Why So Blu?

Strangers With Candy (Blu-ray Review)

When Strangers with Candy hit theaters in 2005, it was already something of a niche project. Based on the cult Comedy Central series of the same name, the film serves as a prequel to the show and follows Jerri Blank (Amy Sedaris), a 46-year-old ex-junkie and ex-con who decides to restart her life by going back to high school. If that setup sounds absurd, that’s the point—and the tone.

Film

The Weirdest Prequel You Didn’t Know You Needed

The plot follows Jerri as she returns home after a long stint in prison, only to find her father in a coma, her stepmother disgusted by her, and her half-brother in complete denial of their connection. She believes that the key to fixing everything—including waking her father—is to pick up where she left off before her life spiraled out of control: high school. So, Jerri throws herself into high school life with the subtlety of a wrecking ball, becoming a student at Flatpoint High, where she’s surrounded by clueless teachers, corrupt administrators, and a student body that somehow tolerates this 40-something weirdo pretending to be a teenager.

Amy Sedaris Is the Whole Show

There’s no version of this film that works without Amy Sedaris. Her performance as Jerri Blank is one of those totally committed, completely fearless comedy turns that doesn’t just carry the movie—it defines it. Jerri is a grotesque, clueless, and deeply inappropriate character, but Sedaris somehow makes her watchable and, in the strangest way, oddly sympathetic. She throws herself into every scene with such unhinged energy that even the movie’s weaker jokes still kind of land because she’s selling them with everything she’s got.

The supporting cast is just as oddball and committed. Stephen Colbert, who co-wrote the script, plays the closeted and incredibly dramatic science teacher Chuck Noblet with deadpan perfection. Paul Dinello, who also directs, plays art teacher Geoffrey Jellineck, a character defined by vanity and complete incompetence. Together, the trio anchors the surreal tone of the film with a kind of sketch-comedy-meets-high-camp vibe. Smaller appearances by the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Allison Janney, and Matthew Broderick round out a cast that is clearly in on the joke.

Writing That’s Willfully Offensive and Proudly Dumb

The humor in Strangers with Candy is unapologetically tasteless. It riffs on race, sexuality, addiction, family dysfunction, and institutional corruption, all with the tone of a sketch comedy bit that’s been stretched to feature-length. The writing is intentionally stilted, embracing the rhythms of ‘50s instructional films and after-school specials while filling them with deeply inappropriate content. This dissonance is the film’s signature style—it wants you to be uncomfortable, then laugh anyway.

Not all of the jokes have aged well. Some land better than others, and twenty years later, the film’s approach to satire is a bit more jarring in a post-2010s comedy landscape. Still, the writing stays true to its characters and its internal logic, which is key when you’re dealing with something this aggressively absurd. It’s less about the punchlines and more about the sustained tone of madness.

Pacing and Tone: Like a Long, Deranged Episode

At 97 minutes, the movie moves fast but occasionally feels like it’s stretching its premise. The early parts—Jerri’s return home and initial culture shock at school—are snappier and funnier than the later segments that focus more on the school science fair, which acts as the central conflict. Still, it’s never dull. The pacing mimics the feel of the original show: short scenes, punchy transitions, and a lot of rapid-fire weirdness.

Tonally, the film exists in a world completely detached from reality. Characters don’t behave like people; they behave like warped archetypes from health class videos and made-for-TV specials. This commitment to a surreal, hyper-stylized tone helps the movie stay consistent even when the jokes go too far or fall flat.

20 Years Later: Legacy of a Cult Oddity

Now two decades old, Strangers with Candy still feels like something that couldn’t—and maybe wouldn’t—get made today. It was always a fringe piece of comedy, made for fans of the show and people with a taste for the aggressively weird. But it holds a special place in the hearts of those who got it. It’s not a comedy that begs for universal appeal; it’s a movie made by and for a very specific type of viewer.

In hindsight, it’s also an interesting time capsule of mid-2000s alt-comedy. Before Colbert was a late-night mainstay and before Sedaris became a household name for her voice work and oddball charm, Strangers with Candy captured them at their most unfiltered and anarchic. It’s a document of that energy—raw, uncomfortable, and totally committed.

Final Thoughts: Not for Everyone, But Unmistakably Itself

Strangers with Candy is as divisive now as it was in 2005. It’s crass, unapologetic, and often baffling—but it’s also weirdly brilliant in its own grotesque way. If you loved the show, the movie is a fun and fitting extension. If you’re new to the world of Jerri Blank, brace yourself. You’re either going to tap out in ten minutes or find yourself quoting it for years.

And really, that’s kind of the point.

Video  

Encoding: MPEG-4/AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

HDR: N/A

Layers: BD-50

Clarity/Detail: Remastered in 4K from an original interpositive, Strangers with Candy looks great on Blu-ray.  The film has a healthy grain structure with fine textures on clothing and facial features looking decent. Interiors have detail with exteriors having natural depth. Colors are excellent and mostly of the primary persuasion.

Depth: Framing in the film is often used to continue the obvious joking nature of the film, so camera movement is odd, but always fluid and clean.

Black Levels: Black levels are natural and neat. No crush here.

Color Reproduction: The colors in Strangers with Candy are of the primary kind.  They’re strong and tight, not necessarily popping off the screen, but looking natural and lifelike.

Skin Tones: Flesh tones are particularly defined, especially on the unfortunate looking Jerri Blank.

Noise/Artifacts: None

Audio

Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: Dialogue driven comedies are mostly derivative in the form of a 5.1 track.  Such is the case for Strangers with Candy, too.  The track is one where you hear the dialogue and score just fine! Light ambience and music are what the surrounds and stereo channels are for.  The subwoofer barely registers a light rumble for most of the film, and that’s just fine too.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: Bass is subtle, if for nothing more than a few music cues.

Surround Sound Presentation: Surround channels make their usage known with ambience, some music moments and nothing much else, adding subtlety to this mostly talky movie.

Dialogue: Dialogue is always easy to hear.

Extras

Jerri Blank fans rejoice! You’ll love that this Shout Studios Collector’s Edition of Strangers with Candy comes with deleted scenes and an audio commentary! A slipcover also comes with the release.

Bonus Features:

Strangers With Candy: The Movie Collector’s Edition Bonus Features

• Audio Commentary with Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello
• Deleted Scenes
• “Atomic Car” Music Video starring Iris Puffybush, performed by Delano Grove and written by Delano Grove, Stephen Colbert, and Paul Dinello
• Trailer

Summary

Love it or hate it, there was a time when Strangers with Candy was a staple of Comedy Central TV.  Now that Comedy Central has gone the way of the dodo, it’s now an artifact of a bygone time.  Fans of the show may not remember there was a film. I know I didn’t, but seeing it now after 20 years I was reminded of the stupid hilarity that came from the comedic talents of Sedaris, Colbert and Dinello joining forces.  Fans will love having this on their shelves.  As said before, newcomers will either love this or be repulsed by it, but it’s worth a look if you’re curious either way.

Buy a copy of Strangers with Candy HERE