'Strangers with Candy' based off the deliciously neurotic Comedy Central original series by the same name, is filled with such ingeniously funny moments. Too bad that's all they are -- moments. 'Strangers with Candy' had so much potential, but it just isn't consistently funny enough. 'Strangers with Candy' is a mixed bag in many respects.
First off, Amy Sedaris is absolutely hysterical! Just her body language as the 40-year-old reformed drug addict who goes back to high school, is enough to make you roll on the floor laughing. The rest of the cast including the wide array of cameos from Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman to Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker as the school's unsympathetic grief counselor who charges the students in tips, is decent to say the least. The real scene-stealer is Stephen Colbert as the closet-gay creationist science teacher who is just flat-out strange.
The real problem with 'Strangers with Candy' lies in the screenplay. It has some incredibly funny moments like I've previously mentioned, but it has such long stretches of time where nothing funny happens. Calling 'Strangers with Candy' off-beat is like calling the bombing of Hiroshima violent, it's an understatement of gigantic proportions. If you are into that sort of off-beat comedy films, chances are you'll love 'Strangers with Candy.' But for someone like me expecting something with a bit more substance and guffaws, I was pretty damn disappointed. Grade: C+
First off, Amy Sedaris is absolutely hysterical! Just her body language as the 40-year-old reformed drug addict who goes back to high school, is enough to make you roll on the floor laughing. The rest of the cast including the wide array of cameos from Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman to Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker as the school's unsympathetic grief counselor who charges the students in tips, is decent to say the least. The real scene-stealer is Stephen Colbert as the closet-gay creationist science teacher who is just flat-out strange.
The real problem with 'Strangers with Candy' lies in the screenplay. It has some incredibly funny moments like I've previously mentioned, but it has such long stretches of time where nothing funny happens. Calling 'Strangers with Candy' off-beat is like calling the bombing of Hiroshima violent, it's an understatement of gigantic proportions. If you are into that sort of off-beat comedy films, chances are you'll love 'Strangers with Candy.' But for someone like me expecting something with a bit more substance and guffaws, I was pretty damn disappointed. Grade: C+