"Crystal Fairy" (2013)

Most people, heck, all people, are afraid of expressing themselves, of showing genuine emotion. We hide behind a carefully crafted veneer, built for the world to see and to hide our true selves. Crystal Fairy is a film about a young man, Jamie (Michael Cera), who can't stand to be emotionally honest. He can only show his true colors when buzzing on a drug high. He's visiting Chile and at a party meets a free-spirited woman named Crystal Fairy (Gaby Hoffman) who is also from the United States. In his stupor, he invites her on a trip that he and his Chilean friends are going on to a distant beach. The big-to-do for this trip is acquiring a San Pedro cactus, which when ingested have hallucinogenic effects. 

After the revelries of the previous night, Jamie wakes having completely forgotten about his invitation to Crystal. She calls and he is suddenly miffed like a petulant child. His friends are decent and realize they can't go back on their promise. Crystal is a quirky indvidual, but she is no manic pixie dream girl. There is hidden sadness behind her oddness. She seems the most open of all the characters but she is putting on a show like everyone else. Jamie keeps trying to convince the other members of the trip that it might be wise to ditch Crystal and her strange behavior, but they are kinder and less selfish than him. Cera strips himself of all vanity in his performance. This is a character who is utterly unlikable at times. During the roadtrip, Jamie gets on the other characters nerves, but he slowly gets on ours as well.

Cera's put-on attitude is petty but it belies the internal struggle of an indvidual who can't stand to be honest with anyone, especially himself. When confronted with an indvidual who so outwardly chooses to be everything he is afraid to be, he fights back against it. When they ingest the cactus, the drug trip makes him more willing to open up, but it can't get him to go the full mile. Consider the stories Crystal and tell at the end of the film. They reveal how little his narcissism has come, and how far he has to go until he really exposes his inner life.

Grade: ★★★