James C. Mathis, III Movies

One woman's day goes all to pot in this resinous comedy from independent filmmaker Gregg Araki. Jane (Anna Faris) is a college dropout and aspiring actress who suffers from a certain lack of ambition, doubtless reinforced by her fondness for marijuana. One morning, Jane wakes with a busy day ahead of her -- she has a big audition, she has to pay the electric bill on her apartment to prevent the power from being shut off, and she needs to pick up some pot after paying her debt to her dealer -- and decides to take the edge off her anxieties by getting a little stoned. Under the influence, the cupcakes her roommate Steve (Danny Masterson) has made for his friends to enjoy at the weekend's Sci-Fi convention look too good to resist, and she gobbles them down. What Jane doesn't realize until it's too late is that the baked goods were laced with some especially strong marijuana, and what starts as a pleasant buzz turns into a world-class high that refuses to go away. As Jane struggles to make her way through the day, fate keeps throwing her into strange and surreal situations involving police officers, Steve's lovesick best friend, and a rare original manuscript of The Communist Manifesto. Smiley Face also stars Adam Brody, John Krasinski, Jane Lynch, Michael Hitchcock, John Cho and Roscoe Lee Browne. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Death Row inmate Ray Kaspo (David Meunier) is poisoned to death--45 minutes before his execution. While investigating this curious turn of events, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) is approached by another inmate, former billionaire Dale "The Whale" Biederbeck, whom Monk sent away for murder in the series' fourth episode (formerly played by Adam Arkin, Dale the Whale is now portrayed by Tim Curry). This time out, Dale is suspected of killing Ray, but insists that he's innocent and wants Monk to prove it. This requires our hero to suppress his million-and-one phobias and go undercover as a convict--whereupon he is immediately befriended by the dangerously sociopathic Spyder Rudner (Danny Trejo). This final episode of Monk's second season ends on a cliffhanger, with Monk seemingly poised to solve the long-ago murder of his beloved wife Trudy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide