Strangers with Candy (2005)

A prequel to the critically acclaimed series featuring Jerri Blank, a forty-six-year-old ex-junkie, ex-con who returns to high school in a bid to start her life over.

Director:

Paul Dinello

Writers:

Stephen Colbert (series Strangers with Candy), Paul Dinello (series Strangers with Candy)

Stars:

Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Amy Sedaris	...	Jerri Blank
Paul Sedaris	...	Bus Driver
Chandra Wilson	...	Inmate
Kristy Thomas	...	Inmate
Dee Finley	...	Inmate (as Dee Finely)
Deborah Rush	...	Sara Blank
Ian Holm	...	Dr. Putney
Dan Hedaya	...	Guy Blank
Joseph Cross	...	Derrick Blank
Elisabeth Harnois	...	Monica
Alexis Dziena	...	Melissa
Ivette Dumeng	...	Melanie (as Ivette Diaz Dumeng)
Carlo Alban	...	Megawatti
Greg Hollimon	...	Principal Blackman (as Gregory Holliman)
Hechter Ubarry	...	Nico

Storyline

Forty-seven-year-old Jerri Blank is a socially unaware ex-con junkie alcoholic prostitute. After being released from her latest stint behind bars, Jerri wants to clean up her life and decides the best way to do so is to go home, where she left thirty-two years earlier when she began her depraved life. She arrives home to find that her mother has died, and her father has remarried a much younger woman and has fallen into a stress-induced coma in part because she disappeared. She takes that cleaning up her life one step further when Dr. Putney, her father's doctor, tells her that he may emerge from his coma if life were to return to the way it was before she left, but better, as she has to make her father proud. So she decides to go back to her old high school, Flatpoint, to get her high school diploma. She quickly decides the best way to be the best student possible is to participate in and win the state science fair. In her quest, she gets caught up in the competing agendas of: ...

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Plot Keywords:

black comedy | absurd comedy | parody | satire | hot | 

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Taglines:

High school is difficult... for a 47-year-old ex-con junkie crack whore.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, language and some drug material

Details

Official Sites:

Roberts/David Films, Inc. Silverstar Productions [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 July 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

De vuelta al 'insti'

Filming Locations:

Bayonne High School - Avenue A & 28th Street, Bayonne, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$43,141, 2 July 2006

Gross USA:

$2,072,645

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,254,124

Company Credits

Production Co:

Comedy Central Films, Roberts/David Films, Worldwide Pants

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The pin-up model in Jerri's locker is Amy Sedaris. Sedaris also played the cocktail waitress in the "Teacher's Lounge" scene.

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Goofs

Mr. Noblet and Mr. Jellineck already know and are in a relationship with each other, even though they are seen meeting and hooking up for the first time in the beginning of the series which this film is a prequel to.

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Quotes

Geoffrey Jellineck: You look lost. Its okay, you can talk to me. I'm the art teacher. I may be an authority figure, but I have the mind of a child.
Jerri Blank: Well, today's my first day back at school and I'm a little nervous.
Geoffrey Jellineck: There's no reason to be nervous. Just remember, the first day of school is the most important day of your whole life. If it doesn't go right, there's no way to get it back. *No way.*

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Crazy Credits

Over credits cast dance in silhouette before breaking through the paper screen.

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Connections

Follows Strangers with Candy (1999)

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Soundtracks

Retro Retro
Performed by Blue Slate
Written by Sandy Berman
Produced by Sandy Berman
Published by Queensize Music
Courtesy of Queensize Music

User Reviews

great for the fans

Jerri Blank (Amy Sedaris) is a 46 year old awkward ex-con junkie prostitute. She is let out of prison and returns home to find her father in a coma with a younger wife (Deborah Rush). She decides to go back to school and take a different path so that her father can wake up from his coma. The school is filled with wacky teachers and mean girls led by Monica (Elisabeth Harnois). She's hot for Monica's boyfriend Brason (Chris Pratt). She takes Tammi Littlenut (Maria Thayer) under her chicken wing and befriends loser Megawatti Sucarnaputri. Teacher Chuck Noblet (Stephen Colbert) breaks up with Geoffrey Jellineck (Paul Dinello) and faces a challenge from Roger Beekman (Matthew Broderick) for the science fair.

This is a prequel to the cult TV show 5 years after it went off the air. It's ridiculous, insane and stupid. Amy Sedaris is gloriously ridiculous. The movie does wear thin after awhile. It extends the half-hour format a little too far but it's still a great watch for fans of the TV show.