The Birthday Cake movie review 2021

MOVIE TITLE: The Birthday Cake

Screen Media will release the film in theaters and on-demand on June 18, 2021.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 33 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

Giovanni (David Mazouz) brings a cake baked by his loyal mother (Lorraine Bracco) to a memorial celebration for the 10th anniversary of his father’s mysterious death, hosted by his uncle (Val Kilmer), a Brooklyn mafia boss. His life begins to change as he pieces together what really happened to his father, coming face-to-face with a kind of violence he has been trying to avoid his
whole life.

The dramatic thriller is directed by Jimmy Giannopoulos as his feature film directorial debut.

THINGS I LIKED:

I adore Ewan McGregor and will pretty much watch anything he’s in. He’s wonderful in this film, as expected. Rumor has it that he filmed his scenes in only 3 days.
The movie feels like a 1990s gangster movie reunion and features a great cast with David Mazouz, Lorraine Bracco, William Fichtner, Ashley Benson, Aldis Hodge, Penn Badgley, Vincent Pastore, Luis Guzmán, Jeremy Allen White, Paul Sorvino, Emory Cohen, Marla Maples, and more.
Shiloh Fernandez was the perfect Gio, young and naively innocent. I had never seen him in anything before, but now I’m a fan. He looked genuinely Italian for the role, but he’s actually half Portuguese and Russian!
I love it when New York City is one of the characters in a movie. You really get the flavor of the city in this film. The director stated that “New York City can be portrayed in a million different ways and has a fabric that is incomparable.” Indeed.
The director tried to create a film in real-time so we experience things that Gio does as he makes his way from his mother’s house to his uncle’s house while carrying a birthday cake. I loved seeing Gio’s city and world through his eyes as he walks the streets and comes across FBI informants, friends, relatives, a bachelorette party, Strip Club patrons, store owners, and more. Some scenes didn’t necessarily give you new information, but they offered a big taste of Gio’s colorful surroundings.
The taxi driver scene was hilarious.
The film does an excellent job painting a picture of the glory days when the Mob ruled the streets of the Big Apple, yet set in modern-day Brooklyn. If you’re a fan of Sopranos: The Complete Series (RPKG) (BD) [Blu-ray], you’re going to love this. Lorraine Bracco and Vincent Pastore both starred in that popular TV series, which won 21 Primetime Emmy Awards and received 111 nominations!

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

I generally don’t enjoy watching movies about people who live in the gutter. While the movie is extremely well done, I felt like I needed a shower after watching this movie.
It was so heartbreaking to see Val Kilmer as he struggles with the aftermath of throat cancer. Good for him for getting back out there in movies, even though it was uncomfortable to watch him. They had to use subtitles on the screen so that viewers could understand what he was saying. He was so handsome and I loved him as Batman in Batman Forever.
The timeline might be confusing for some viewers.
I wanted more details in the end!

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

This movie is not appropriate for kids!
Kids will be bored.
A lot of violence
Profanity, including crude language and F-bombs
Point-blank murder with blood splatters
Topless women at a strip club
Some subtitles

THEMES:

Family
Loyalty
Community
Revenge
Integrity

FUNNY LINES:

* “Well, he might be a cop but that doesn’t mean he’s a good one.” – Sofia (Lorraine Bracco)

INTERESTING LINES:

“With tragedy comes strength.” – Father Kelly (Ewen McGregor)
“Family was an option. Loyalty…loyalty was essential. We didn’t have a choice but to lean on each other.” – Vito (Vincent Pastore)
“Sometimes, to be a real man, you have to stand on your own two feet.” – Gio (Shiloh Fernandez)

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B+