| Smiley Face | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Gregg Araki |
| Written by | Dylan Haggerty |
| Produced by | Gregg Araki Steve Golin Alix Madigan-Yorkin Kevin Turen Henry Winterstern |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Shawn Kim |
| Edited by | Gregg Araki |
| Music by | David Kitay |
Production companies | Anonymous Content Desperate Pictures |
| Distributed by | First Look International |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 84 minutes |
| Countries | United States Germany |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $179,381[1] |
Smiley Face is a 2007stonercomedy film directed and co-produced byGregg Araki. Written by Dylan Haggerty, it starsAnna Faris as a young woman who has a series of misadventures after eating cupcakeslaced with cannabis. The supporting cast includesDanny Masterson,Adam Brody,Rick Hoffman,Jane Lynch,John Krasinski,Marion Ross,Michael Hitchcock,John Cho,Danny Trejo, andRoscoe Lee Browne in his final film appearance.[2]Smiley Face was the ninth feature film directed by Araki.
Jane is an unambitiouseconomics major turned television commercial actress living inLos Angeles. She is a frequentmarijuana user, and one day whilestoned eats a plate of her roommate's cupcakes that he had set aside for ascience fiction convention. She realizes that the cupcakes arelaced with cannabis; as her intoxication intensifies, she recalls a number of important tasks she is obliged to do that day, including paying her electric bill and going to an audition.
She calls herdealer, to whom she owes several hundred dollars, and purchases marijuana to use to replace the cupcakes. He threatens to take her furniture if she cannot resolve her debt, and instructs her to meet him with the money that afternoon at a hemp festival being held atVenice Beach. As Jane begins making cannabis-infused butter for the cupcakes, she is distracted by phone calls from her agent and her boyfriend, causing the butter to burn. Jane decides to sell her stash ofgovernment-issued marijuana to pay the debt, and at her audition offers it for purchase to another actress and the casting director. When the casting director appears to phone the police, a panicked Jane flushes the marijuana down a toilet.
Jane begins cold-calling various acquaintances for money, eventually reaching out to Brevin, a friend of her roommate's who is infatuated with her. He agrees to loan her the money after his dental appointment; they travel to the dental office together, which Jane notices is near the home of her formerMarxian economics professor. Upon leaving, Brevin finds his car was broken into and his wallet, which was left on the dashboard, stolen. When the police arrive to question them, a paranoid Jane flees to her former professor's home. She is greeted by his mother who, believing that Jane is her son'steaching assistant, entrusts her with a first edition copy ofThe Communist Manifesto to take to his office.
Jane decides to use the book to pay off the debt. She stows away in the back of a truck that she believes will take her to Venice Beach; it takes her to ameat-packing plant inEl Monte, where a factory worker agrees to drive her to her destination. When a car accident causes a traffic jam, Jane leaves the car and continues on foot, before being given a ride by a woman riding a motorcycle. Upon arriving, Jane discovers that the festival has already ended. Wandering the beach, she finds several tickets that she uses to board the Ferris wheel on theVenice Beach Boardwalk.
While on the ride, she sees a group of people she has encountered throughout the day looking for her on the boardwalk. Recognizing that she must do the right thing and return the book, Jane waves to get their attention; as she does so, the carriage shifts and the book slips from her hands, causing the pages to tear out and scatter. She is arrested, and sentenced to a five-yearsuspended sentence and 1,500 hours of community service forgrand larceny andproperty destruction.
Smiley Facepremiered at the 2007Sundance Film Festival, followed by avery small theatrical release; inLos Angeles it had a week long run at theNuart Theatre inSanta Monica.[3] The film was released to DVD on January 8, 2008.[4] Nathan Lee in his review for theVillage Voice wrote that "...100 percent sober when I watched it, I can say with some authority that Dylan Haggerty has written an eleventh-hour candidate for the funniest movie of 2007, that Gregg Araki has directed his finest film since 1997'sNowhere, and that Faris, flawless, rocks their inspired idiot odyssey in a virtuoso comedic turn."[5] It also toured around British cinemas in the summer of 2008 as part of the 22ndLondon Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.
In his review forThe New York Times, Matt Zoller Seitz praised Faris' "freakishly committed performance as Jane F. [that] suggestsAmy Adams’s princess fromEnchanted dropped into aCheech and Chong movie".[6] Andrew O'Hehir wrote in his review forSalon, "Smiley Face, has a wonderful performance by Anna Faris and one of the all-time great stoner monologues in movie history".[7] In her review forCinematical, Monika Bartyzel wrote, "Araki's comedy gives us the best of many comedic worlds in an incessantly funny, easily-quotable serving. From discussions ofMarxism to love of lasagna,Smiley Face serves it all — with some weed and a very, very stoned smile".[8] The review of theNew York Daily News states that "Not sinceSean Penn's Jeff Spicoli inFast Times at Ridgemont High has an actor so thoroughly dominated the screen while pretending to be in a chemically altered state."[9] In the review ofLos Angeles Times it is argued that "Gregg Araki's delirious "Smiley Face" is an unabashed valentine to Anna Faris, an opportunity for the actress to show that she can carry a movie composed of often hilarious nonstop misadventures. No matter how outrageously or foolishly Faris' Jane behaves, she remains blissfully appealing—such are Faris' fearless comedic skills."[10]
However, S. James Snyder, in his review for theNew York Sun, wrote, "If this is meant as a lighthearted change of pace for Mr. Araki, afterMysterious Skin, then perhaps he took things too far in the opposite direction. This isn't just light and fluffy; it floats away".[11]
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 66% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Although many of the jokes have been done before, Anna Faris's bright performance and Gregg Araki's sharp direction makeSmiley Face more than your average stoner comedy."[12] OnMetacritic, the film received a score of 71 based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[13] Faris won the "Stoner of the Year" award atHigh Times magazine'sStony Awards, in Los Angeles, on October 13, 2007, for her role inSmiley Face.[14]
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