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Among the crowded pantheon of memorable Faris performances, it might be the best of them.
Jane may be a slacker, but she doesnt mean to be inconsiderate.
Faris gangly limbs and exaggerated expressions perfectly match Janes outrageous detours.
It feels like we have a secret between us.
Its really wonderful that the fans ofSmiley Facefeel quite loyal to it.
I remember Gregg Araki wanting to meet with me.
I didnt have to audition for it, which was unusual for me.
I think originally they had another actress in mind for it.
When I met with Gregg, I couldnt believe that this role was for a woman.
I was floored that this hysterical script that was bizarre and fascinating wasnt going to a young dude.
Because most stoner comedies are about men.And it was also a role without a love interest.
The only love interest was weed and her mattress.
So there was this liberation in wearing, essentially, pajamas.
That was always the mantra.
I never really fit into that framework.
I dont know who really does.
Your only fallibility can be clumsiness.
I remember really wanting to impress Gregg as though it was an audition.
I found out later that he kind of fought for me.
And he showed me all these intricate storyboards.
He said, Do you like to improv?
And I said, Oh, yeah.
And he said, Because I hate improv.
And I said, Oh, yeah, no, wait no improv.
I really didnt need it anyway.
The script was so great.
Then suddenly Im getting fitted by our brilliant costume designer with truly the most amazing wardrobe.
Those shoes made me feel like such a slouch, and it felt great.
We had a 21-day shoot.
I think it was like a $1 million budget.
I was nervous to tell my parents about this project.
But then Im inScary Movieand filming a movie about an incredibly stoned person.
I was hesitant because I knew what she would say: Youre a role model, Anna.
Im not a role model!
A role model to who?Exactly.
But when the movie got into Sundance, my parents came for the midnight screening.
I was just thinking earlier today how both of them were falling out of their seats with laughter.
My dad was braying like a donkey.
It felt so good.
Do you know which actress was involved before you came around?I feel like I should say no.
Smiley Faceis the perfect center point between the two types of movies you were making at the time.
I loved working with Gregg.
But at that time, I wasnt necessarily landing roles that I felt fit.
Maybe it was my oddity.
I was thinking about this with the movieThe House Bunny.
Youre working intensely with the crew so much that the crew kind of thinks of you as your character.
And that low-budget crew onSmiley Facekind of thought I was just so fucking stoned all the time.
It was a growth experience for me.
And if a crew struggles to separate an actor from their character, audiences definitely struggle with it.
You do such a convincing job of making Janes physical comedy feel freewheeling and spontaneous.
People watching it thought you must have been stoned, too.
How choreographed was the physicality?None of it.
But Gregg and Dylan Haggerty, our brilliant writer, just let me play.
Obviously, for thefall on the bus, we had some padding.
I should have toned some things down a bit.
I think in my previous work everything felt so much more choreographed and contained.
I would have doneSmiley Facefor free.
Instead, I think I did it for $3,000.
Really?My pay was pretty minimal.
But I would do it again.
Some of the projects something likeMy Super Ex-Girlfriend kind of feel like a bounce card.
You know, you react to the man or convey something to the audience.
It felt really good to not think about vanity.
I dont mind a line reading.
In fact, I welcome it.
But with Gregg, he really made me feel like a partner.
For all the internal pieces, I just enjoyed thinking about what Jane was going through.
Maybe Gregg should have reeled me in a little bit.
But it very, very much like a collaboration for the first time in my film career.
How do you feel about her as an audience?
A lot of the people she interacts with are squares caught up in a rule-abiding, capitalist system.
I think that is a unique form of liberation.
The whole foundation of the plot is built on her causing problems and them working to fix the problems.
I come from a family of sociologists.
My brother is a fourth-generation sociologist.
Jane does have a bit of that.
While shes wide-eyed, she doesnt seem naive to the world, wouldnt you say?
I think I aged like four years during that movie.
It would make me tear up.
It would make me naturally quite squinty.
And I just naturally have pretty dry eyes.
Did you film on the actual Ferris wheel at the Venice Beach Boardwalk?It was amazing.
And thatmotorcycle scene, we were able to close down a brief portion of the 710.
So it felt pretty magical that we were able to do that.
Shes far less eloquent in reality.
Its hard to memorize mumbo jumbo, but Dylans work just spoke to me so much.
In that particular scene, it was Danny Trejo and John Cho and Richard Riehle.
Or Id arrive 7 a.m. and see Jane Lynch in the trailer.
Did you have any theories or feelings about whySmiley Facewasnt a bigger commercial success?
Its a crowd-pleasing stoner comedy; theres a world in which this movie makes money.I dont know.
I am really bad at the economics of the film industry.
We had incredible producers that cared about the project.
Is there anything radical about this idea anymore?
And if there was something radical, then did that hamper success?
Or was it me?
Or was it the weirdness of the movie?
I do know that Im really grateful that a handful of people have seen it.
I was so grateful for someone like Seth Rogen to be like, Dude, that movie was hysterical.
It didnt come at all as a disappointment.
I guess it probably would now.
Seth Rogen told you that?Yeah, I was surprised he had seen it.
Truly, that midnight screening at Sundance was such a wonderful moment for me and everybody.
It was a different movie for Gregg, too.
At the start of our conversation, you said you have a lot of emotions about this movie.
It was a high-paced marathon, and that felt like such a morale booster, actually.
It made me feel optimistic.
Most movies dont achieve that.It really helps that Greg had such an easy, generous laugh.
Its the most fun project Ive done because it felt scrappy and because Gregg was laughing all the time.
