Watch CBS News

Movie Reviews: 'Cake,' 'The Humbling,' And 'Mortdecai'

You can hear KCBS Entertainment Editor Jan Wahl's movie reviews on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM Fridays at 8:53am & 4:53pm.

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- KCBS Entertainment Editor Jan Wahl reviews "Cake," the story of an accident survivor (Jennifer Aniston) suffering from a drug addiction; "The Humbling," with Al Pacino as a burned-out stage actor; and "Mortdecai,"a comedy with Johnny Depp playing a bumbling art dealer.

LISTEN:

CAKE (R) 102 min

From Steve Carrell to Michael Keaton to Melissa Mccarthy in St. Vincent, sometimes people who start out with a lightweight persona can end up knocking us out with fine dramatic performances. Jennifer Aniston in "Cake," directed by Daniel Barnz, is another example, and she has never been better in anything. Her character is a woman who is in both emotional and physical pain. She's so angry that she's asked her to leave the chronic pain support group. Her drug addiction as well as her battle with herself is so well acted, I'm sorry she missed an Oscar nomination. But no matter what, I hope they find other strong film roles for Aniston.

THE HUMBLING (R) 112 min

Most of us are longtime Al Pacino fans. I've seen him onstage, talked to him backstage and he is one fascinating fellow—a true Shakespeare buff, too. In "The Humbling," based on a Philip Roth novel, Pacino plays a burned out famous stage actor, unable to hold it together and goes into a self-indulgent rant. "Birdman" does this far better and with more originality. Pacino's character is not engaging and often repetitive. The clichéd story comes full circle as he finds a young girlfriend. It's hard to believe Barry Levinson directed this. Leave this one to DVD when a Pacino need hits you.

MORTDECAI (PG-13) 106 min

There's one problem with the late, great Peter Sellers: we already had him. In "Mortdecai," Johnny Depp plays a bumbling art dealer and part time rogue determined in his I-want-to-be-Peter-Sellers way to track down a missing Goya with a hidden bank account number. While it's based on a humorous anthology, there are very few laughs here. Depp has an accent and character that isn't funny. His supporting cast: Gwynth Paltrow, Paul Bettany and Ewan McGregor deserved a much better script—and so did we. Wait until DVD on this one—and only when you need some very silly escape.

SEE NOW: AMERICAN SNIPER, THE IMITATION GAME, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, BIG EYES

DVD/DOWNLOAD: FURY. PRIDE, BOYHOOD, MEN WOMEN & CHILDREN

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.