Sitting in Bars With Cake is a slice-of-life movie about two best friends, who happen to love cake. In black and white, the movie sounds interesting enough, but it fails to impress, even with its fancy and current cast. Even with its melancholic subject matter, the film fails to make an emotional impact. The cakes get stuck in the back seat, and something about it feels underdeveloped. The movie is based on a book by the same name, authored by Audrey Shulman, and is dedicated to her best friend. The book details the experimental cake flavors and recipes of the 50 cakes the author made and took to bars and has some bizarre flavors, which are also covered in the film. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to make a lasting impression either, but here’s how the movie expands on the concept of the book.

Spoilers Ahead

What Happens In The Film?

Jane and Corinne were childhood best friends. They now live together in LA, because Corinne works there, and Jane is preparing to go to lawschool. Jane is the introverted, shy one, whereas Corinne is the more outgoing, fun-loving extrovert. Their Personalities somehow just sink into each other, and they share a lovely bond. Jane loves to bake, and on the occasion of Corinne’s birthday, Jane bakes a lovely cake for her. They take it to the bar, where they and their girlfriends are celebrating. Jane plans on having Corinne cut it, after they finish partying, so they can enjoy some dinner, but this plan is ruined when some of the men at the bar start asking about the cake excitedly. They’re obviously hungry for it, so Corinne decides to cut it right there and share it with everyone in the bar. This gives her the brilliant idea of having Jane take cakes to 50 bars in the City to meet guys. A simple plan, really, if men are so interested in cake, that is. Jane hates the idea at first, but then she agrees to the plan because of her love for Corinne and baking. She also needs that push to step out of her comfortzone. All the girls love the idea, and they make plans for which bars to go to together. Shockingly, the plan actually works, and men start approaching Jane, appropriately or not.

One fine day, Corinne has a seizure, completely shaking their world. She has a brain tumor, and she needs treatment immediately. Because they’ve known each other this long, Corinne’s parents trust Jane. Jane offers to lookafter Corinne, so she can continue her job in LA, where she’s just been promoted, and still go to chemotherapy and take her medications. Corinne’s parents decide to stay, till they can get the girls situated; Her dad even follows them to one of the bars. Jane and Corinne’s dad build a special bond during this time because they’re both very similar to each other in that they’re caregivers and extremely organised. In the meantime, it seems the experiment is working because Jane musters up the courage to talk to a cute guy named Owen, whom she’s been liking for a while now. Jane is a delivery woman at Corinne’s office. Owen works in the law department, so she asks him, if he can help her understand some things about copyrights. They hit it off really well.

Corinne wants Jane to continue the cake-barring, but at the same time, she begins to get more dizzy. At the doctor’s appointment, Corinne admits to the dizziness, and Jane feels like all her work has been redundant because Corinne didn’t tell her this. They have a big fight about it, and Corinne blurts out that Jane has been making things no fun, even though she’s been working really hard to take care of her. They’re both worried and afraid of what’s going to happen to Corinne, and so they end up taking it out on each other. On the other hand, the medication is supposed to make Corinne have mood swings as well, so it’s possible that the pain and her medication make her have an outburst. Corinne also ends up taking a break from her relationship because her long term boyfriend and she keep having arguments.

Jane and Corinne have a heart-to-heart about how they wish to be each other sometimes, because of how freeing that would be. Jane wants to be more outgoing and fun, whereas Corinne wants to be more dedicated and serious. They have a meal with their families together, and Corinne blurts out that Jane doesn’t actually want to be a lawyer. Jane feels like she’s been put on the spot and can’t understand why Corinne would do such a thing. On the other hand, Corinne probably feels like she needs to do this for her friend, who may never be able to do it after she’s gone. Some days later, the office has a marathon to raise money for Corinne’s treatment, and she hates the feeling. She only admits it to Jane, though, and finally accepts, how afraid she truly is.

Corinne has another seizure and then ends up having amnesia. Jane is completely petrified, but manages to calmly explain the situation at the hospital. When her parents arrive, the doctor tells them, that Corinne’s condition has worsened and there’s nothing they can really do to save her anymore. Jane is completely devastated when she learns about this and dedicates all her time to taking care of Corinne. She and Croinne’s father do a paint your own pottery-Workshop and end up breaking their pieces. A way in which they lean on each other’s support to get over the fear of losing their dear Corinne. Seeing that the cakes are a big part of Corinne’s happiness, even when she’s hospitalized, Jane decides to continue the expeditions and bring back souvenirs for her best friend.

How Does Jane Cope With Corinne’s Death?

Corinne’s ultimate goal for the cake-barring was to make Jane more confident and learn to assert herself. Jane finally musters up the courage to tell her parents, that she doesn’t want to go to lawschool and has never wanted to. Her parents don’t take it too well, but she feels much better for telling them. At Corinne’s last Christmas celebration, they all have a great time and celebrate the good stuff. Owen finally learns about the cake-barring, which he doesn’t appreciate very much and ends up making fun of (even an English accent can’t save you now, mate). On the day she quits her job, Jane finally admits to Owen that she needs some time off, so she can just be there for Corinne and herself, even though she really liked him. Corinne is completely weak, and Jane tries to have a last conversation with her. They lay next to each other for a little bit. It’s going to be Corinne’s birthday soon, but unfortunately, she won’t be there to see it. Jane breaks down, as she finds out, that she’s lost her best friend forever.

When she’s cleaning out her room, Jane finds Corinne’s fancy undergarments, that she’s specifically left for her. She wears Corinne’s favorite one on the day they’re celebrating her life at a gathering with all the people she loves. Corinne’s Boss also shows up and talks about how her great idea will be taken forward. A year later, Jane has her own cakeshop with a lot of the whacky flavors she made for cake-barring, the Silverlake Cake Bar. She even delivers cakes to a hospital to show her love for her friend. Jane found her journey in baking because of Corinne’s push, and her friend will always be there with her in her cakes. Jane’s dedication to doing what she loves is because of Corinne, and nobody can ever replace her.

Is It Based On A True Story?

Before the credits roll, we see Audrey and her bestie Chrissy, whose Story this Film is inspired by. In 2013, Audrey made cakes and took them to bars, and then her friend Chrissy got diagnosed with cancer. Audrey dedicated a book to her, and now this film is for her, too.