Cupcakes
Director: Eytan Fox
Writer: Eli Bijaoui, Eytan Fox
Cast: Dana Ivgy, Efrat Dor, Keren Berger, Yael Bar-Zohar, Ofer Shechter, Anat Waxman, Edouard Baer, Lior Ashkenazi
Part of: Vienna Jewish Film Festival

Plot:
Every year, Anat (Anat Waxman) invites her friends Dana (Dana Ivgy). Keren (Keren Berger), Yael (Yael Bar-Zohar) and Ofer (Ofer Shechter) to watch the Eurovision Songcontest UniverSong and make fun of the various acts. Anat even invites the rest of her apartment building, though nobody ever shows. But this year is different. First, Anat’s husband tells her he’s leaving her right before the party. Then musician Efrat (Efrat Dor) shows up rather unexpectedly to join the group. When Anat finally tells them the news about her husband, she gets an impromptu song by the group to cheer her up. Ofer submits the song to the UniverSong people as a joke – but then they get selected to represent Israel at the show.

Cupcakes is a funny and sweet film that will warm even the colder recesses of your heart. I enjoyed myself immensely when I saw it.

 

Cupcakes isn’t actually a musical, though there is some singing and a bit of lipsynching, but it does very much feel like one. Maybe because it has the lightheartedness musicals often show, maybe because it has the bubble-gum color scheme: very bright, very flashy, giving each character their specific color etc. In any case I wouldn’t have minded if there had been more music (particularly since it was good), but it actually wasn’t necessary since you barely noticed that there wasn’t that much music at all.

And anyway there was enough going on with the characters. With six main characters you’d think that some would have to be more sidelined than others, but actually I felt that they were all handled very equally (with a slight focus on Anat, maybe). They each have their back story, their own unique reason for going to the UniverSong and their own character development. That was pretty damn amazing.

That is also due to the cast, though, and not just the writing. Because each of the cast members gives their character their own spin, making them all likable and relatable. (I have also rarely seen a more attractive group of people altogether in the same room.)

Though of course, this being a feel-good film and all, one could argue that the characterization isn’t deep enough and that the conflicts are too easily resolved. That is probably true, if your ultimate goal is realism. But if your goal is to have 90 minutes of fun and a wonderfully cathartic ending that leaves you with a smile on your face, then it is just perfect.

Summarizing: Everything’s to love about this film.