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Strangers with Candy (2005)

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72 comments in total

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49 out of 65 people found the following comment useful :-
awesome!, 30 January 2005

Author: Johnny Paycheck from Salt Lake City

This movie was hilarious, probably the funniest movie at Sundance this year. Its a must see for any fan of the show. But you don't have to have seen the show to enjoy it since the plot is basically the same as the show's. In it, Geri heads back to high school in order to save her father who is trapped in a coma. The principal cast from the show is all here and they're all wonderful, especially Principal Blackman, who in my opinion is the best part of the movie. Stephen Colbert is brilliant as always, and Amy Sedaris' portrayal of Geri is always amazing to see (especially if you've ever seen her without the make-up on). All in all, funniest movie I've seen since Shaun of the Dead. See it, seriously.

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38 out of 68 people found the following comment useful :-
Strangely Familiar???, 4 March 2005

Author: Veronica Hernandez from Torrance, California

I saw the Strangers With Candy movie yesterday at a free screening. I'm a huge fan of the show (I own all 3 seasons on DVD) and I couldn't believe my luck at having been given a pass. For the most part, t.v. shows don't translate well on the big screen and it pains me to say that Strangers with Candy the movie is no exception to this rule.

Basically, the film is a re-hashing of the same gags and jokes true fans know and love (and will unmistakably remember) from the t.v. show. This lame regurgitation simply didn't work, and it was evident through the acting that the actors themselves felt uncomfortable reciting the same material.

A side note: At the risk of sound like a total obsessive nerd and the equivalent of SWC "trekkie"....why the hell did they change Derrick??? and the Flatpoint campus (not to mention its new location directly across from the Blank residence!) And this Megawatti person is such a lame substitution for Orlando!

This is not to say that the film didn't have it's funny moments--it did have it's fair share. The opening prison montage was especially funny and memorable. Stephen Colbert was hilarious in every scene, and Amy delivered as usual.

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9 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Amy Sedaris' Borat-Level Transformation Only Goes So Far in a Fitfully Funny Comedy, 2 February 2007

Author: Ed Uyeshima from San Francisco, CA, USA

What remains remarkable in the translation from Comedy Central TV show to mainstream feature film is Amy Sedaris' complete lack of vanity in replaying her comic alter-ego, the aptly named Jerri Blank, a 47-year old ex-con who decides to return home after a lengthy prison term and finish high school. The original concept for the three-season cult series was a fun idea full of possibilities, satirizing the high-minded seriousness of the ABC Afternoon Specials in the 1970's by having the hapless Jerri learn some significant life lesson after going through some humiliating situation. Probably a disappointment to dedicated fans of the show, the 2006 movie is really no different except the paper-thin plot feels dragged out to its eighty-minute length (wisely cut from its 97-minute length in theaters). It has the additional burden of feeling repetitive of the series without providing much more in the way of texture or complexity.

Director Paul Dinello (who plays effete art teacher Geoffrey Jellineck), along with co-writers Sedaris and Stephen Colbert (who plays closeted science teacher Chuck Noblet), uses the opportunity to fill in a bit of Jerri's back story in coming back to the family home and dealing with her father's comatose state. According to kindly Dr. Putney, the only cure lies with Jerri's efforts to do her father proud by winning the school science fair. Of course, the easily misdirected Jerri wants to be part of the in-crowd, in particular, getting horizontal with Brason, the school's hunky squat-and-thrust champion. This consequently means turning her back on her science project team, the Fig Neutrons, which includes Tammi, Jerri's best friend and object of Sapphic desire, and Megawatti, the Indonesian geek who has an unexplainable crush on Jerri. Lots of hijinks ensue until the inevitable conclusion, including the insertion of several star cameos - Allison Janney and Philip Seymour Hoffman as bickering school board members, Sarah Jessica Parker as self-absorbed grief counselor Peggy Callas, Ian Holm as Dr. Putney, Dan Hedaya as Jerri's comatose father; and Kristen Johnston as a wheelchair-bound coach. Matthew Broderick actually has a bigger role as Noblet's adversary, the preening Roger Beekman.

