Review of Smiley Face (2007) by Scott E — 15 Jun 2008

Gregg Araki must have had a lot of fun making Smiley Face. The film is a depiction of a day in the life of Jane, a former student of economics who is trying to reboot her acting career. Janeâ??s problems all stem from her marijuana habit.

On the day of an audition, Jane accidentally eats her roommateâ??s pot cupcakes, thus leaving her incapacitated for the remainder of the day. Araki pulls out all the stops. There are major psychedelic scenes (see the opening credits) and horrible freak outs (her roommate has a special affinity for skulls).

Yet, something feels like its missing. The cast is great. Anna Faris hilariously plays Jane with just the right stoner touch but John Krasinskiâ??s talent seems wasted. He plays a sci-fi geek whoâ??s in love with Jane.

He falls flat even though he isnâ??t given much screen time. The film is very short, only 83 minutes long, thus not giving actors such as Adam Brody, John Cho, and Danny Masterson much time to develop their characters and get in any really funny lines or moments.

The whole film, although marketed as a comedy, isnâ??t very funny. Most of it is very over the top, especially the scene in the laundry room at the apartment complex that devolves into the absurd rather quickly.

It seems as though Araki was making a passion project rather than a film that is to be considered amongst the best in his canon of work. Gregg Araki is one of the most prolific indie directors working today, yet, you would never know it by watching Smiley Face.

There just isnâ??t much substance to the film. The voice over lines feel boring and unrehearsed. Ultimately, the film isnâ??t saying much of anything about drug culture or the American dream or anything of the like.

The best I can really say of the film is that itâ??s an interesting and effective performance by Anna Faris and some great escapist fare. I donâ??t know if the film has the legs to become a cult classic in the vein of Harold and Kumar go to White Castle or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

It seems that Smiley Face will be destined to remain on video store shelves. Some of the scenes stand out, such as when Jane tries to make her roommate more cupcakes to compensate for the ones she stole, yet, as a whole, the film feels a bit disjointed (why does she end up in a meat packing plant?) The purpose of this film is to have no purpose or direction and to just let hilarity and extreme events happen.

Outside of the stereotypical stoner, I donâ??t know if I would recommend this film to anyone.