Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus and 2012

This has to be one of the worst films I've found on Netflix. The thing is...it seemed so promising. Michael Cera on a roadtrip in Chili, and Gabby Hoffman shows up as Crystal Fairy who they later rename as Crystal Hairy because of her hairy arm pits and her natural ability to want to just stay nude. Granted, that took guts to go nude in a rocky terrain. Oh, and a good portion of the film is in Spanish.

"We’ll have a psychoactive voyage."

If we could have only had some sort of pity or enjoyment in these characters. It just wasn't there. The film starts out at a party where Michael Cera plays Jamie who is in search of drugs. Most everyone is speaking Spanish. Later we find out..oh, so he's in Chili. Obviously, he has money..and he meets Crystal who comes off so happy go lucky. And you think, they hit it off. Jamie is so much more friendly when he's on drugs. He gives her his phone number.

The movie drags on. Jamie meets prostitutes on the street, brings them home..and makes them breakfast. Not exactly what you think would happen. But then the next day a friend wants to go to a beach town, but they meet up with his brothers. Seriously, the cast did have some hot Latin guys. Except, we really don't get to know them. We really don't know what makes Jamie tick, either. He seems rather distant to anyone. Finally, we figure out, he's got this cactus on his mind. Something about cooking it all day ..it becomes a drug and its suppose to be the best stuff ever. Well, something along that line. And of course, Crystal shows up. She isn't nearly as happy go lucky now, but she rooms with a bunch a guy and well, she's sort of laid back, yet there are moments she mothers them all. Only a few will find the brilliance of this movie. I wasn't one of them.

It was just hard to figure her out. But somewhere along the way Jamie finds out her secret while they are all on the beach getting ready for an epiphany of some kind. Seriously, it is one film you will want to skip. And its sad, because it had the potential of actually..maybe being a good movie..if there had been just a bit more plot and character development.

Cera is fantastic in his egocentric role, it gives the final parts of the movie an extra dimension which couldn’t have made the same impact without him being a dick. He overplays it a little bit, sure, but it doesn’t really matter. Even more admirable however is Hoffmann as Crystal Fairy. It’s a compelling performance and she isn’t afraid to reveal herself in multiple ways. Plus, I think it’s pretty awesome the actors were actually taking the drugs while filming.-iliketowatchmovies

Storyline:Jamie (Cera) is a boorish, insensitive American twentysomething traveling in Chile, who somehow manages to create chaos at every turn. He and his friends are planning on taking a road trip north to experience a legendary shamanistic hallucinogen called the San Pedro cactus. In a fit of drunkenness at a wild party, Jamie invites an eccentric woman -- a radical spirit named Crystal Fairy (Hoffmann) -- to come along. What is meant to be a devil-may-care journey becomes a battle of wills as Jamie finds himself locking horns with his new traveling companion. But on a remote, pristine beach at the edge of the desert, the magic brew is finally imbibed, and the true adventure begins.

tumblr