Monday , November 16, 2009
Let us now praise Anna Faris
Until last weekend I'd never thought too much about Anna Faris, even though I loved her madly in Lost in Translation. But then on Saturday I watched Gregg Araki's stoner masterpiece Smiley Face and completely had my dome blown, and not just due to the utter shock at actually enjoying a movie by Gregg Araki (who usually just makes me go BLECHHH all over place). I can't think of another film in recent cinematic history that's carried almost entirely by a female actor who's mega-funny in this geniusly goofball way that's got very little to do with sex appeal. (I mean, Anna Faris is total bombshell hotness for sure, but we're worlds away from Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle-style jiggle here - just witness Anna's one wardrobe change from t-shirt + pajama pants to hoodie + baggie jeans.) It all sort of makes me feel like a total sucker for being so grateful for Ellen Page's whole smarty-mouth shtick in Juno. (Not that Ellen Page isn't great - I'm just kinda over it. Plus, in the February issue of Vogue she named "rap music" as one of her "guilty pleasures," so right there she loses about 500 points in my special book.) And, despite the fact that - for better or worse - I'm pretty much hook, line, and sinker for anything born of the Judd Apatow empire, Smiley Face has got me all, "To hell with stupid Apatowland, where only the boys get to have dumb fun and the girls are all boring whiners!" Seriously. Sheesh.
Anyway, Smiley Face is about what happens when Anna's Jane F. unknowingly eats a dozen pot cupcakes and somehow ends up with her hands on the original manuscript of the Communist Manifesto. I don't know if it's possible to fully appreciate it without ever had the experience of consuming too many fun treats and then totally bugging the hell out, but I'd say it's definitely worth a shot. Especially since you get lots of fantastic co-stars and cameos, everybody from Dave Gruber Allen to Mrs. Cunningham from Happy Days to the fabulous Jane Lynch to John Cho (aka Harold of Harold & Kumar) to Danny Masterson (aka my 18th or 19th favorite radio DJ of all time). And Jane's pot dealer is played by a dread-headed, heavily tattooed Adam Brody all dressed up like Perry Farrell in 1992, and John Krasinski is adorably brilliant as a sci-fi nerd who's head over heels for Jane.
It's hard to find a YouTube clip that truly captures Anna's Smiley Face awesomeness, but here are a few nice bits. Netflix it! Netflix it now!
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Posted by Liz in Film |
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