Smiley Face (film)
| Smiley Face | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Gregg Araki |
| Produced by | Gregg Araki Steve Golin Alix Madigan-Yorkin Kevin Turen Henry Winterstern |
| Written by | Dylan Haggerty |
| Narrated by | Roscoe Lee Browne |
| Starring | Anna Faris Danny Masterson Adam Brody John Krasinski Jayma Mays Marion Ross Jane Lynch |
| Music by | David Kitay |
| Cinematography | Shawn Kim |
| Editing by | Gregg Araki |
| Distributed by | First Look International |
| Release date(s) | January 21, 2007 (Sundance Film Festival) November 16, 2007 (limited) |
| Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | United States Germany |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $179,381 |
Smiley Face is a 2007 American/German comedy film written by Dylan Haggerty and directed and co-produced by Gregg Araki. It stars Anna Faris as a young woman who has a series of misadventures after eating a large number of cupcakes laced with cannabis. The supporting cast includes John Krasinski, Adam Brody, Jayma Mays, Marion Ross, and Jane Lynch.[1]
This was the ninth feature film directed by Araki.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The story describes an eventful day in the life of Jane F (Anna Faris), an unambitious young actress who enjoys smoking cannabis and lives in a Los Angeles apartment with her nerdy, somewhat disturbing roommate Steve (Danny Masterson). Jane's fateful day begins when she unknowingly consumes an entire plate full of cannabis-laced cupcakes. Realizing her mistake, she makes a list of tasks she must achieve, and how she plans to make them happen. What follows is a relentless stream of disasters caused by Jane's intoxication.
[edit] Cast
- Roscoe Lee Browne as Narrator/Himself (voice)
- Anna Faris as Jane F
- Danny Masterson as Steve the Roommate
- Adam Brody as Steve the Dealer
- John Krasinski as Brevin
- Brian Posehn as Bus driver
- Rick Hoffman as Angry Face
- Joey Coco Diaz as Security guard
- Jayma Mays as Waiting room actress
- Jane Lynch as Casting director
- Marion Ross as Shirley
- Michael Hitchcock as Laundry room man
- John Cho as Mikey
- Danny Trejo as Albert
- Richard Riehle as Mr. Spencer
- Scott "Carrot Top" Thompson as Himself
- Dave "Gruber" Allen as Hippie #1
- Dylan Haggerty as Ferris wheel attendant
- William Zabka as Prison guard
[edit] Production
The film was once titled Mary Warner and Winona Ryder was attached to star, but that incarnation fell apart and the film was retitled with a new cast and director.[2]
This is one of the last films Roscoe Lee Browne worked on before his death on April 11, 2007.
[edit] Reception
Smiley Face premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, followed by a very small theatrical release; in Los Angeles it had a week long run at the Nuart Theatre in Santa Monica.[3] The film was released to DVD on January 8, 2008.[4] It also toured around British cinemas in the summer of 2008 as part of the 22nd London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.
In his review for the New York Times, Matt Zoller Seitz praised Faris' "freakishly committed performance as Jane F. [that] suggests Amy Adams’s princess from Enchanted dropped into a Cheech and Chong movie".[5] Andrew O'Hehir wrote in his review for Salon, "Smiley Face, has a wonderful performance by Anna Faris and one of the all-time great stoner monologues in movie history".[6] In her review for Cinematical, Monika Bartyzel wrote, "Araki's comedy gives us the best of many comedic worlds in an incessantly funny, easily-quotable serving. From discussions of Marxism to love of lasagna, Smiley Face serves it all — with some weed and a very, very stoned smile".[7]
However, S. James Snyder, in his review for the New York Sun, wrote, "If this is meant as a lighthearted change of pace for Mr. Araki, after Mysterious Skin, then perhaps he took things too far in the opposite direction. This isn't just light and fluffy; it floats away".[8]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 62% score from all critics and 75% from top critics.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ Zoller, Matt (2010-11-01). "Retrieved on 2009-03-31". Movies.nytimes.com. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/346919/Smiley-Face/overview. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
- ^ IMDb, "Trivia for Smiley Face (2007)", http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780608/trivia, retrieved 1 July 2009.
- ^ Campbell, Christopher (September 26, 2007). "Araki's Smiley Face Goes Straight to DVD". Cinematical. http://indie.cinematical.com/2007/09/26/arakis-smiley-face-goes-straight-to-dvd/. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ Carroll, Larry (September 26, 2007). "Smiley Face Turns Into A Frown: Anna Faris Comedy Going Straight To DVD". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1570507/20070925/story.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller (December 26, 2007). "Sunshine Daydream, With Pointed Point of View". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/26/movies/26smil.html?_r=1&ref=movies&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ O'Hehir, Andrew (January 23, 2007). "Beyond the Multiplex". Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2007/01/23/sundance_3/index1.html. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ Bartyzel, Monika (September 16, 2007). "TIFF Review: Smiley Face". Cinematical. http://indie.cinematical.com/2007/09/16/tiff-review-smiley-face/. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ Snyder, S, James (December 26, 2007). "This Is Your Movie on Drugs". New York Sun. http://www.nysun.com/arts/this-is-your-movie-on-drugs/68563/. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ "Smiley Face Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/smiley_face/. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
[edit] External links
- Smiley Face at the Internet Movie Database
- Smiley Face at AllRovi
- Smiley Face at Box Office Mojo
- Smiley Face at Rotten Tomatoes
- Smiley Face at Metacritic
|
|||||
