Never having seen the Comedy Central series "Strangers With Candy," but now an avid follower of Amy Sedaris's black and effervescent humor first glimpsed through the best hospitality book on the market, "I Like You," I have to say, I like you, too, Ms. Sedaris. So much. Because you (Amy) are unapologetically and delightfully obnoxious. And you make fun of ex-con lesbian crack whores who go back to high school when they're 40. That's very bold, don't you think? I like her eager, adolescent silliness mixed with the grim realities of adult life. I like that Ms. Sedaris was a Girl Scout as a young'un and has taken the time to transform our view of that krafty, cookie-selling blonde as a strung-out sex addled spinster. And I like that Ms. Sedaris' character, Jerri Blank, has the sensibility of a pubescent kid in the body of woman on the verge of menopause (and rehab). Think of Strangers With Candy as a Lifetime made-for-TV movie on a bad acid trip. Take joy in little set details, like a sign on the lunchroom wall that reads "We Reserve The Right to Refuse Service to Anyone." Find peace in the opening monologue that begs the question, "Can we change?" while Jerri is being chauffeured off prison grounds in a bus with bars on the window.
Especially, give thanks that so many stars have joined hands in Strangers' comedy of dysfunction, including Stephen Colbert's emotionally wrought role as the closeted-gay school science teacher, Mr. Chuck Noblet, who has fallen in love with Paul Dinello's flamboyant art teacher Geoffrey Jellineck. Be glad that a character's last name is "Jellineck!" Sarah Jessica Parker takes her sexual wit from Carrie Bradshaw and funnels it and a dose of cruelty into her role as the school grief counselor, Peggy Callas, while hubby Matthew Broderick returns to the halls of high school-- after ditching them in Ferris Bueller's, and after his tattered homecoming in Election--for a third time, as an outsourced science fair project manager.
A description of plot details alone is hilarious. But put to action by Amy Sedaris's unself-conscious manner and it's practically an existential experience.
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