[NEWS] Jen's "CAKE" Performances Earns Her an SBIFF Honor

(2015) Jennifer's performance in upcoming indie/drama film 'CAKE'.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival - also known as the 'SBIFF' announced Friday evening that Jennifer Aniston would earn her first ever Montecito award. The fest's prestigious accolade recognizes a performer who has "given a series of classic and standout performances throughout that individuals career and whose acting style has made a major contribution to film." Previous winners include media proprietor/actress Oprah Winfrey, actor Daniel-Day Lewis, actor Geoffrey Rush, actress Julianne Moore, actress Kate Winslet, actor Javier Bardem, actress Naomi Watts, and actress Annette Bening. SBIFF honors Aniston for her inspirational performance in indie/drama film 'Cake'. "Once in a while a performer who we thought we knew gets outside of their comfort zone and by doing so shows us the unexpected," said SBIFF Executive Director Roger Dulring in a statement. "When that happens," he continued, "it is cause for celebration and this why the 2015 Monticento Award is bestowed upon Miss Aniston." Her career is worth of praise, though whether or not 'Cake' is the snowballing of her talent, deserving of season recognition, is up for debate.

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For every "We're the Millers" and "Horrible Bosses", Aniston has managed off-beat alternatives like 1998s 'The Object of My Affection', Nicole Holofcener's 2006s 'Friends with Money', and 2002's 'The Good Girl', which earned the actress and Independent Spirit award nomination. Voicing the mother character; Annie Hughes, in 1999's 'The Iron Giant' gave her a free pass for life. The overlooked 'Wanderlust' is icing on top because she really broke her comfort boundaries. Due to the tabloids obsession with Jen's personal life: everything to baby news, her love life, and whatever other news they can drum up, has turned her into an underrated actress as well as a type cast rom-com comedic performer, which no one can seem to get past her 'Friends' Rachel Green role. She deserves this respect, and dressing down for 'Cake' is thrusting the spotlight on that fact. That said, it feels forced - an aggressive campaign put Jen among this years Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe award Best Lead Actress of the Year nominees. Replicating it come Oscar time may depend on the reaction to 'Cake', which played mixed-to-negative reviews out of TIFF - also known as the Toronto International Film Festival - earlier this year. The Santa Barbara Film Festival runs from January 27-February 7, 2015. The Montecito Award will be presented at the historic Arlington Theater on Friday January 30, 2015.