Smiley Face (film)
Encyclopedia
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
.
This is the ninth feature film directed
by Araki.
), an unambitious young actress who enjoys smoking weed and lives in a Los Angeles
apartment with her nerdy, somewhat disturbing roommate Steve (Danny Masterson
). Jane's fateful day begins when she unknowingly consumed an entire plate full of weed-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.
was attached to star, but that incarnation fell apart and the film was retitled with a new cast and director.
This is one of the last films Roscoe Lee Browne
worked on before his death on April 11, 2007.
and received by a very small release where in Los Angeles
it had a week long run at the Nuart Theatre
in Santa Monica
. The film was released to DVD on January 8, 2008. It also toured around British cinemas in summer 2008 as part of the 22nd London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
. (Gregg Araki is a well-known gay director.)
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". Andrew O'Hehir writes 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". In her review for Cinematical, Monika Bartyzel writes, "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".
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".
On Rotten Tomatoes
, the film received a 62% score from all critics and 75% from top critics.
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
/German
Cinema of Germany
Cinema in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema has made major technical and artistic contributions to film.Unlike any other national cinemas, which developed in the context of relatively continuous and stable political systems, Germany witnesses major changes to its...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
written
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
by Dylan Haggerty and directed and co-produced by Gregg Araki
Gregg Araki
Gregg Araki is an American independent filmmaker. He is involved in New Queer Cinema.-Early life:Araki was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Santa Barbara, California...
. It stars Anna Faris
Anna Faris
Anna Kay Faris is an American actress, singer and comedienne. She is known for her starring role in the Scary Movie film series, as well as roles in The Hot Chick , Lost in Translation , Just Friends , My Super Ex-Girlfriend , Smiley Face , and The House Bunny...
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
John Krasinski
John Burke Krasinski is an American actor, film director, and writer. He is most widely known for playing Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office...
, Adam Brody
Adam Brody
Adam Jared Brody is an American film and television actor and part time musician. He began his career in 1995, appearing on Gilmore Girls and other series, and subsequently came to fame for his role as Seth Cohen on The O.C. Brody later appeared in several film roles, including Mr. & Mrs...
, Jayma Mays
Jayma Mays
Jayma Suzette Mays is an American television and film actress, and singer. Mays' most prominent roles include that of Emma Pillsbury on the American television series Glee, recurring appearances on Ugly Betty and on Heroes as characters named Charlie.- Life and career :Mays was born Jamia Suzette...
, Marion Ross
Marion Ross
Marion Ross is an American actress best known for her role as Marion Cunningham on the television series Happy Days from 1974 to 1984.-Early life:...
, and Jane Lynch
Jane Lynch
Jane Marie Lynch is an American comedian, actress and singer. She gained fame in Christopher Guest's improv mockumentary pictures such as Best in Show and is currently best known for playing the role of Sue Sylvester in the television series Glee...
.
This is the ninth feature film directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Araki.
Plot
The story describes an eventful day in the life of Jane F (Anna FarisAnna Faris
Anna Kay Faris is an American actress, singer and comedienne. She is known for her starring role in the Scary Movie film series, as well as roles in The Hot Chick , Lost in Translation , Just Friends , My Super Ex-Girlfriend , Smiley Face , and The House Bunny...
), an unambitious young actress who enjoys smoking weed and lives in a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
apartment with her nerdy, somewhat disturbing roommate Steve (Danny Masterson
Danny Masterson
Daniel Peter "Danny" Masterson is an American actor and DJ best known for his role as Steven Hyde in That '70s Show.-Early life:...
). Jane's fateful day begins when she unknowingly consumed an entire plate full of weed-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.
Cast
- Roscoe Lee BrowneRoscoe Lee BrowneRoscoe Lee Browne was an American actor and director, known for his rich voice and dignified bearing.-Biography:Browne was the fourth son of a Baptist minister, Sylvanus S. Browne, and his wife Lovie...
as Narrator/Himself (voice) - Anna FarisAnna FarisAnna Kay Faris is an American actress, singer and comedienne. She is known for her starring role in the Scary Movie film series, as well as roles in The Hot Chick , Lost in Translation , Just Friends , My Super Ex-Girlfriend , Smiley Face , and The House Bunny...
as Jane F - Danny MastersonDanny MastersonDaniel Peter "Danny" Masterson is an American actor and DJ best known for his role as Steven Hyde in That '70s Show.-Early life:...
as Steve the Roommate - Adam BrodyAdam BrodyAdam Jared Brody is an American film and television actor and part time musician. He began his career in 1995, appearing on Gilmore Girls and other series, and subsequently came to fame for his role as Seth Cohen on The O.C. Brody later appeared in several film roles, including Mr. & Mrs...
as Steve the Dealer - John KrasinskiJohn KrasinskiJohn Burke Krasinski is an American actor, film director, and writer. He is most widely known for playing Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office...
as Brevin - Brian PosehnBrian PosehnBrian Edmund Posehn is an American actor, voice actor, musician and comedian, known for his roles as mail clerk Kevin Liotta on NBC's Just Shoot Me!, a cast member and writer on HBO's Mr. Show, and most recently as Brian Spukowski on Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program.-Early life:Posehn...
