Strangers with Candy

2005 comedy

Rating: 10/20

Plot: A prequel to the television show, this follows Jerri Blank from prison as she meets her step-mother, finds out her father is in a coma, returns to high school, tries to fit in, and joins the science fair team in an attempt to get her father out of the coma.

More silliness than you can shake a stick at, but as I feared, this is more like a Strangers with Candy episode stretched into 90 minutes. It's thin. There are a lot of funny moments, mostly (just like the television show) involving Colbert and Dinello's teacher characters or flashes of absurdity (the doctor sliding down the bannister, anything involving the donkey mascot). Unfortunately, I'm not sure this science fair premise would have even ended up being one of the better episodes of the television show. The whole thing seems thrown together and too much like a reunion of a television show instead of a stand-alone movie. There was no time for real character development, and there wasn't nearly enough screentime with the minor characters. Principal Blackman didn't seem himself although the line "We've got over 3,000 students and 12 teachers" was funny. Three episodes of the television show...much funnier. I have to admit though--I could watch the scene where Jerri is watching monkeys on television over and over again.

Here I am mid-laugh: