Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy (1996)

"i realized that i would never be happy and i am much happier because of it". I remember when I first watched the film many years ago (on VHS) I didn't think much of it and years later I gave it another go because I am a Kids in the Hall fan. It turns out there are many who prefer the movie who have given it a second or more viewings. The movie is silly (which is one thing I love) and also quite brilliant. I have to say it has earned the title of being a cult classic and is up there with the Monty Python movies. Much of the dialogue itself is funny and the characters just add so much humour to the screen. The only real problem I have with the movie is the DVD. The DVD lacks completely of special features (and is now out of print). Where is the trailer? (which is totally worth seeing over and over again). Where are the deleted scenes? (There happens to be several deleted scenes). What about the alternate ending (Which is worth watching). Maybe the movie could have been funnier if some of the removed scenes had made it's way into the movie. But still the movie is fine the way it is but again the DVD should feature the removed content in order to appreciate this movie even more. I've seen the work print of the movie and of course the movie itself and yet the trailer has moments that is in neither. What is that all about? Anyway I think the Kids have done a great job here and this movie is perfect for a good laugh but it makes me sad and depressed to see all the missing content from the DVD. Then again watching this movie is a great cure for depression.

As this is the only full-length movie of one of the smartest comedy ensembles ever, this is indeed a classic already and worth every second. It is amazing the wealth of characters The Kids in the Hall are capable of drawing upon which further fuels a very well-written satire on society's eagerness to address and cure any and every thing via a pill - notwithstanding the side effects. To be sure, some of the routines may be uncomfortable, especially because they end up being so funny (most notably Cancer Boy) but sometimes this is the only way - either confront a particular societal flaw with a harsh unfunny reality or, in this case, make them laugh so hard they are bound to see the absurdity in a given situation and thus be able to move toward rectifying it. For KITH fans, this is a must; for those of you who enjoy cutting edge comedy, you will not be disappointed!!!!!!

"It'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry, and maybe - just maybe - you'll learn something about yourself..." ...Seriously!This movie just blew me away on so many levels. First level: Being a longtime fan of the Kids and getting to see many familiar characters once again was a gas. Not to mention some of the new ones they cooked up for the film. Second level: As an exercise in the absurd (Cancer Boy, the gay guy coming out in a big neighbourhood production number, the German psychiatrist). Next level: Satire and stereotype (the CEO screaming, "MY... EMPIRE... IS... CRUUUMMMMBLINNGG!", the punk rocker, the talkshow hostess). Yet another level: Makes a HUGE statement about the corporate-media-industrial complex and its usurpation of contemporary culture and mores. And so on, and so on...Finally, the film, while purporting to be a comedy masking itself as a tragedy (or is it the other way round?) and beneath that pretending to send a negative message about the human condition (like the cabbie says, "This is not a happy story"), manages to have a positive message as well.This movie is an enigma. And as such it's basically indescribable: It'll move you in about six different directions at once. And it might even make you think about a few things.If you've never seen it, get out and rent the bloody thing already.

Deep inside the heart of this film is a very cunning satire on the need for happiness and prozak type drugs. The need for things to be perfect is a lie-nothing's ever totally perfect, and if there was no more room for improvement what would be the purpose of doing anything? Somewhat ironically this is the problem with the movie- it's nowhere to being perfect. It's far below Kids in the Hall standards. And if it weren't for the problems they had to face in completing it, this would have turned out to be a real classic instead of just the small cult classic it became. If Dave Foley wasn't pulled to the states all the time, if the writing had the same competitiveness as they had in their show, and if they were together more often then it would have worked. However, they still seem to share and support each other in performance as usual. But there's just too much of one thing and not enough of the other. Sometimes it seems like Scott Thompson wrote the whole thing himself. Not that the parts with Wally aren't funny, but there's just too much of it. There's too much sexual humour that it spoils the joke, just like too much water can ruin the broth. This is still a good film for any fan's collection. But if you want to delve into what the Kids were really like besides their show, Same Guys New Dresses and Tour of Duty are probably what you're looking for. They;ve always been better live anyway.