Strangers with Candy (2005)

The movie is great, for what it is. I am a loyal fan of the show and the cast and they did a good job of making a movie version of the series. However, it is important to note that this process is very difficult and the movie appears to be more of a long episode of the show. Nevertheless, it is enjoyable, with jokes that are easily accessible to those who have a clue about the world, and makes fun of those who do not. Paul Dinello, Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris...all brilliant. Ms. Sedaris, a slight, cute woman in reality is vulgar and wonderfully crude. Stephen Colbert does a great job of being the born again Christian teacher (note the table of elements in the background of his classroom-it's in the shape of a cross!). And Paul Dinello is a reliable, humorous counterpart to Mr. Colbert once again. Parodying society in a parallel universe of a twisted after school special, it is wonderfully enjoyable.

Fmovies: I wasn't sure I was going to like this film, probably because of the ugly grimace on Amy Sedaris' face but due to a power outage in my town I had to go to the theater to keep cool and this, I thought, was the least offensive film playing on that day.

I was completely shocked at how smart and funny it was. Of course I knew Stephen Colbert was going to be great (and he was) and I do like Amy Sedaris but I was not prepared for how simply fabulous this film was.

The film is chock full of smart and not so smart gags that will leave you howling. The theater was full when I went and everyone was laughing loudly throughout the film.

One warning, if your sense of humor is middle of the road or if you like your humor "safe", you probably won't like this. It constantly takes chances, pushing every button and never lets up. If you're ready for a wild ride of truly riotous hilarity, this one is for you.

I really can't remember when I've ever seen a funnier film.

"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 th

Strangers with Candy fmovies. I cannot believe all the positive comments about this film. This was the absolute WORST film I saw at Sundance this year, Midnight movie or otherwise, and yet was one of the most well-attended and sought after. I LOVED the TV show and own all three seasons on DVD, I even waited three hours in a wait list line to see the movie, so I am no "SWC" hater, mind you. The question "What happened?" instantly came across my mind as the creepy looking maggot-ridden closing credits rolled. This is a terrible waste of potential and talent. The racy and surreal content that the TV show presented so well is delivered ham-fisted and is hackneyed here. Amy Sedris is brilliant and is really the only thing worth watching in this nearly unwatchable mess, even if she has literally no new material to work with. Literally every single joke or visual gag is lifted entirely from the TV show (such as just about every single line of Jerri's dialog and since WHEN does Jerri live across the street from the school?!) and are executed grotesquely, rendering the effect of the film as somewhere between nausea inducing and boring. Story lines are completely altered from the TV show's for no reason (since when is Noblet a SCIENCE teacher...he was a HISTORY teacher in the show, the obnoxiously good-hearted "ethnic" friend is completely altered, etc). I thought this was supposed to be a "prequel," but comes off more like a remake of the whole premise (a la "Evil Dead 2," only as a prequel and without the brilliance). All of the celebrity cameos are unnecessary and completely unfunny (esp. Justin Theroux, Ian Holm and Philip Seymore Hoffman, who are usually wonderful in just about ANYTHING else). One of the TV show's best qualities, the cinematography, is a complete joke here (one of the only actually funny ones), but might be altered later on as it gets ready to be distributed later this year. The direction by Paul Dinello is horrendous and clearly comes from inexperience or just being a pessimist (playing Jellineck is really his only talent, it seems, besides coming off as really creepy both on screen and real life). The actors playing high school students actually are young enough to be high school students, unlike the TV show, but you'll be yearning for actors who can actually ACT within minutes. The effect of seeing actual 14 to 17 year olds against Jerri actually makes the film feel dirty and sad when it should really feel joyously funny and ironically satiric. The fabulous satiric, ironic, almost post-apocalyptic tone if the TV show is rendered to just plain disturbing and unconvincingly blasé here. The whole final product feels old hand and lame. The dingy new school location which looks about 150 years old doesn't help things much either. The movie's storyline is not even worth mentioning...let alone caring about. I remember when the whole premise was all about making fun of after school shows. Sadly, the movie actually looks and feels like an actual one. Thanks to this train wreck of a film, the joke is really on this usually wonderful comic trio. I know Warner Bros will be distributing it this summer, but it's nothing really to look forward to, even if you liked the TV show. Don't believe any positive reviews. You'll thank me later. Stick to your TV show DVDs. This film will only soil your memories of the original show's consistent brilliance. 2/10.

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.

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.