Strangers with Candy

Strangers with Candy gives a well-worn idea some fresh twists and stands out in a whole bunch of return-to-high school movies.

Chicago’s famous Second City alum, Amy Sedaris, is Jerri Blank, an ex-con and ex-junkie who goes back to high school for a fresh start in hope that would wake her father up from a 32-year long coma. Two other Second City alums, Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello (also the director of the movie), along with Sedaris, wrote the script. They also play important roles in the movie.

Strangers with Candy is one of those rare comedies that combine funny dialogue with physical gags to produce maximum enjoyment. It takes all the worst situations in high school and exaggerates them another 100 times. The movie also tosses away all political correctness and unabashedly exposes all the racial stereotypes and homophobia in our society. The black principal in the movie is simply called Mr. Blackman. One of Jerri’s few friends is an Indonesian American called Megawatti Sacarnaputri (“not THAT Megawati Sukarnoputri”, a joke for high-browed audience). When Jerri first meets him in the hall, she simply assumes him as Filipino. When he tells her his origin, she simply rolls her eyes. It clearly means the same place in her minds. For the science fair, Koreans and Jews are automatically picked for the team.

All the main characters in the movie are played by experienced comedians. Their comic timing is perfect and they interact with each other seamlessly. Sometimes the movie feels like a long improv skit. Sedaris is sublimely clueless as Jerri, Colbert unbelievably self-centered as science teacher Chuck Noblet and Dinello sweet and conniving as a child-at-heart art teacher. It is so satisfying just to watch them show their comic skills.

Strangers with Candy may not make you laugh non-stop with tears, but it will definitely provide plenty of chuckles throughout the entire movie. At the end, Jerri learns an important lesson about friendship that she still doesn’t strongly believe, but I believe wholeheartedly that Jerri Blank is one of the funniest characters in American cinema this summer.