danny masterson Tagged Articles at Cinematical

"And then people will ask why I have a picture of President Garfield on my wall, and I'll tell them it's because I like lasagna, of course!"

I've been watching all the buzz surrounding Smiley Face for some time now, following two positive reviews from both Monika (at Toronto) and Jette (at SXSW), and yet the film still couldn't find its way to theaters (with the exception of a limited run at New York's IFC Center). Part of the reason why I wanted to review the DVD was because, after all the wonderful feedback, I needed to see for myself why, in fact, Smiley Face was not worthy of a theatrical run. Aside from a great, marketable cast (including Anna Faris, Adam Brody, John Krasinski, Danny Masterson, Jane Lynch, John Cho, Danny Trejo, Brian Posehn and friggin' Carrot Top), the flick comes with a very funny script, some great edge-of-your-seat set pieces and plenty of memorable quotes (see above). So what gives? Why is this one heading straight to DVD (tomorrow), instead of enjoying some theatrical face time?

Well, the problem probably lies in the fact that it's a straight-up, unapologetic stoner comedy ... with the words 'cult following' written all over it. With its R rating (for foul language and massive amounts of drug use), Smiley Face would've been near impossible to market to a mass audience. That said, they could've cut together a "safe" trailer, and I imagine the critics would've liked this one -- so either the money wasn't there or First Look just didn't have enough faith in their product (it is a female-driven stoner comedy after all -- and those are rare). Dazed and Confused grossed only $7 million when it was first released in 1993, but the film has gone on to reach cult status among teenagers (that DVD was passed around like a joint back when I was in college). It's my belief that, while Smiley Face will probably not reach Dazed and Confused status, it will definitely find an audience on DVD and perhaps go down as the first great stoner comedy of the new millennium ... or at least give Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle a run for its money.

Here's two more tasty casting bits:

• She played the eternal follower Marcie Fox in Jawbreaker, and even co-starred in the super-awesome George of the Jungle 2, but Julie Benz is definitely best known for her super-evil, drawling vampire Darla from Buffy and Angel, and from her recent time as the bad-luck love interest of serial killer Dexter. While her long-term television work is all sorts of tasty, I wish I could say the same for her film choices. She's co-starring in the upcoming Rambo flick, and then, hold onto your seats -- Variety reports that she's shooting Lionsgate's action film, The Punisher: War Zone. (Check out other casting news on the film here.) While I'd like to see Benz in some tastier work that pushes her a bit, I have to say that the cast has me kind of interested, especially with musician/actor and Toronto native Keram Malicki-Sanchez also onboard.
• With the seventies safely stored in the past, Danny Masterson continues to move on to other pastures. He played the tough, geeky roommate of Anna Faris in Smiley Face (which really, really should hit theaters), he just finished a flick with his brother called Made for Each Other, and now Variety reports that Danny Boy is going to star opposite Jim Carrey in Yes Man as Carrey's best friend. This means that Bradley Cooper (Failure to Launch), who was previously attached to play the friend, must be out. While it sounds like some rip-off to Liar, Liar, it's actually based on the true story of a man named Danny Wallace, who decided to say yes to everything that came his way -- from SPAM to party invites. Stay tuned for all sorts of advertisements that will beckon you to say yes to the film like Wallace says yes to life. It's just begging to be used as a marketing gimmick.
  

Despite having a familiar cast and an easily digestible concept, Gregg Araki's stoner comedy Smiley Face has been dumped to the same status as a modern Steven Seagal vehicle. That's right, according to MTV, it's going straight to DVD, following a barely-even-limited run in Los Angeles, that is. The movie, which premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival, stars Anna Faris (Scary Movie), John Krasinski (The Office), Jane Lynch (The 40 Year-Old Virgin), Danny Masterson (That '70s Show) and Danny Trejo (Grindhouse), none of whom are apparently good enough for a theatrical release. Maybe it's the fact that it can't be sold to Araki's typical fans, or maybe it's the fact that nobody likes to admit that Up in Smoke, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Dazed and Confused, Knocked Up, Half Baked and Dude, Where's My Car? were all fairly popular and successful movies -- because then maybe it will seem like an admission that marijuana is cool.

Smiley Face stars Faris as a woman who starts her day by smoking up and then mistakenly taking care of her munchies with a batch of pot cupcakes. Then ... hilarity ensues. During its Sundance premiere, crowds were reportedly laughing non-stop (though Karina claimed that it received some awful buzz) and it seemed to be well-enough-received at later festivals, too. Jette reviewed the movie at SXSW, pointing out that it's "the kind of movie that will be more fun to watch with a big audience than alone on your DVD player." So much for that idea. Earlier this month, Monika saw the film in Toronto, where she confirmed its worth. "Araki's comedy gives us the best of many comedic worlds in an incessantly funny, easily-quotable serving," she said in her review. "From discussions of Marxism to love of lasagna, Smiley Face serves it all -- with some weed and a very, very stoned smile." Well, at least we can be sure it will develop a cult following on video; aside from that we can only hope our local art-house cinema will give it a midnight screening somewhere down the line.

The Masterson brothers are teaming up for their first feature film together, and whether or not you're a big fan of Christopher's big stint on Malcolm in the Middle, or Danny's on That '70s Show, you might want to check this out. Variety is reporting that the brothers will co-star in a new indie comedy called Made for Each Other, which is currently shooting in Connecticut. The movie is the first feature script by Eric Lord, and is being directed by newcomer Daryl Goldberg, whose first feature Unholy, a direct-to-DVD horror flick starring Nicholas Brendon, will be released next month.

While this might not sound intriguing yet, check out the premise and who they cast for each role. Christopher stars (and is co-producing) as a man who is a mere 3 months into a sexless marriage -- a sexless marriage with Bijou Phillips that is. (Who happens to be Brother Danny's real-life partner.) But it gets better. In a moment of sexual desperation, he breaks down and has a one-night stand. Of course, the only way he thinks he can fix things is to get her to cheat on him. So, he gets his best friend, Samm Levine (Life is Short and Freaks and Geeks), to not sleep with her himself, but find the right man for the job. Now take a second to think of the possibilities. Was The Tick/Brock Sampson/Joe Swanson the guy you were thinking of? That's right -- believe it or not, they pick Patrick Warburton to bed Bijou. Somewhere in all this brouhaha is Danny, who is an attorney waiting to help out with what he figures is a couple destined for divorce. Or, are they Made for Each Other? After Warburton, I can't imagine they would be!