Much of the TV series cast is here as well with Colbert the standout as the blustery, uptight Chuck who secretly yearns for Geoffrey, who spurns him to be Roger's idea man. For most of the time, it is fitfully funny if only because the scabrous screenplay takes no prisoners in its approach. Consider this the comic flipside to "Sherrybaby" with plenty of familiar elements from "Carrie" and "Napoleon Dynamite" thrown in for good measure. But most of all, it is a tribute to Sedaris' Borat-like transformative skills as a comic actress. The 2006 DVD has a commentary track by Sedaris, Colbert and Dinello, and although they are obviously having a good time together, much of that rapport surprisingly does not translate well for the viewer. There are eighteen minutes worth of deleted scenes, most understandably excised though interestingly, it looks like Parker's counselor was the chief victim of the cuts. Also included are the theatrical trailer (another case of a promising trailer that's a lot funnier than the movie itself) and a music video for Delano Grove's "Atomic Car".

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8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Maybe best enjoyed by those who didn't follow the TV show?, 1 January 2007

Author: TheatreX from Louisville, KY

Back in the olden days when I had cable, I watched this show a few times and while it was kind of interesting, I never followed it faithfully so I guess I didn't really get what was going on. However, for some reason I was drawn to this movie and I wasn't disappointed. Jerri Blank (Amy Sedaris) is your basic loser who didn't finish high school, got into drugs and alcohol and ended up in prison. There are some truly charming prison flashbacks too, wow...and yuck. Anyway, upon her release she goes to her old house to find her mom has passed away, and her dad has remarried and is now in a coma, and there's a step-brother she's never met. Of course Jerri's new "mom" is less than delighted to have this misfit in their house. Jerri, of course, wants to see her dad (Dan Hedaya) and she seems to kindle a spark in him of life, although his doctor (Ian Holm) has never been able to get any response from him. This little incident wins Jerri her old room back. The next day she's ready to start back to high school to become someone "special" that her dad will appreciate and therefore lead to his recovery. Of course a fifty-something high school student is not accepted well and Jerri still acts like she's in the pen at times. This school is not exactly the premier education facility either, and the teachers and the staff have plenty of personal issues and attitude problems. Most notably Mr. Noblet, the science teacher, born-again but having a homosexual affair with the art teacher, etc. Eyow. Anyway, to obtain funding this school must do something outstanding soon, so Principal Blackman (Onyx Blackman, that is) can pay off his gambling debts, so a science fair comes up and Jerri and her new pals Megawatti and Tammy band together to come up with a super project although Jerri is seduced by some big jock into giving her their plans and therefore putting the science fair team into jeopardy. There's plenty of little asides and comments and things to listen for, so pay attention in this, there'll be a test later. This could have been worse, in my opinion, but I found it to be pretty funny, if not laugh out loud funny, and I guess if you didn't follow the show episode by episode then you'll probably enjoy this more because it'll be fresh to you. 8 out of 10.

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51 out of 98 people found the following comment useful :-
This movie was flipping fantastic!!!, 25 January 2005

Author: Matthew Cieslinski from Michigan

I just got back from Sundance and i just wanted to say how amazing of a movie Strangers With Candy was! I flew all the way from Detroit to see it and boy was it great. I got to talk to Paul, Steve, and Amy... as well as Jeff Daniels, and they are some funny people. The movie was so funny. I can't think of anything bad to say about it. Go Steve and Paul, you guys are so talented people. Paul and Steve by the way were some incredibly nice guys. I waited in line for this movie for six and a half hours just to get inside. The movie was completely driven by Colbert's Oscar worthy performance and Dinello did a fantastic job putting it all together. I hope this movie gets distributed so everyone can enjoy it.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Zany characters keep it interesting ..., 17 May 2007

Author: vram22 from United States

This was a pretty wacky movie - very unusual and unlike anything I've seen before.

This movie has fairly basic plot: a recently released 40+ year old lady wants to help bring her father out of a coma, so she embarks on the task of bettering herself by going back to high school and excelling. If it doesn't make sense, that's OK - it's nothing compared to the characters.

What makes this movie so unusual are the characters - the lead character (Amy Sedaris), the principal, the parents, etc. They are so strangely conceived and acted that it's really wild to watch. I guess that means that the actors and director did a pretty good job.

I can't say this movie was funny. Rather, it was amusing because of the extreme nature of characters. It was interesting to watch just to see what they were going to say next.

