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:

Lesbian | Marijuana | Science Fair | Prequel | 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 | Finland:K-11 | UK:15 | Sweden:7

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Comedy Central Films

Trivia:

David Letterman jumped on board as a producer because he said that Amy Sedaris is one of the few people in this world that can actually make him laugh.

Quotes:

Jerri Blank: [Jerri is narrating, film's title appears onscreen] Stranglers... with...
[title disappears]
Jerri Blank: Hmm. I guess we'll never know.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Retro Retro

Maybe best enjoyed by those who didn't follow the TV show?

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.