Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus

Consider Michael Cera’s recent film roles. There’s two-timing Scott (Scott Pilgrim vs the World), schizophrenic womaniser Nick (Youth in Revolt), and coke-snorting party animal Michael Cera (This Is the End). This nerdy sweetheart has proved he’s equally adept at portraying nerdy douchebags. For more evidence, see this low-key Chilean comedy from director Sebastián Silva, where Cera plays Jamie, a control freak who’s so uptight and egotistical that he manages to take the fun out of an altered-state road trip with friends to an idyllic beach to ingest some psychotropic cactus.

He’s not the only member of his party you want to throttle, though. Tagging along with Jamie and his three Chilean friends is the eponymous Crystal Fairy (blast-from-the-past Gaby Hoffman), a hippy hypocrite who lectures the boys on eating junk food while spouting chakra platitudes and parading around naked. Watching these two monsters’ passive-aggressive sparring is a toe-curling joy, and Silva’s freewheeling direction is pleasantly at odds with the angst on screen. [Jamie Dunn]