor shows up!

"Sitting in Bars with Cake" is the strongest of all the Amazon Prime movies I've seen so far. Its intimate focus on the friendship between the two lead characters is beautiful and I think with some stronger acting and filmmaking it could have been great.

The strength of this movie is its nearly complete focus on portraying the lives of the two main characters -- they feel like real developed people and there is genuine growth and emotion by the end of the film.

However it is held back from elevating to the likes of "Dallas Buyer's Club" by some technical factors, including -- the movie's lighting in half the scenes is far too dark and it is difficult to see what's going on, the audio seems to get garbled and the dialogue approaches Nolan levels of inaudible at times, and while Yara Shahidi did a serviceable job a stronger actress could have brought more out of the relationship (this is on full display whenever Ron Livingston and Martha Kelly are on screen as they elevate every scene they're in).

I'm between a 6 and 7 on this -- overall it is a good movie and great story that could have achieved even more if they had just ironed out a few small kinks.