This Week in Theaters: Two Lifetime-Ish Movies About Women Named Claire Played by Women Named Jennifer

Two of the movies opening this week are about women named Claire, played by women named Jennifer. And both are the kind of stories we often see in Lifetime movies. In “Cake,” Jennifer Aniston plays the survivor of a tragic accident who has become addicted to pain medication. And in “The Boy Next Door,” Jennifer Lopez plays a high school teacher who is at first drawn to a handsome teenager and then discovers that he is unstable and dangerous.  Both movies were produced by their respective Jennifers as well.

I’ll be saying more in my reviews, which can’t be published until the release date.  But it is intriguing to consider the choices made by two of Hollywood’s most successful actors.