Strangers with Candy (2005)

Director:

Paul Dinello

Writers (WGA):

Stephen Colbert (series Strangers with Candy) &
Paul Dinello (series Strangers with Candy) ...

Release Date:

28 July 2006 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Going to high school for the first time is always scary... Especially the second time around.

Plot:

A prequel to the critically acclaimed series featuring Jerri Blank, a 46 year-old ex-junkie, ex-con who returns to high school in a bid to start her life over. |

Plot Keywords:

Prequel | Marijuana | Lesbian | Science Fair | Based On Cult TV Series

Cast

Amy Sedaris	...	Jerri Blank
Paul Sedaris	...	Bus Driver
Chandra Wilson	...	Inmate
Kristy Thomas	...	Inmate
Dee Finley	...	Inmate (as Dee Finely)
Deborah Rush	...	Sara Blank
Ian Holm	...	Dr. Putney
Dan Hedaya	...	Guy Blank
Joseph Cross	...	Derrick Blank
Elisabeth Harnois	...	Monica
Alexis Dziena	...	Melissa
Ivette Diaz Dumeng	...	Melanie
Carlo Alban	...	Megawatti
Greg Hollimon	...	Principal Blackman (as Gregory Holliman)
Hechter Ubarry	...	Nico

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, language and some drug material.

Runtime:

USA:97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:R | Sweden:7 | Finland:K-11 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Bayonne High School - Avenue A & 28th Street, Bayonne, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Comedy Central Films

Trivia:

David Rakoff's character Boswell is named for Samuel Johnson's biographer James Boswell.

Quotes:

Chuck Noblet: [Repeated Line; said before he cries] Everybody! Eye's to the back of the room!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Colbert Report: (2006-07-10)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Retro Retro

One of my favorite shows, turned in to a disappointing film.

Stars: Amy Sedaris, Steven Colbert, Paul Dinello, Deborah Rush, Maria Thayer, Gregory Holliman, Allison Janney, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ian Holme, Kristin Johnsten.

This film was really lacking all the elements that made the TV show great. The movie is a prequel to the show, so it deals with Jerri (Sedaris) getting out of prison and going to back to high school. Her dad is in a coma, and the doctor says the only way to get him out is to do something fantastic so she decides to join the science fair. Meanwhile, her teacher Mr. Nobblets (Colbert) breaks up with other teacher My. Jellyneck (Dinello), and Principal Blackman (Holliman) must have his school win the science fair or the district will cut the funding. Where the show was filmed to look like a show, this was filmed to look like a movie and it didn't work nearly as well. They set up a great relationship between Jerri and her friends at school Tammi and (what appears to be) a bad rip off of Orlando from the series, yet in the show, their friendship was never very great. What made the character of her dad so funny in the series was his open unblinking eyes and open mouth, where in here, he's played by someone else, and his his eyes and mouth closed, making it nowhere near as funny. The film doesn't use the dramatic music that the show used, and it seemed to use a different high school. When not comparing it to the show, it's a decent movie, but in comparison to the non-stop laughs produced by the show, this movie falls short of it's potential.

*Features Matthew Broderick as a show-off teacher, Sarah Jessica Parker as the grief councilor, Kristen Johnsten as a handicapped PE teacher, Ian Holme as a doctor, Alison Janney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman as People from the school district.

** 1/4 out of ****. 90 mins. Rated R for Sexual Content and. Brief Nudity