“Crystal Fairy”
Directed by Sebastián Silva
Starring Michael Cera, Gaby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva, Agustín Silva
Adventure, Comedy
98 Mins
R

Michael Cera is on a tear. He absolutely ripped up the screen in his raunchy, self-caricaturing bit part in This is The End, he was one of the best parts of the new season of Arrested Development and here he goes to bat with a new persona – a jagged narcissist with acid wit and a penchant for substance-induced mood swings. His largely unlikeable character is hung with the reactive humor Cera has always brought to the table but instead of his familiar coy and breathless delivery, here he is affronting, biting and plain old mean.

We meet Cera’s Jaime at a party in Chile, chomping through brews, slugging down lines of blow and making a general ass of himself. He’s got the charm of a cactus and his prickly nature drives him from one engagement to the next, offending and putting off the mostly Chilean crowd with his brash Americano ways. As for why exactly he’s plopped down in Chile, he’s not a student or even a teacher working abroad, he’s just another reason Americans get a bad name internationally. Jaime reveals the true intention of his international journey boils down to a special plant called San Pedro, better known as peyote.

In the grasp of an alcohol and cocaine cocktail, Jaime meets Crystal (Gaby Hoffmann) dancing with arm-slinky, air-grabbing moves, looking like a stoned fool, another American making an ass of herself. But her’s is a different jackassery: she’s an exemplar of the unshaven granola clump, proud of her pit hair and open spiritual convictions. Mocking her in the wings of the dance floor, Jaime’s bitter persona seems to skip a beat and he winds up inviting her along for his quest. Exchanging numbers, Jaime gives Crystal the low down on their arrangements and tells her to meet them the next morning.

After a late night spent making beans and rice for transsexual prostitutes (don’t ask), Jaime wakes with a brooding hangover, being called up to by Chilean friend Champa (Juan Andrés Silva) awaiting in the street below. Gathering Champa’s brothers, they embark on a ride up north to hunt down the mystical cactus, but a phone call from Crystal confirms Jaime’s suspicions that he was a little too faded the night prior. Although Jaime totally wants to blow her off, Champa’s good guy sensibilities insist that Jaime swallow his pride and follow up on his promise to include the eponymous Crystal Fairy. What follows is a clash of sly-tongued titans.

In one corner, Jaime wants what he wants. He’s the caliber of fella who will steal his beloved cactus from an kindly older woman if need be. He’ll mock Crystal’s abundant body hair, slowly degrading her with his sandpaper snide comments. Crystal is all about sharing, caring and opening up. As she tries to get to the root of Jaime’s cutting animosity towards her, she runs into brick wall after brick wall, dismissed and degraded by his nonchalant dismissal of everything she stands for.

Preparing to launch into a full blown, 14-hour drug trip together, relations between Crystal and Jaime couldn’t be more strained. Jaime can’t even handle sharing a task as simple as cutting thorns off the cactus with the frumpy Crystal nor will he participate in her yoga sessions and even dumps the “spirit stone” she provides him. He won’t buy her new age philosophy, a fact he’s glad to throw in her face.

As harsh and callous as he is, Cera is as hysterical as he is committed to his character. Out in left field, this version of the funnyman shows a diversity that has escaped him for a majority of his career. Ditching traditional Hollywood comedy and going on a limb like this shows that Cera has broken the box and is now reforming it into something new and far more interesting.

As Crystal, Hoffman is perfection. We’ve all met this new-age spirit in all their mumbo-jumbo slinging glory and we’ve all been irritated by their condensing manner and fax-spiritual jive. And while Crystal’s act is off-putting, it’s also dipped in truth and topped with character. She’s more than another version of a hippie-dippy cloaked in flowy clothing, dipped in flowery patterns and a late stage reveal gives us all a reason to sympathize with her boggled outlook.

Director Sebastián Silva has based this story on an experience of his own and tells it with riotous but compassionate understanding. It’s funny for much of the same reasons that hanging out with your friends is funny. The laughs come naturally, and don’t feel like jokes are retrofitted one-liners hashed out by a team of writers in some remote room. Why? Because they were largely unscripted, with most of Jaime’s swings and dings straight from the twisted mind of Cera.

Crystal Fairy is Silva’s answer to indie comedy. Rather than getting wound up in dramatic, Silva lets his talented stars loose to dust comedy in generous handfuls. Mixed against broken English and a foreign landscape, Jaime and Crystal’s battle of wits is extremely digestible indie fare that exits on top with a wistful note.