Crystal Fairy - B-

Unrated, 98 minutes

Charming Cera the high-light of drug comedy "Crystal Fairy"

Gaby Hoffman and Michael Cera

Ever since "Arrested Development" and "Superbad," Michael Cera has made a career of playing nebbish, amusing characters that would make Woody Allen proud, and he continues this character in the lighthearted, unpretentious new drug comedy "Crystal Fairy" that's meandering fun. Cera (seen recently in "The is the End") stars is Jamie, a shaggy, boorish young American traveling through Chile. While searching for a rare hallucinogen-the famed San Pedro cactus-with a trio of Chilean brothers, Jamie invites a mysterious hippie (Gaby Hoffmann) along for the ride, but her free-spirited personality quickly clashes with his self-absorption, taking some surprising turns along their journey. Directed and written by Chilean director Sebastian Silva ("The Maid") and featuring three of the director's real-life brothers playing against Cera, it's a remarkably warm, if not thin and exaggerated, comedy about the joys of discovering yourself through hallucinogenic drugs. Admittedly, the plot is simple, rambling and often redundant, but then that may be the joy of the movie along with seeing the charming, shaggy-haired Cera in his unusual journey; Cera and the Silva brothers also have a genuine, natural interplay. Much of "Crystal Fairy," which was supposedly written as an outline and mostly improvised by the actors, has a nomadic charm. Though not for everyone, those who see it will feel good afterwards.

Wes's Grade:  B-