Strangers with Candy

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.

"Strangers with Candy" is basically a prequel to the television series. It tells the story of Jerri Blank (Amy Sedaris) the 46 year-old ex-junkie, ex-con who returns to high school to pick up right where she left off. During this she has to deal with her crazy science teacher Chuck Noblet (Stephen Colbert), the eccentric art teacher Geoffrey Jellineck (Paul Dinello) and Principal Blackman (Greg Holliman). On top of this she tries to fit which is hard to do but makes friends with Megawatti (Carlo Alban) & Tammi (Maria Thayer). Her friends and her enter a science fair and want to win so that Jerri's father (Dan Hedaya) can be proud and maybe awake from his coma.

Amy Sedaris is Jerri Blank. She play's the ex junkie/prostitute very well. I love the character in general because it's such a unique and weird character that hasn't been done before. My all time favorite character in the film and on the TV series is Geoffrey Jellineck played by Paul Dinello who is also the director of the film. The whole gay art teacher thing to me is very highly amusing and I love how upbeat his character is. It's without a doubt my favorite character on the show but isn't used enough in the movie. Also Stephen Colbert plays Chuck Noblet who is my second favorite character. What I like most about this character is that he is basically borderline insane and just yells and gets upset for no real reason. He also hides that he prefers men to woman even though he is married to a woman. Chuck is a very funny and interesting character. Moving on, it was good to see Greg Holliman back as Principal Blackman and Maria Thayer who plays Tammi Littlenut. Both where very essential characters to the original series and it was nice to see they brought them back for the film along with some of the other characters including Jerri's Mother (Deborah Rush), her mother's boyfriend Stew (David Pasquesi) and a few others.

However what I didn't like was the fact that they changed the dad and Orlando from the original series and in fact Orlando was left out completely. Instead we had Megawatti Sukharnabhoutri played by Carlo Alban who was like a cheap rip-off of Orlando. I didn't find this character very affective but it was OK. Also I would have to say they should have stuck with the original dad. I heard he wasn't an actor but Dan Hedaya didn't say really anything in this movie and didn't really act so I think they should have stuck with the original cast and if they couldn't get the original cast then leave the characters out. I would have rather of done without Orlando instead of dealing with some replacement with a different name but was pretty much the same character. Also the movie had a lot of special appearances by various celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Ian Holm, and Philip Seymour Hoffman however each character was a pretty pointless.

The same three people who wrote the script for the television series wrote the script for the film and those are the three main cast members Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, and Steven Colbert. What I didn't like about the script was the fact that it was basically a tame version of the television show. This was their chance to make these crazy characters do wacky things that they could never get away with on TV. As far as the TV series vs. the movie itself well the TV series is much more edgy, creative and bold. The script had too much of the original episodes written in and when it came to adding new content most of the new content didn't work like the whole science fair thing. That didn't really work for me. Or Matthew Broderick's character, he was a total waste of time. Don't get me wrong some of the script was good but as since it was a TV series first the writing on the series was a lot better and raw. The movie will most likely get an R rating so why not be bold and do things with the characters that Comedy Central won't allow on the air. Also another big complaint is the fact that script didn't have enough of Mr. Jellineck and Mr. Noblet. I really enjoy those characters but they didn't play that big of role and I think they should have been involved more. Like I said I love the characters in the film for the most part, the original characters are fun and quite enjoyable however most new characters were rather dull and pointless. The movie needed to have more conflict then it did, the plot was based too much on this science fair and that didn't go over well. Also some jokes didn't work which is odd since most jokes on the series always work very well maybe it's because most are rehashed from the TV series.

In Conclusion, I liked the "Strangers with Candy" however I think the television show was better because it had better writing, better jokes, and was bolder and took chances. "Strangers with Candy" the movie was a bit disappointing because I am such a huge fan of the series and it's wasn't bold enough and I thought in general the film held back to much. I really wanted to give this film a 9 out of 10 and I am dead serious that is how high my hopes were for the film. However, the movie isn't that great but the movie is still definitely worth seeing and since it isn't out till fall, I am sure some issues will be corrected. I would recommend it; it's worth the price alone for the wacky characters.

MovieManMenzel's final rating for the "Strangers With Candy" is a 7 out of 10. Not as good as the television series but definitely still worth looking at.

Sweetheart Amy Sedaris plays appropriately named, Jerri Blank in the off the wall comedy about a 46 year old ex-drug addict, prostitute and loser who goes back to high school. She appears almost retarded but she is everything but. The Comedy Central series from 1999-2001 named the same title, was 30 episodes of the same genre. She offers crude, down right shocking remarks that you have to laugh about. She is passive bisexual and lude and lacks all graces of the typical middle aged female. Amy Sedaris is hilarious and her off the chart behavior in this movie should get your mind off any problems. If you are expecting a truly down to earth teen age comedy, you will be disappointed as it is everything but. It violates sensitive politically correct subjects from race to sex preferences to gross references to drug and sex addiction in a very comical way that you just can't find offensive. Stand back and take a different perspective when watching this movie and don't take it so seriously and you will enjoy it greatly. She is truly a talented comedian. Everyone has to love Amy Sedaris. Loves Amy Sedaris.

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.

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.