Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy (1996)

If you love the Kids in the Hall, you will love Brain Candy, but if you hate them, you will hate this. I am a big fan of the group and this is just like a very good episode that lasts 89 minutes with a bigger budget and more freedom than on television. Some characters like the hilarious Cancer Boy could never have been shown on TV. All the members of the group are there and they are as good as usual. I just don't get people who don't laugh at Kevin's(my favorite member) face when he plays the suicidal father of Chris or Mark as the "spiritual" cab driver. And just who could resist Scott as a man who refuses to accept the fact that he is gay. And Bruce has some of the best roles, such as the rock star and Cancer Boy. David Foley seems to have gotten the weakest characters, but he is still funny. His best moments are in episodes of the show, not in this. The absurd humor of the show is there, but it is a bit darker. And sure, the directing is not very subtle, but it gives that special Kids in the Hall feel that this movie had to have. And for those who have never seen material by The Kids in the Hall, I strongly suggest that you see this or episodes of their TV show, since they are just hilarious and you may very well get addicted to their unique kind of humor. Personally, I love them, and this movie is very funny in my humble opinion.

87%

Fmovies: First of all, the Kids in the Hall should rule the world. Honestly, they should. (Along with Will Ferrell.) If you are a fan, you don't even have an option, seeing it is a must. And who else but a fan would recognize Sid and Sharisse, and the Bigot Cabbie? This is a film only truly appriciated if you love little Bruce, and have a healthy respect for Mark's amazing command of fake accents. And if you can't stop staring at Kevin's hair, because it never ceases to amaze.

Besides... they're Canadian. Who doesn't like Canadians?

The short version: if you watch this, you will laugh. If you're a fan of KITH, you will laugh even harder. I can't get "Happiness Pie" out of my head, and you won't be able to either, because it's an ingenious song, (and no, I'm not high.)

Bruce is short and moody. We all love Bruce. Mark can make funny faces. We all love Mark. Kevin does that little high-pitched squealing thing. We all love Kevin. Dave is obviously addicted to caffiene and other mood-altering chemicals. We all love Dave. And Scott is very, very gay. So, of course, we love Scott.

It all just works out.

SO, SEE IT! It will feel like it's 72 degrees in your head, all day long.

I think that this is one of the "Kids" best works. Every one of them did great. You gotta remember when watching this film, it is a situation comedy. Have pacience with it and you just might get some of the jokes!



Kids in the Hall... Best thing to come out of Canada since...... hockey! and I guess, the only things.

Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy fmovies. The audiences and critics seem split on the solitary feature effort from the Canadian comedy troupe "Kids In The Hall". Even Siskel and Ebert had a split love/hate feeling, respectively, about the film. But I was and shall remain a major fan of the television show and welcomed "Brain Candy" with open arms.

When the show aired it's final episode in 1994, I felt a sense of sadness overcome me. But without a doubt in my mind, I knew these five talented guys would continue to entertain the masses in some other forum.

Not too long after the conclusion to the five year run, I was dining in Toronto with my wife and I had the occasion to meet Bruce McCulloch and chat briefly with him, much to my wife's embarrassment. For the record, I feel that I chose an entirely appropriate time to approach him, not interrupting a conversation with his friend or his meal. After receiving an expression of my appreciation of the show, he answered an inquiry about future plans by telling me of a feature film project involving the whole cast. It wasn't until a couple of years later that the film was finally released, and I had been basically anticipating it the whole time. That said, I was not let down whatsoever.

I had heard in interviews with various "Kids" that their intention wasn't to re-use some of the old characters from the show at all, but as the script evolved, their were a number of instances where they just fit perfectly in to the story line. Also in such interviews, it came out that the troupe wasn't exactly always getting along perfectly which was part of the reasons for the group's disbanding. It seemed from such comments that this was a final farewell, but some of the members stated that they were not adverse to the idea of another one in the future.

Aside from the familiar masterful antics from the five comics, there are numerous shots of Toronto locations that show in more ways than one their prominent sense of Canadian pride about the whole production. For more elements of Canadiana, Craig Northey of "Odds", a favourite band of the "Kids", provided the score for the film, and the whole band collaborated on a couple of songs featured in the film as an important part of the story line. The only thing missing from the film, but not from the great soundtrack, is the familiar theme from the show, "Having An Average Weekend" by Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet. The opening bars of the theme always signified simultaneously something great and something sad about TV for me: It meant "Kids In The Hall" was either beginning or ending.

Another aspect of integrity that the "Kids In The Hall" maintained was the refusal to cut certain scenes that would be considered by many to be just on the edge of completely tasteless humour, particularly one character named "Cancer Boy". On CBC, they had their restrictions with content and subject matter, but in many ways they enjoyed much more freedom than many other shows ever experienced. But on HBO broadcasts, I presume they had a bit more free reign, especially with the language used.

And so all the "Kids" have all left home to do their own thing in various arenas of North America. As far as I'm concerned they're a national treasure as much as "Monty Python" is to Britain. We'll always have syndication.

Having only ever seen one episode of 'Kids in the Hall' in my life and having only a vague idea about the group (Canadian Monty Python being the easy comparison), I think it's fair to say that I came the film as somewhat ignorant when it came to all things 'Kids'.

I have to say that I was able to enjoy the film for what it was, rather than have any expectations of what it could be. What interested me most of all was it's darkness, something a lot closer to League of Gentlemen territory rather than Monty Python.

On an alternate note does anyone else notice a similarity between Don Roritor and Doctor Evil?

KITH's full feature film!! It's our five favorite clearly insane guys from up north. What else can you ask for?

First, the story does NOT have your typical happy bears skipping, nutty bunnies frolicking kind of ending. The concept of pharmaceutical drugs being able to make life a better place is very thought provoking. Think about how we rely on drugs to treat colds, headaches...of course, we can discuss society's views on 'other' drugs, but that's a different monologue onto itself!!

Anyhoo, the origin of the drug's name is hilarious!! I have to admit, the Kids really spoof the corporate world well. Bruce and Mark really play their eccentric characters to a "T". RED SOCKS, repeat, RED SOCKS!! Although limited, Dave does a great job playing the straight man ("I don't understand German"). Kev is his manic awesome self and Scott's best role is probably that of closet case Wally.

I haven't even touched upon Grivo, the cabbie or any of the other characters in the film. Don't forget about Bellini! PLUS cameos too! KUDOS to the guys for not caving in and taking out C.B. (for those who haven't seen it, I don't want to spoil it) from the film due to pressure from the P.C. laden bigwig movie execs. I also enjoyed the moral (twisted though it is true) of the movie and there is a lot of subtle humor...just a tad darker than their TV series.

The last time i saw this was probably 1996. Watching it again on DVD makes me really appreciate (and miss) the guys' film. Sure, it may not have done great in the box office or achieved the big bucks. Usually, I tend to avoid mainstream blockbuster poo, so Brain Candy is definitely cult material. But then again, aren't Kids in the Hall?

*Sadly, the DVD is bare bones with the movie in widescreen format, chapter search and audio/subtitle. It's really great to just have this gem in my collection. Hey, I recently heard that KITH were discussing doing another feature film.

Hmmm....