If you're in the mood for something really strange - check this out. You'll know after the first 10 minutes if this is something that's going to interest you.

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8 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Mas Terrible!!!!, 14 July 2006

Author: RHPSvegas from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I like the series, I think it's hilarious. This movie takes the plot of a 1/2 hour TV show and stretches it to 90 minutes, making it VERY bland. They could have done a lot better with the whole thing. While it has a few laughs, it does not compare to the series as a whole. The jokes are so few and far between that the audience is itching for them when they come. It's really sad, this had a lot of potential. Even Stephen Colbert didn't seem to want to do a very good job with it. His character wasn't as biting or sarcastic as usual. I guess this could be considered as a prequel to the series because it tells the story maybe a week before the series starts, but it's nothing that couldn't have been picked up just watching the show. Totally unnecessary, not worth the drive all the way across town to the one theater that was showing it. The best thing about this stinker was seeing the trailer for John Cameron Mitchell's new movie!

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9 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Jerri Blank, recently released from prison returns home and re enrolls in high school in an attempt to pick up where she left off thirty two years earlier., 10 July 2006

Author: jryan-12 from United States

Anybody in search of sophisticated comedy should avoid this movie like the plague. However, if you're a fan of blue comedy and belly laughs,"Strangers with Candy" is the one for you. The film like the short lived Comedy Central series is filled with cynical takes on adolescence, high school, family life and sex.If you're a fan of the show, the first glimpse of Jerri's hideous face will give you a serious case of the giggles immediately. She's the ultimate outsider, a real troll who says what the rest of us were afraid to say to the A-list kids in high school. The scene of Jerri's revenge on a student attempting to leave a "gift" in her locker will elicit laughter and some vicarious pleasure from all those who ever suffered the torments of bullies. Even when people try to victimize Jerri, they take a chance of being dragged down to her level of depravity, an irony not lost on fans. "Strangers with Candy" is a wacky look at a time in life that most of us would prefer to forget but the humor ranging from the elliptical to the scatological will make high school a lot more fun this time around. I haven't been in a theater with that much laughter since I saw "Animal House" in 1978. The ninety minute length of the film keeps the gags from getting stale.

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15 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
A boozer, a user, and no loser, 17 June 2006

Author: richardjsnyder from United States

If you are a fan of the series, then you will love this "interim" film.

The film covers the events that lead up to the television series, from Geri's parole, reunion with stepmom and dad, and heading back to high school. All of the regular characters are back (except Orlando, who would have been a good addition and better character than the new token non-white character). There are some great lines ("I'm not pushing you away, I'm just drawing me into myself") and fine interactions between Sedaris, Colbert, and Dinello.

This sold out at the Seattle International Film Festival (with a nice appearance from Dinello), and the audience was rolling the entire time. Great work and a must-see for any Geri Blank/Amy Sedaris fan.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Very Funny but Such a Friggin' Let Down!, 21 November 2007

Author: Michael Margetis (pmargetis@cox.net) from United States

'Strangers with Candy' based off the deliciously neurotic Comedy Central original series by the same name, is filled with such ingeniously funny moments. Too bad that's all they are -- moments. 'Strangers with Candy' had so much potential, but it just isn't consistently funny enough. 'Strangers with Candy' is a mixed bag in many respects.

First off, Amy Sedaris is absolutely hysterical! Just her body language as the 40-year-old reformed drug addict who goes back to high school, is enough to make you roll on the floor laughing. The rest of the cast including the wide array of cameos from Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman to Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker as the school's unsympathetic grief counselor who charges the students in tips, is decent to say the least. The real scene-stealer is Stephen Colbert as the closet-gay creationist science teacher who is just flat-out strange.

The real problem with 'Strangers with Candy' lies in the screenplay. It has some incredibly funny moments like I've previously mentioned, but it has such long stretches of time where nothing funny happens. Calling 'Strangers with Candy' off-beat is like calling the bombing of Hiroshima violent, it's an understatement of gigantic proportions. If you are into that sort of off-beat comedy films, chances are you'll love 'Strangers with Candy.' But for someone like me expecting something with a bit more substance and guffaws, I was pretty damn disappointed. Grade: C+

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