I'm not a pothead, and I don't watch pothead movies. So a story about a girl who gets stoned, and then gets even more stoned wouldn't normally grab me. But film festivals put you in a situation where you watch movies that wouldn't normally interest you. Usually, that's a disaster, but in the case of "Smiley Face," I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised.
"Smiley Face" gives us one of the most lovable protagonists I've ever seen in a movie. Jane (Ana Faris) is high the entire movie, even in flashbacks, and thus is happy and childlike just about every time we see her (except when she's paranoid). Most movie characters would breeze through the minor conflicts Jane has to face, but her pot-induced mental disability turns cooking butter into a nearly impossible task. And that's part of what makes her so endearing.
"Smiley Face" gives us one of the most lovable protagonists I've ever seen in a movie. Jane (Ana Faris) is high the entire movie, even in flashbacks, and thus is happy and childlike just about every time we see her (except when she's paranoid). Most movie characters would breeze through the minor conflicts Jane has to face, but her pot-induced mental disability turns cooking butter into a nearly impossible task. And that's part of what makes her so endearing.