It's been a couple of years since Michael Cera last led a feature film, and maybe it's due to the visible way in which Scott Pilgrim vs. The World failed, but he's since been toiling away at smaller projects. Maybe it's for the best, as Cera's nice guy routine had quickly begun to wear thin, and taking on a few indies has given him the opportunity to show a bit more edge. That's certainly the case in Crystal Fairy, a psychedelic road trip "comedy" where Cera plays maybe his most despicable character yet.
It's one of two films Cera has debuting at Sundance, both helmed by Chilean director Sebastian Silva. To say the film is an odd mix of styles is an understatement, shot guerrila-style on handheld cam and utilizing the minimalist, naturalistic style of many indie pictures. Upon first glance one might think this was a Duplass Brothers production, or something cooked up by Lynn Shelton. But at the same time it's loopy and random, dispensing a weird coming-of-age tale that Silva keeps hidden until you've nearly given up hope there was ever any meaning to it all.
At the center of it all is Cera's crude and utterly unlikable performance as Jamie, a drug-obsessed douchebag staying in Chile and doing copious amounts of illegal substances. He's hooked up with three brothers(all played by Silva's real brothers) who seem to barely tolerate him, only indulging his desire to seek out new drugs to try. After doing tons of Chilean cocaine at a party, Jamie makes fun of a girl named Crystal Fairy(Gaby Hoffman), a wild-haired, uni-browed free spirit accurately described as a "lonely tornado". Despite Jamie treating her like dirt, she's nice to him, and in his drug haze invites her along on a road trip to find the legendary San Pedro cactus.
So what's so special about this cactus? Well, it gives an incredible high, of course, and Jamie has complete tunnel vision when it comes to securing it. After a strange night in which he invites a pair of drag queens up to his apartment for dinner(more randomness), the boys head off on their journey, with Crystal Fairy in tow despite Jamie forgetting he ever invited her. He's a complete jerk to her the entire way, and it's not just that he's mean, he's especially cruel and pointed. After she showers and returns to the room naked, in a rather awkward and unsexy scene, he renames her Crystal Hairy because of excess tufts of hair pretty much everywhere. Only the brothers does he seem to treat with any respect, and it's hard to tell if that's because he needs them to find the cactus, or because of some other unknown reason. He's at his worst when they discover a poor neighborhood where the cactus grows in some peoples' yards, and rather than enduring a friendly conversation with the owner, Jamie sneaks out and steals it from her. Not before being a complete ass-hat in the process.
Jamie may be a total scumbag, but Crystal is immensely sympathetic, even though we've seen variations on her character before. While elements of the manic pixie dreamgirl complex are present, she also shows moments of intuitiveness and strength when dealing with Jamie's aggressive attitude. Hoffman, an underrated actress who isn't seen on the silver screen nearly enough, saves the character from being a total cliche. Cera is obviously effective in creating such an ire against Jamie.
It's unclear if Silva was aiming for this to be funnier, but it doesn't achieve much in that regard. Cera shines a couple of times, mostly through physical comedy as he's enduring the hallucinogenic effects of the cactus. It's much more effective once they hit their beachside destination for a camp out, where secrets are revealed and emotions laid bare. It's then that you realize that for all the plot's meandering, these characters were slowly but surely becoming the oddest little family of all. It's to Silva's credit that he takes such a subtle approach, but he finds something tender and charming in the end. The conclusion's something of a head scratcher that will probably have many questioning everything they just watched. That's probably exactly what Silva wants you to do. Just because Crystal Fairy wanders, that doesn't mean it's lost.
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