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Strangers with Candy | 2006 | R | - 7.5.5
A prequel to the television show "Strangers With Candy" that ran on Comedy Central, about a 46 year-old ex-junkie (Amy Sedaris) who returns home after many years in prison and goes back to high school, vowing to live her life over again, and this time to be good. Her father has been in a coma for three decades, and she is convinced that if she could be special in some way he would recover. Also with Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker. Directed by Paul Dinello. [1:27]
SEX/NUDITY 7 - At a science fair exhibit on human reproduction we see a young man and a young woman having sex (we see his bare buttocks as he thrusts rhythmically and her bare legs are wrapped around him).
► A woman takes a high school boy to her bedroom, she dances for him while he sits on the bed, she pushes him back on the bed and straddles him, he pushes her off, and she grabs him and wraps her legs around his head (his face is near her crotch); they then wrestle and he manages to free himself.
► A woman in a prison shower has a towel draped around her shoulders and her bare breasts are exposed. A man wears thong underwear and his bare chest and buttocks are exposed (he is the high school principal and he runs through a hallway crowded with students). Three high school girls wear low-cut tops that reveal cleavage and a woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage. A man drinks from a mug that is in the shape of a male torso. We see a chalk drawing of a breast on a chalkboard and the teacher in the class erases the nipple while talking about the uselessness of the female breast. A painting of a woman depicts her bare breasts. A man wears an apron and his bare chest is visible.
► A woman lies in bed with a high school girl, she touches the girl's clothed breast and the girl tells her "no." A woman flirts with another woman in a prison shower (they are both wrapped with towels and we see their bare shoulders).
► A drawing depicts a man with another man's genitals near his mouth and the word "Yum!." A woman admires a high school boy's clothed buttocks while he is lifting weights.
► A woman makes a remark about the size of a high school boy's bicep. A woman makes a sexual remark about a high school boy, and a woman asks a high school girl if she ever thinks about kissing boys. A woman tries to seduce a high school girl and makes suggestive remarks about her anatomy, and a woman flirts with a high school girl and asks her a question about her anatomy. A high school boy becomes angry when a woman tells him that he must be gay. A woman talks about having been addicted to sex. A man makes a remark about a "Roofie party" (referring to the date rape drug). We are told that a high school boy has a crush on a woman. A woman introduces a man as her "meat man."
► A school principal asks two board members in his office if they want to "handle his pistol" while showing them a gun, and a woman makes a remark that suggests that they have had a sexual relationship.
► A woman, a high school boy and a high school girl hug in bed together (nothing sexual happens). A married man ends a sexual relationship he is having with another man. As a bribe a school principal offers someone a school bus filled with cheerleaders.
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VIOLENCE/GORE 5 - We see several sequences of prison yard violence: A woman approaches another woman and grabs her around the throat, several women in a prison yard shove each other and scuffle, a woman punches another woman in the face, and a woman stabs another woman in the stomach (no blood is visible).
► A woman stabs a high school boy in the hand with a fork (the boy screams and we see the fork stuck in his hand) and threatens that, "next time I'll take a thumb." A man tackles a woman to the floor, the woman breaks a glass beaker and threatens the man with a shard.
► Several high school students destroy a car by pounding on it with baseball bats and stabbing the tires with sharp implements. A woman throws and breaks many things in someone else's home during a drug-induced fit. A high school boy is struck in the face with a ball. A woman tries to force her way into a house and the woman inside the house slams the door on her foot.
► A high school boy urinates into a locker and a woman slams the locker on him (the boy falls to the floor moaning) and his head is then slammed in the locker several times. A high school boy opens his locker, we are told there are human feces in the locker, and another boy throws a book inside and squishes it around (we hear squishing). A dead woman's ashes are kept in a stainless steel container and we see a woman pouring them into a shoebox. A woman's toenails are very long and dirty.
► Two bulls charge toward several high school girls in a chute, they run, and one girl is tossed out of the chute and lands on the floor. A man yells "fire" in a crowded gymnasium, and many people rush out screaming.
► There's talk of someone having been "executed for war crimes." A woman threatens a high school boy that he will "pull back a bloody stump" if he reaches for food that is in front of her. A woman thinks that she is hallucinating and sees a "demon with 100 eyes." A man says that he has "lost some toes" (suggesting that someone has removed them, violently).
► A school principal shows a pistol to two board members in his office.
► We see a man in a persistent vegetative state lying in a bed and in a few scenes he is propped up in a chair.
LANGUAGE 5 - 14 sexual remarks, 7 scatological terms, 7 anatomical terms, a woman's last name is "Puffybush," 9 mild obscenities, 2 derogatory terms for homosexuals, name-calling (thumbsucker, troll, stupid, dog, ugly, wide load, fatty, loser, toad, pig), 1 racist remark about people of color, 4 religious profanities, 5 religious exclamations.
SUBSTANCE USE - High school children smoke marijuana, and share with a woman. People drink alcohol, a school principal offers two board members in his office an alcoholic beverage, and a woman talks about having been addicted to alcohol and many types of drugs.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Life choices, change, parental disappointment, pride, misappropriation of funds, evolution, racism, science vs. religion, betrayal, friendship, exploitation, prison sex, homosexuality, high school, hope.
MESSAGE - People can change.
(Note: A teacher is shown instructing students about science using the Bible as his textbook.)
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.
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Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.