Ty Burr celebrates Anna Faris, "the very best thing in very bad movies." At a time when good actresses are plentiful and good parts for them seem to be scarcer than ever, Faris is hard-working yet remains cruelly underappreciated by critics, because it's been her fortune to have been kept busy by the makers of the some really tacky movies. Faris's big break came with the Scary Movie series, and though she's had a couple of small but attention-getting roles in classier fare such as Lost in Translation and Brokeback Mountain, her bread and butter has remained comedies pitched at, shall we say, the undemanding audience. Burr writes that "not many people want to admit they sat through the execrable 2002 Rob Schneider film, The Hot Chick, those who did know that Faris just about made it bearable as a woman weirdly turned on by a man's soul in her best friend's body. Or how about the silly romantic comedy Just Friends (2005)? If not for her slapstick turn as a Courtney-Love-style rock star, the movie would be landfill."
Now, Faris has finally landed a starring role in a movie by a major, big-name director. Fat lot of good it's done her. Gregg Araki's Smiley Face, a stoner comedy with political pretensions, should have done at least as much for Faris's career as Araki's previous movie, Mysterious Skin, did for its star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who needed to give a brilliant performance in a challenging role to elevate his image from Third Rock from the Sun kid to serious young actor. Smiley Face isn't as strong a movie as Mysterious Skin — it's a goof, and Araki's attempts to make it a goof with something to meaningful to say just weigh it down. But Faris gives an amazing slapstick performance as an endearing Los Angeles pothead who's lost in her own world. It would be a star-making turn in anyone saw the movie, but after a successful screening at Cannes, Smiley Face was slipped into theaters in New York and L.A. at the tail end of last year for a "limited engagement" run that turned out to be a sneak preview for the movie's appearance on DVD this week. Anyone who's interested to see what brilliant comic acting looks like these days is advised to rent it. In the meantime, Faris will still be out there someplace. The promise of Scary Movie 5 beckons.