# Strangers with Candy



## SteveCallas (Apr 29, 2006)

*Strangers with Candy Review*










Being a big fan of the three seasons of the little known Strangers with Candy on Comedy Central, I was prety happy to see that this cast of characters one more time in a film, as the show has been discontinued for several years. For those whoare unfamiliar with the backstory, it's about a 46 year old woman who gets out of jail for various drug, prostitution, and theft crimes, and decides to go back to high school. The series is known for it's pure ridiculousness and comedy that knows no bounds on race, religion, or sexuality. Unfortunately, this outing didn't manage to capture the outrageous comedy that I loved so much from the tv shows. There are a few brief scenes where the old magic comes alive again, but for the most part, this movie was pretty dull with skits that just aren't funny. I found myself extremely diappointed at the end, only to be even more diappointed after watching the deleted scenes, most of which are just plain terrible. 

The majority of the cast stayed the same as the tv series, with the only notable changes being Jerri's friend Orlando replaced by a new actor with the new name Megawatti (spelling?), and her brother and coma induced father being replaced with new actors as well. Luckily all the teachers stayed the same, so we again get to see Noblet, Jellineck, Blackman, and even the female gym coach Cherri Wolf (brief appearance).

The only scenes in this film that rose to the level of the tv series were Chuck Noblet's angry outburts and emotional breakdowns, and the in-school sauna. Just the notion of a teachers sauna right in the middle of a halway next to other classrooms, with teachers in bath towels and swimwear, casually walking in and out always cracked me up :R The dead sea salts and eucalyptus spritz were great additions. 

Video was anamorphic widescreen with a 1.78 aspect ratio, and the picture was noticably brighter with more vivid colors than the television series, which was a nice improvement. Detail was pretty soft though, there was more than one occassion in which I tried to read a sign or sticker in the film and had a hard time making out the letters. Fans of the series are aware of the subtle inclusion of outrageous signs and slogans pasted all throughout the Strangers with Candy world, some meant to b seen and others just there to fill space. I found it a little disppointing that I couldn't decipher all of them. Other than that though, I can't complain too much.

Audio quality was actually quite good for a comdey film such as this, I noticed my surrounds were getting used much more than I would have expected. Early on the film, there was a high pitched hiss that would play whenever someone spoke, and I feared the audio in this movie would be just like Sin City and have that fault throughout, but it disappeared soon after it showed up, and the rest of the audio in the movie was fine. Dialog was clear and dynamic range was pretty good. No real bass to speak of in this movie, as to be expected.

All in all, I found this film to be a pretty big let down. I'd much rather watch a few episodes of the series than have to sit through this again, and for anyone who may have had a slight interest in picking this one up, I'd recommend any of the tv seasons instead.


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