Smiley Face

Ever since Cheech and Chong invented the stoner comedy, the genre has pushed boundaries in mind numbing uselessness, and Smiley Face may represent a new low (or high) for the format. It's certainly bold for it's blatant refusal to inject any substance to it's narrative, it simply follows a single character bumbling around with a glazed look on her face and any plot development is totally random and ridiculous.

Since it's essentially one long stoned monologue, it rests completely on the shoulders of Anna Farris to carry the film, and may possibly be a crowning achievement in the actress' career. She remains endearingly likeable throughout her dopey ramblings, and occasionally lands a good punch line. She's masterful at awkward comedy, and there's a low key brilliance to some of the more absurd musings, like when she contemplates framing a picture of president Garfield as a tribute to her love of lasagne. Things fall flat when she plays things more over the top, like the uncomfortable 3 minutes when she yells about communism at a meat packing plant.

As is often the case, the film is hit and miss with it's depiction of the effects of marijuana. There are a couple moments that accurately showcase the derailed train of thought of the baked mind, but just as many that try to pass off an unbelievable level of childish idiocy as normal pothead behaviour.

Show up under the influence and expect very little, and this inane little flick may just put a smile on your face.

Saw it when it came out at Blockbuster, I wasn't impressed the first time around, found a copy just a while back and watched it again, it was pretty funny with the inside jokes and innuendo and general silliness, and if you've ever been too baked on edibles you just know how bad it can be trying to accomplish things Her misadventures and innocence are a trip, she was annoying and cute at the same time, good for a rainy Sunday afternoon in.

Have to be honest here, I just didn't get PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. As with most David Gordon Green fare, I found it dull, unrealistic, melodramatic, and poorly acted. It just didn't make sense to me. I would have left after the first 15 minutes, but I went with a friend who I thought was enjoying it, and I didn't want to ruin it for him... until after the two-and-a-half hours of nonsense and we both found out we felt the same exact way. Not funny, not interesting, nothing new or original. And if I WERE stoned while watching it, I probably would've been even more bored. No wonder Rogen wrote this when he was 19. That's exactly what it seemed like. SUPERBAD was at least moderately interesting and had a fair story, if not a unique one, with some likable and engaging characters.

THAT all said, I was equally baffled by the poor reception to SMILEY FACE. Though the one came out some time after the other, SMILEY FACE impressed the hell out of me. I found it honest, sincere, very funny, and surprisingly well acted. There are some true moments that Araki captures exactly what it is to be stoned, wandering around LA and trying to figure out what's happening. Some of the inner-monologue of Faris is absolute genius: at once funny and truthful, particularly an entire exegesis on whether or not a "Garfield" poster would make sense being put up in the protagonist's house... all this after merely peering at a picture of corn.

The music is great, the editing and directing style are both spot-on (think a more stripped- down TRAINSPOTTING), and even though very little happens overall, I was never bored, because the screenplay continually throws interesting moments into the mix, making even something as simple as Faris trying to drive out of her parking garage or waiting at the dentist VERY engaging and laugh-out-loud funny.

Definitely Gregg Araki's best movie to date, and Faris', as well. Surprisingly creative and one of the few portrayals of stoners I've seen in far too long (hey, they're a culture, like any other!), I'm as confused at how few people saw SMILEY FACE as I am at why so many seemed to have seen PINEAPPLE (sans the Rogen factor, which clearly grew some crowds on its own).

Check out SMILEY FACE... if you can find it. Maybe buy on Amazon. You won't regret it.

Anna Faris is, in my opinion, the funniest young comedic actress out there today. In "Smiley Face", she is extremely entertaining (and completely unconcerned about vanity) as Jane, the much-too-stoned pothead. I just love her (and I'm not even gay)!

The story has me scratching my head a little bit. I can't decide if it's just some mindless, silly stoner movie (which works for me!), or, as another reviewer put it, some sort of 70's anti-marijuana training film. Maybe it's a little of both...? I dunno.

Story aside, I think the acting and direction are superb, very colorful, and quite hilarious! It's worth a viewing, if only for the reason that you're in the mood for something completely different. You'll definitely have something to ponder...and many scenes to remember fondly and laugh about!

I completely disagree with many of these bad reviews. My personal opinion: if you smoke, definitely see this movie. But not while you're stoned--it will make you paranoid about everything! If you have never smoked pot, or are against it, don't even bother. Honestly, the whole movie is kind of like an inside joke. If you don't get high or haven't gotten high, you won't think it's entertaining, and you probably won't get it. But this is precisely what I love about this movie: it probably portrays being high more accurately than any other stoner movie I have ever seen. I didn't like the ending and it did confuse me a bit as to what message it was trying to get across, but as for the rest of the movie, I thought it was genius. The thought process was incredibly accurate, the physical effects, everything. Being a smoker myself, the whole movie was incredibly stressful, and I understood exactly what the main character felt. So all in all, my recommendation is this: if you smoke, go see it. If you don't, you're not going to like it.