BlownPotential

Strangers with Candy
Review by Joel Fowler

In the beginning voiceover to Strangers with Candy, the heroin-infused heroine Jerri Blank asks a simple question as she is being transported on prison bus, “can we change?” It’s rather ironic that Amy Sedaris’ character would use those words, since I was asking myself basically the same query walking into this screening, but for different reasons. I never really ‘got’ the Comedy Central sitcom version of Jerri, the 47-year-old reformed junkie whore who tries to make amends by returning to high school. While their story concept was brilliant, and Sedaris and co-star Steven Colbert are as comically gifted as they come, I found little humor in their continuous spin cycle of awkward moments and inappropriate comments. I could never put my finger on what exactly that series was missing.

Until now.

And I can sum it up in one word… cursing!

As an entertainment critic, I’m always on the lookout for truth and truly despise half-hearted portrayals of reality. It’s 2006. Censorship has been over for a long time. If Jay-Z wants to use the f-word in a rap song or Quentin Tarantino wants to pour gallons of theatrical blood onto Uma Thurman, I’m fine with it, as long as said vulgarities are used in an effort to honestly express the artist’s vision. I think this is reason as to why I always had trouble with the small screen Strangers.

A hardened woman, such as Jerri Blank, lives an ‘R’-rated life. Her character was based partially on the life of Florrie Fisher, a reformed alcoholic / addict / prostitute who was the subject of the 1970 anti-drug documentary The Trip Back. Intense is generally the word used to describe that film. On the silver screen, there is intensity in Candy’s comedy. Jerri’s unedited homosexual advances and ethnic-questioning existence feels more appropriate than the wink-and-nod innuendo she was stuck in perpetrating during her days on basic premium cable. Add in an impressive list of cameo characters (Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Allison Janney, Philip Seymore Hoffman, and Sir Ian Holms just to name a few) and what you have is a recipe for crude but clever cinema, nourishing my inner sweet tooth in a way I wasn’t expecting.

Potential: Exceeded

Notes: Oddly, one of this films producers is David Letterman, whom Strangers star, Stephen Colbert, goes head-to-head against in late night every week, Monday-Thurday.

Also recommended Bad Santa (2003), Detroit Rock City (1999), Rock-N-Roll High School (1979).

Related Articles:
Celebrity Scoop on Stranger with Candy’s star Amy Sedaris.

Strangers with Candy is written by and stars Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello. It opens June 28^th (Limited) and July 7^th (wide) and is rated R for sexual content, language and some drug material.