Parents' Guide to Crystal Fairy

CRYSTAL FAIRY's success is very dependent on how -- and by whom -- the titular role is played, and Hoffman peels back the proverbial onion with her performance. Each aspect of the character is a layer that fits like so much tear-inducing skin. She angers, irritates, charms. You think she's a type and then discover she's not. Her Crystal is a unique concoction of her (and the writer's) own making. And Cera is a revelation, too. He's unafraid to shed any of the charm that afflicts the socially awkward, adorable misfits he's portrayed in the past. He's fearless, and we're all the better for it.

The entire ensemble, in fact, is excellent. No one is out of sync, including Sebastian Silva, who directs the enterprise with a sure touch that's unflinching and non-judgmental; he's a keen observer of what happens when two people who seem so different are revealed to be alike in so many ways. They're angry and limited and dealing with it the best way they know how. Ultimately, this road-trip movie is quite a trip. You never quite know where it's going or what will happen when it gets to its destination. (The beginning feels a little forced and wobbly, painting Jamie a little too pointedly, but no matter.) And it's gorgeous to watch, especially a joyous frolic on the beach that runs in slow motion to the tune of the melancholy "Two for the Road." You want to reach that beach. You want to be part of that moment. You want to go on that trip.