He was literally along for the ride, but it was a ride he'd already taken. Sorta.
The result is a movie that ambles and takes its time, never revealing where it's going. It may seem to be meandering — and you may wonder why you should care about these people and whether they ever achieve their elusive high — but the ending sneaks up on you with a surprising bit of emotional catharsis, thanks largely to a brave, complex performance from former child star Gaby Hoffmann ("Field of Dreams," "Uncle Buck").
Cera seems to be the star at first, though, as Jamie. Traveling in Chile, he is quite literally the ugly American. Shaggy and self-centered, he tries to fit in with the cool kids at a party by complimenting them on the quality of their cocaine; later, he will invite a couple of streetwalkers back to the place where he's staying, only to bore them so much that they can't wait to leave. He doesn't care to learn Spanish beyond the basic "gracias." (Between this and his performance as a debauched version of himself in "This Is the End," Cera seems to have obliterated his hoodied, milquetoast George Michael Bluth persona once and for all.)
Jamie and three of his friends (the director's brothers, Juan Andrés, José Miguel and Agustín Silva) have plans to drive north in the morning to seek out the San Pedro cactus, which is known to contain a potent hallucinogen. But at the party, Jamie blithely invites a free-spirited American hippie chick who calls herself Crystal Fairy (Hoffmann) to join them — then he's shocked when she actually shows up.
Here's where the subtlety of Silva's approach is most effective. At first, Crystal Fairy seems like a total pain: insinuating herself, scolding the guys for their sugary snack food choices, making everyone uncomfortable with her brazen, post-shower nudity in the cramped motel room they're all forced to share. (And man, is Hoffmann nude. And all natural. And deserving of massive praise for being so sure of herself in her own skin when the vast majority of us aren't.)
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