as Bus driver - Joey Coco DiazJoey DiazJoey "CoCo" Diaz is a Cuban-American stand-up comedian and actor best known for his recurring role as Jhoey on the TV series My Name is Earl, as well as in movies such as The Longest Yard and Taxi.-Early life:...
as Security guard - Jayma MaysJayma MaysJayma Suzette Mays is an American television and film actress, and singer. Mays' most prominent roles include that of Emma Pillsbury on the American television series Glee, recurring appearances on Ugly Betty and on Heroes as characters named Charlie.- Life and career :Mays was born Jamia Suzette...
as Waiting room actress - Jane LynchJane LynchJane Marie Lynch is an American comedian, actress and singer. She gained fame in Christopher Guest's improv mockumentary pictures such as Best in Show and is currently best known for playing the role of Sue Sylvester in the television series Glee...
as Casting director - Marion RossMarion RossMarion Ross is an American actress best known for her role as Marion Cunningham on the television series Happy Days from 1974 to 1984.-Early life:...
as Shirley - Michael HitchcockMichael HitchcockMichael Hitchcock is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and television producer.In 2011, Hitchcock became a writer and consulting producer for season 3 of the FOX television series Glee, where he had guest starred in season 1 as rival glee club director Dalton Rumba.As an actor, he has...
as Laundry room man - John ChoJohn ChoJohn Yohan Cho is an American actor and musician, best known for his roles in the American Pie films and the Harold & Kumar films . He also starred in the critically acclaimed hit film Better Luck Tomorrow...
as Mikey - Danny TrejoDanny TrejoDan "Danny" Trejo is an American actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films, most notably in roles as an antagonist, or anti-hero.-Early life:...
as Albert - Richard RiehleRichard Riehle-Life and career:Riehle was born in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, the son of Mary Margaret , a nurse, and Herbert John Riehle , an assistant postmaster. He attended the University of Notre Dame....
as Mr. Spencer - Scott "Carrot Top" ThompsonCarrot TopScott Thompson , better known by his stage name Carrot Top, is an American comedian known for his bright red hair, prop comedy, and self-deprecating humor.-Early years:...
as Himself - Dave "Gruber" Allen as Hippie #1
- Dylan Haggerty as Ferris wheel attendant
- William ZabkaWilliam ZabkaWilliam Michael "Billy" Zabka is an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is an Academy Award Nominee for Co-Writing and Producing the film, "MOST." Zabka is best known for his villain roles in several iconic 80s films, such as his role of Johnny Lawrence in 1984's The Karate...
as Prison guard
Production
The film was once titled Mary Warner and Winona RyderWinona Ryder
Winona Ryder is an American actress. She made her film debut in the 1986 film Lucas. Ryder's first significant role came in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice as a goth teenager, which won her critical and commercial recognition...
was attached to star, but that incarnation fell apart and the film was retitled with a new cast and director.
This is one of the last films Roscoe Lee Browne
Roscoe Lee Browne
Roscoe Lee Browne was an American actor and director, known for his rich voice and dignified bearing.-Biography:Browne was the fourth son of a Baptist minister, Sylvanus S. Browne, and his wife Lovie...
worked on before his death on April 11, 2007.
Reception
Smiley Face premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
and received by a very small release where in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
it had a week long run at the Nuart Theatre
Nuart Theatre
The Nuart Theatre is L.A.'s premier art house movie venue and the flagship movie theater of the Landmark Theatres chain in the United States of America.-Location:...
in Santa Monica
Santa Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
. The film was released to DVD on January 8, 2008. It also toured around British cinemas in summer 2008 as part of the 22nd London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
The London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival takes place every spring in London, England. It began as a season of gay and lesbian films at the National Film Theatre in 1986 and 1987 under the title "Gay's Own Pictures", curated by Peter Packer of the Tyneside Cinema, and was renamed the London...
. (Gregg Araki is a well-known gay director.)
In his review for the New York Times, Matt Zoller Seitz praised Faris' "freakishly committed performance as Jane F. [that] suggests Amy Adams
Amy Adams
Amy Lou Adams is an American actress and singer. Adams began her performing career on stage in dinner theaters before making her screen debut in the 1999 black comedy film Drop Dead Gorgeous...
’s princess from Enchanted dropped into a Cheech and Chong
Cheech and Chong
Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo consisting of Richard "Cheech" Marin and Tommy Chong, who found a wide audience in the 1970s and 1980s for their films and stand-up routines, which were based on the hippie and free love era, and especially drug culture movements, most notably their love for...
movie". Andrew O'Hehir writes 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". In her review for Cinematical, Monika Bartyzel writes, "Araki's comedy gives us the best of many comedic worlds in an incessantly funny, easily-quotable serving. From discussions of Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
to love of lasagna, Smiley Face serves it all — with some weed and a very, very stoned smile".
However, S. James Snyder, in his review for the New York Sun
New York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...
, wrote, "If this is meant as a lighthearted change of pace for Mr. Araki, after Mysterious Skin
Mysterious Skin
Mysterious Skin is a 2004 drama film directed by American filmmaker Gregg Araki, who also wrote the screenplay based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Scott Heim...
, then perhaps he took things too far in the opposite direction. This isn't just light and fluffy; it floats away".
On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, the film received a 62% score from all critics and 75% from top critics.