CRYSTAL FAIRY – The Review

Well, there’s a bit more to the title than that. According to the opening animation sequence this is called CRYSTAL FAIRY & THE MAGIC CACTUS & 2012, whew!  Pretty complicated for what is really a fairly simple story. It’s a road trip picture with an American really out of his depth. Oh, and he’s on a quest as was Martin Sheen in THE WAY. But in this flick Michael Cera is not seeking spiritual enlightenment. Nor does he want to visit any famous sites or landmarks. He’s taking this trip so that, well, he can trip out. He’s got it all plotted out, but it looks like the title character is just gonna’ mess up everything.

As the film opens, we’re in modern-day Chile. American Jaimie (Cera) is meeting up with his Chilean pal, Champa (Juan Andres Silva) at a loud party where the drugs and booze are flowing. Early the next morning, the two, along with Champa’s brothers Lel and Pilo (played by Juan’s real-life brothers Jose Miguel and Agustin Silva) will pile into a van and drive off to San Pedro. There they’ll obtain a local cactus, that when boiled becomes a powerful hallucinogen. The plan is to drive to a nearby beach, cook the plant, drink its broth, and trip out under the stars while lying on the sand. Jaimie spies an earthy hippie chick doing an odd dance to the party tunes and decides to rescue her from possible embarrassment. Turns out that she’s an American too, and she goes by the name of Crystal Fairy (Gaby Hoffman). He invites her on the road trip and gives her his cell number. Early the next morning, a very hungover Jaimie is surprised when Crystal calls him and wants to be picked up along the way. Much to the chagrin of his brothers  and Jaimie, Champa insists they honor the invitation. Will she complicate their excursion and chemical experimentation?

After his hysterical cameo role in this Summer’s THIS IS THE END, Cera continues to dismantle his nice, nerdy shy guy image from previous films SUPERBAD and JUNO (and of course the TV cult hit “Arrested Development”). Jamie is the ultimate “ugly American” abroad. He’s over-indulgent, ignorant, pushy, and intolerant of the natives  and their customs. If he does have a problem with someone then he’s sure that a bit of dinero will solve anything. His single-minded pursuit of a cactus is crazy obsession at its most dogged. Plus he has no patience for the free-spirited Crystal. No, he doesn’t want her magic rocks dropped into his beer glass! Hoffman makes Crystal more than a spacey stereotype with an open attitude about her feelings (and body). Her mystical mumbo-jumbo masks a damaged soul. At times the young men want to protect her while she often exerts a motherly influence over them. The Silva brothers are natural actors who have a great rapport with the American stars.

Perhaps this is from the guidance of the film’s director, brother Sebastian Silva. The film may be too leisurely paced with the travelers make many, many stops along the way to the beach. Silva doesn’t resort to many typical camera tricks for the drug trip, although there is liberal use of slow motion and audio distortion. The choice of music, including a 60’s film theme from Henry Mancini, doesn’t always work. It’s a lovely travelogue of Chile, but its lack of dramatic momentum may have viewers checking the time. If you’re a Cera fan, then CRYSTAL FAIRY may be a journey worth taking, but it’s doubtful that many movie goers would ever want to make a return trip.

2 Out of 5

CRYSTAL FAIRY screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre