Everything I Learned In Life I Learned From After School Specials
By thornhill
…You must never talk to strangers…
I have never seen the Comedy Central television series “Strangers with Candy”, but the trailer made me laugh, so I gave it a try. Many trailers make me laugh but then again many films prove to be unfunny, stuffing all of the funny bits into a two minute advertisement for the film. Would “Strangers With Candy” prove to be the exception? Could it actually prove to be a good comedy?
Jerri Blank (Amy Sedaris), an ex-con, ex-junkie, ex-prostitute, returns to the family home after her release from a woman’s prison. Upon her arrival, she finds her father (Dan Hedaya) has remarried a strange woman, her new stepmother (Deborah Rush) and they have a teenage son, Derrick (Joseph Cross). She also discovers Dad has been in a coma for a long, long time. The family doctor (Ian Holm) explains his coma was brought on by disappointment, so Jerri decides to pick up her life where it left off, before prison. She will return to high school. Naturally, her new teenage step-brother is thrilled. In school, she meets the science teacher (Stephen Colbert) who has recently discovered God, the principal, Onyx Blackman (Greg Holliman) and the art teacher (Paul Dinello), who is taking the break-up with the science teacher poorly. Jerri decides she will win the upcoming Science Fair, to make her father proud and bring him out of his coma. But will her old habits and the teacher’s personal problems effect the outcome?
…Do Not Talk To Strangers….
“Strangers with Candy”, directed by Dinello, co-written by Dinello, Colbert and Sedaris, and produced by David Letterman, contains some of the most biting humor I have heard in a long time. It also contains some of the most profane humor. In short; it is a funny, funny film.
…Don’t Make Fun of People Simply Because They Are Different…
You can’t help but laugh the first moment Jerri appears, riding in a bus, having just been released from prison. As she remembers key moments of her incarceration; making a pass at a fellow prisoner in the shower as her jealous girlfriend watches, she provides a brief monologue about her life. An ex-con, ex-prostitute, ex-drug addict, she has had a difficult life, but looks forward to the road ahead.
Sedaris’ appearance is very funny; her face scrunched up, her eyebrow heavy and low, always ready with a nervous smile. She looks like the epitome of everything her life has been to that point, but she also has a level beyond that. She wants to embrace life, but has to fight a lifetime of demons and bad habits.
…You May Notice Some Strange Changes…
As Jerri re-enters high school, she becomes determined to live the high school experience to the fullest. She wants to date the captain of the Squat and Thrust Team, whom Derrick idolizes, and the cheerleader. She wants to have her new friend Tammi (Maria Thayer) over to study, but can’t resist the urge to try to feel her up. Jerri’s journey is funny for a variety of reasons. As adults we recognize some of her problems from our own journey’s through high school, but we also laugh because she is going through it again, at an age when most people are advancing in their careers and personal lives. But it is also funny to watch her struggle with all of the influences in her life, as any high school student would. Yet, Jerri’s influences are like a normal high school student’s influences on speed.
…Those Who Can’t, Teach…
“Strangers” is designed as a parody of the after school special we grew up with. All of the actors deliver their lines with the gravitas of bad actors, as they mimck the serious tone prevalent in these shows. Colbert is especially good at delivering a line with hyper-seriousness then pausing for dramatic effect, to let it sink in.
…Those Who Can’t Teach, Teach Gym…
The supporting cast is universally amusing and add a lot of laughs. One of the standouts is Colbert as Chuck Noblett, the science teacher. Having recently discovered God, he tells his students to open their science text books to Psalms 13 and the students open bibles. He also wrestles with his newfound Christianity and his gay relationship with the art teacher. But all of these influences distract him from what is most important in his life, himself. The other is Paul Dinello, as Geoffrey Jellineck, the art teacher who would rather create something fast than to create something beautiful. Geoffrey simply wants attention and when Chuck begins to go through his crisis, Geoffrey quickly finds attention in the new science teacher, Roger Beekman (Matthew Broderick), who is followed around by his biographer.
Sarah Jessica Parker, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Allison Janey, Dan Hedaya and Ian Holm round out the supporting cast, providing memorable cameos as some of the people in Jerri’s life.
…Everyday Provides New Challenges…
“Candy” is a surprisingly consistent film. It isn’t a laugh a minute, but there are funny moments and truly off the wall comedy throughout. “Candy” certainly isn’t for everyone; a lot of the humor is very profane, but if you are willing to go along for the ride, you’ll have fun.
…If thornhill Recommends a Film, You Should See It…
