Fugitiva de amor

In a perfect world, Heather Graham would be as bankable as, say, Julia Roberts.

Graham certainly is prettier than the Pretty Woman, has a better sense of comedic timing and, let's face it, has eyes you could disappear into. (Any straight guy who says otherwise is, well, probably Republican.) Trouble is, Graham isn't going to be America's sweetheart - I don't know if she wants to be - if she keeps making films such as "Cake."

I realize Graham executive-produced this film. What was she thinking? Surely she saw Tassie Cameron's script as just another run-of-the-mill romantic comedy replete with the clichéd love triangle and tired stereotypes.

Perhaps Graham needs a new agent - especially after the "Emily's Reasons Why Not" debacle. She has some good films on her resume -"Bowfinger" (1999), "Boogie Nights" (1997), "Two Girls and a Guy" (1997), "The Ballad of Little Jo" (1993) and "Drugstore Cowboy" (1989). But the roles that stand out are Rollergirl and Felicity Shagwell and it's the clunkers that seem to define her - "Lost in Space" (1998), "Say It Ain't So" (2001) and "Killing Me Softly" (2002). Now, add "Cake" to the mix.

Cameron and director Nisha Ganatra don't even bother masking their film's hackneyed plot. Which is a shame because they have a talented cast. There's Graham, Taye Diggs, Cheryl Hines, Sandra Oh (who's terrific on TV's "Grey's Anatomy") and Sarah Chalke, who knows what it's like to do genuinely funny comedy on TV's "Scrubs," which, for my money, is the best half-hour on TV.

Graham, much like Roberts, isn't a masterful dramatic actress. Her turn as English hooker Mary Kelly in "From Hell" (2001) was admirable, albeit miscast. But Graham clearly knows how to play comedy. She just needs good material. Her nine-episode stint as Dr. Molly Clock on "Scrubs" proved as much.

There's never a moment in "Cake" when you think, "Oh, this is different." Cameron's script is so atrociously lazy that she never bothers to include even the slightest of surprises. Poor Graham flays about buoyantly in a valiant, yet futile, attempt to elicit laughs out of this bad script.

In "Cake," she's Pippa McGee, a spunky, care-free travel writer suddenly forced to take over her dad's magazine - a bridal periodical. There's some humor in the decor of the magazine's offices as this sprightly, independent feminist tries to handle things. But the story is so clunky and her two love interest so unreal and dull, there's not even a modicum of sense to this whole enterprise. Pippa spends such little time with the men that it's asking a lot of us to believe either would work.

As much fun as it is to see the luminescent Graham bounce around, she certainly deserves better than this mediocre fare.

I'm not proud to say I just watched this awful piece of crap. I'm a lazy person, thats why i didn't turn it off.

The plot is a copy of what you have seen all to many times, it's so predictable it could make a swiss watch jealous. The acting is nothing special, verging on overacting in some places. A lot of the situations in the movie are completely non-believable, the characters do not develop, and if there even was an attempt to make characters that can be related to, it failed.

To say something positive, the pace of the movie is OK so if you are forced to watch it or you put it on by accident, know that it will actually end.

Bottom line is there's not a single memorable moment in this film, but if you hate yourself and feel like some mortification of the mind is in order then go ahead and rent it

Romantic comedies usually suck, but I have to admit I was very touched by this film which I randomly got to see at a test screening in Santa Monica. Heather Graham was excellent (yeah, she really was...maybe she can actually act...strange, huh?), the supporting cast is HILARIOUS (HELLO!!!! Sandra Oh, Cheryl Hines, Sarah Chalke and Taye Diggs -- how has this never been in the theater near me?? I keep looking...where the heck is it?), and the story was really sweet and fun. Who doesn't like the idea of a girl choosing between two great looking guys? I don't think it's the best script ever, but the pacing was good, the acting was good, the shots looked nice, and I loved the ending. Very feel good. With heart. Totally worth seeing.

Director Nisha Ganatra and writer Tassie Cameron seem to have most of their experience in TV movies so this little slice of the industry is a change for them. Would that it were wholly successful because it seems as though both had a fine idea for something to say but just didn't know how to make it work. And again, blame the PR folks for making a cover for the DVD that not only seems silly, it has little to do with the story inside.

Pippa McGee (Heather Graham) is a travel writer, a hedonist, and an independent woman who avoids relationships like the plague. The film starts with a goofus dash for a wedding in which she is once again a bridesmaid on the run. After the ceremony she jokes with her best friend Lulu (Sandra Oh) who is equally against long term relationships beyond a quick shag, and she also meets one Ian (David Sutcliffe - Under the Tuscan Sun, Testosterone, Happy Endings etc), a handsome if shy young man who though attracted to Pippa, sees her as dangerous territory.

Pippa soon discovers that her father Malcolm McGee (Bruce Gray), a wealthy successful owner of a magazine conglomerate, is ill, has a heart attack, and though the father and daughter have had a negligible relationship, Pippa offers her help. Of course, her assignment is to be editor of 'Wedding Bells' magazine her departed mother started, and Pippa takes on the epitome of everything she loathes about relationships and marriage and tries to make a go of it. She discovers that Ian is her father's vice president and thus in charge of her new and loathed assignment. Pippa partners with the handsome magazine photographer Hemingway Jones (Taye Diggs), has a fling, and becomes close friends and partners in an attempt to change the look of the wedding magazine. There are far too many subplots to discuss, but suffice it to say that changes occur in the personalities of everyone involved and the ending, while entirely predictable, has enough humor and warmth to make a good evening out of a shaky story.

Heather Graham handles her 'challengingly bad' role with great aplomb: she is a delight to watch. The remainder of the cast does their best with the lines they're given. This is a bit of fluff, aimed at the 'chick flick' devotees, but it has its moments. Grady Harp, July 06

The characters are what you might expect for this type of film, but nonetheless are well-cast and played in good fun.

Things work out mostly like you'd expect, but that doesn't stop it from being a pleasant way to pass the time with a few smiles.

I gave it a 7 because It was a lighthearted way to end my evening and made me feel good.

When you watch a movie, what more do you really need?