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She stars as Jane F., an aspiring actress who casually begins her day with the wake-and-bake. Lost in her own haze, it takes notes left around the apartment by her frighteningly intense gamer roommate (Danny Masterson) to remind her how to conduct her day. Two things she knows this day: (1) she has an audition and (2) she must pay the electric bill or risk disconnection. Why the roommate would trust such a vital task to this career stoner is something you just have to go with. Hell, he left another note not to eat those cupcakes in the fridge for his convention buddies, but she goes about doing it anyway. Soon enough its not her original bong kicking in that she feels, but the additional pot baked into the frosty confections. And her adventure begins…

With barely enough motor functions to lay out her daily planner for the day, Jane must find a way to buy some more pot, bake more cupcakes and go to her audition. Except she owes her drug dealer (Adam Brody) so now she has to find an ATM. She needs a ride and must bum one from her roomie’s bud (John Krasinski) who has been in love with her despite never having seen her in a lucid state. And we’re just scratching the surface. Each scene becomes a new vignette for Jane to screw-up, overreact, build her paranoia and introduce a new quandary until a baker’s dozen is the least of her problems.

Trying to shoehorn Smiley Face into some modern day After Hours is a bit overblown for its own good. There’s no confusing a slacker romp with Scorsese and upping its ante to make such a comparison is not going to win over anyone. What will though is the performance of Anna Faris, without whom this film may have been dead on arrival. Faris began showing off her comic chops in the Scary Movie series (which she has honorably remained loyal to through four incarnations.) Her unsubtle sexuality in May and dead-on portrayal of a flippant celebrity in Lost in Translation provided further proof that Faris could steal any scene she’s in. And even in a little seen film like Southern Belles and particularly her nutty turn as a pop diva in Just Friends, Faris has proven that she is without question one of the top comic actresses working today. Can you think of another you would be willing to follow around stoned for 80 straight minutes? This is a full-force, all-purpose performance by Faris, getting to mug, fantasize different affectations to her predicament and physicalize her cautious indiscretions with the kind of grace that would get winks from the likes of silent screen greats.

While Faris certainly commands every moment, Smiley Face gets great mileage out of many of its supporting players including Jane Lynch, Michael Hitchcock, Marion Ross, and John “Harold” Cho himself amongst others. Masterson gets to play out one of R. Lee Ermey’s famous Full Metal Jacket threats (perhaps one too many times) and Krasinski, currently the new king of unrequited love, makes Jim on The Office look like a hellcat by comparison with his hilariously subdued turn. But much like the REO Speedwagon song which gets replayed three times during the film, Smiley Face begins to wear out its welcome after about an hour. It’s energy just can’t maintain the fluent pace established by the earlier set pieces. This is certainly the sweetest of Araki’s pictures, which is like giving his audience a big Godiva chocolate after several chomps on a car battery. In due tribute to the Speedwagon though, Araki couldn’t have chosen a more perfect song though. First introduced through the mind of Krasinski’s lovelorn chauffeur, “Keep On Lovin’ You” begins as a joke for the character of Jane, but by the closing credits it’s an unadorned tribute to Anna Faris herself that we can’t help but want to serenade her with.

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originally posted: 02/01/07 02:42:29
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