Strangers with Candy: The Movie

[vexin_g]

Strangers with Candy shares many of the same qualities as Napoleon Dynamite, but a quality which made Lisa and I hate the latter, and reaaaally hate the ensuing Napoleon Dynamite pop cultural CRAZE, is thankfully lacking in Strangers with Candy

Comments

[wyliekat]

I saw Napoleon Dynamite and enjoyed it, though sometimes I found bits to be a little over the top or awkward for the sake of awkward. But it seems to me that I knew people like that when I was in high school, and that's what made it funny/clever for me. Nostalgia, if you will. I owned and hid moon-boots as a child. I remember us having a hideous brown, yellow and orange floral couch with stern wooden arm plates and side decor.

That's the purpose for the funny to me.

Never did see Strangers with Candy. To be honest, Napoleon Dynamite is just the kind of self-aware movie I'd tend to avoid. Hubby likes them, though. Borat would be a good current example of the type of thing I'd avoid and he'd love.

[vexin_g]

Did you find it overlong

[wyliekat]

It has a place, mean humour does. I admit to liking Family Guy, but again, more for the old cultural references and occasional meme reference, lifted directly out of my f-list on LJ. I appear to have a major thing for nostalgia. ;-}

I definitely also have that obstinate streak in me, which says that if I'm being told how great something is, I tend to avoid seeing it. My total unwillingness to see Oceans 11, 12 and 13 or whatever numbers they are, is a good example of that.

However, from what I've seen of the Borat interviews (as again, forced by the Hubby) just strike me as trying too hard and also, a little juvenile.

Then again, I didn't loathe America: World Police. Some parts of it I found very funny and worthwhile. Other parts were painfully stupid and puerile.

I like The Daily Show, which sometimes wanders into the mean humour.

In summation - I really don't know if I have a definitive answer on mean humour. I think I like a small amount of it, judiciously applied, but I dislike it when it's caked on.

[dimbrilliance]

I really didn't like Napoleon Dynamite, both for the reasons you listed as well as the fact that, honestly, it hurt me to watch what they did to the characters. I identified with most of them, and I indentified with the middle of nowhere weirdness. The net result of this, I guess, was that I couldn't muster the ironic distance. I found the first ten or twenty minutes kinda funny, and then I got angry. Mean political humor is right up my alley, though. I'll check out Strangers With Candy.

[vexin_g]

Before I respond...isn't it cute how the Canadians and the Americans on this page are both spelling "humo(u)r" in their own, special ways

[twinphish]

Just curious..Have you seen 'Wassup Rockers'? I somewhat enjoy Larry Clark's work purely for the fact it's a peek into a certain subculture. Although 'Wassup Rockers' wasn't really all that insightful I enjoyed a couple laughs..but yeah he does tend towards "creating a torture chamber for his adolescent casts".

[vexin_g]

I haven't seen "Wassup Rockers", and if the name is any indication, I'll probably avoid it like the clap. I'm just so grossed out by him. Even if he weren't a "mean" filmmaker, I find it yecchy to the nth degree how he loves lingering over the nubile flesh of the children (yes, teenagers are children. I'm stodgy.) in his movies.

Nevertheless, I regard you very highly and respect your right to enjoy a peek into a subculture. I remember how influential "KIDS" was to actual kids, when I was a kid. That was a bad thing, but it had an undeniable power. Just don't peek too hard, because the FBI might be knocking down your door for possession of child pornography.

[twinphish]

I went to see Strangers with Candy the day it came out here in New York.. however I only saw about 1/3rd of it because I was sick that week and felt like i was going to pass out in the theater so I had to bail. Still need to see the rest!

I also went to see her talk about the movie at the Apple store in SOHO and was surprisingly star struck - I usually could care less when seeing a celeb in the flesh. However I think the level of my devotion is best demonstrated by the fact that I purchased this:

[vexin_g]

That's so adorable, Kim. And actually, the first third of Strangers with Candy is probably also the funniest. I hear (and read, courtesy her brother) Amy's very cute in person. C'est vrai?

I was star-struck by a Sedaris, as well: I saw David read in Chicago some years ago and had him sign a book for my friend. He asked, "Where is she from?" and "What's her name?" and "how do you know her?" The inscription ended up being, "To Andrea: A Lesbian in Berwyn. Love, David Sedaris". Also, he gave me candy from his Fuck-It Bucket.

[twinphish]

HAHAH that's awesome. Yes, she is very cute in person. Half of the audience that came to hear her speak were lesbians, the other half.. geeky dudes :)

p.s. speaking of Chicago, I've only been there once and Jet Blue was having a sale ($36 each way!) so I booked a ticket for the hell of it. Of course it's the first weekend in February but last time I was there it was winter as well so I think I can brave it again. Anything you think I should see while I'm there?

[vexin_g]

Definitely check out the all-new (newish, I guess at this point) Millenium Park. Check out the Flickr Pics of it, it looks amazing. And be sure to try to take a walk along Lake Michigan, despite the extreme weather. Chicago has a very nice lakefront