Smiley Face

I'm usually not a big fan of stoner comedies, for some reason they tend to be more crass and vulgar than they are funny. But Araki's Smiley Face turns out to be a welcome exception, thanks to Faris' all-in performance and Araki's confident direction, which add plenty of laughs to an otherwise familiar concept.

Faris' adventures are pretty basic though. She's incredibly stoned and whatever she does, she fucks up pretty badly. After a series of initial misadventures she needs to go to Venice Beach to clear her debts with her dealer, which is a perfect set-up to meet some goof balls and weird characters along the way.

Araki's camera work, choice of music and writing makes the film a little weirder and quirkier than the norm. Some solid performances of the secondary cast add to the fun, but in the end this is really Faris' time to shine. Smiley Face isn't the greatest comedy ever, but it's a fun and entertaining little film.