STRANGERS WITH CANDY

Director: Paul Dinello
Stars: Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Deborah Rush, Joseph Cross
Year: 2005
Rating: R

I absolutely love the television series "Strangers with Candy" - so am surprised it took me over two years to see the film version, at last. This is a prequel to the series, in which we learn how 46-year-old ex-junkie, ex-hooker Jerri Blank (who, in over thirty years, has seen the inside of more prisons than Johnny Cash) came home again to start her life anew.

Amy Sedaris stars as Jerri, who comes home to her beloved mother and father - only to find her mom dead (and in a stainless steel urn, cremated), and her father (Dan Hedaya) in a "grief-induced coma" over the loss of his wife and daughter. Jerri now also has a stepmom, Sara (Deborah Rush, in a hilariously-deadpan performance), as well as a new stepbrother (Joseph Cross) who abhors her as well ... but the ever resilient (and, seemingly, double-jointed) ex-hooker/ex-junkie is determined to make her new start work - especially after learning from her father's doctor (Ian Holm, a loveable loon in the film) that her coming back home might be just what dad needs to come out of his coma.

It's the teenaged daughter Daddy Blank last saw that Jerri yearns to be again - so to help her father, she picks life up right where it left off - by going back to high school. Everyone, of course, loathes her, with the exception of the school misfits - including one of whom (Carlo Alban), in particular, starts to fall in love with her. Meanwhile, all Jerri's trying to do is fit in ... get laid by the hot jock of the school (Chris Pratt) ... resist the old temptations of casual sex and quick highs ... and win the upcoming science fair at school, to show her daddy she's special, and get him out of that coma!

A guest/supporting cast that includes Stephen Colbert, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ian Holm, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kristen Johnston, Justin Theroux, and even "Grey's Anatomy" Emmy-nominee Chandra Wilson as a prison inmate (if you look fast) help to make the film - at times - truly laugh-out-loud hilarious. But overall, the Jerri Blank schtick that works so brilliantly in the televsion series seems a bit stretched too far for a feature-length film. The laughs are uneven, the jokes not always working. But it's still a funny film that's worth watching on cable or as a rental - and if this is your first time seeing Jerri Blank, be forewarned that the "WTF?" expression in your face as you watch this film will soon give way to real laughter ... mostly thanks to Amy Sedaris, who keeps the insane, fugly, burnt-out druggie hooker Jerri Blank alive and well in the hearts of her fans. If you thought YOU were the nerd in high school ... Jerri will make you feel like the valedictorian, prom queen (or king), and class president - all rolled into one. **1/2 - Reel Mediocre-Reel Cool