Recent from talks
Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy
Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy is a 1996 Canadian comedy film written by and starring the Canadian comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Directed by Kelly Makin and filmed in Toronto, it followed the five-season run (1988–1995) of their television series The Kids in the Hall, which had been successful in both Canada and the United States.
The five-man team plays all of the major characters and many of the bit parts. The film was written by four of the five members of the troupe, along with Norm Hiscock; the troupe's fifth member, Dave Foley, had quit the troupe and was already working as a cast member on NewsRadio, but was contractually obligated to be in the film. Foley also plays fewer characters in the film than do the other four members. Brendan Fraser and Janeane Garofalo have cameos in the film, Garofalo's being almost entirely absent from the final cut.
The film is about the introduction of a powerful antidepressant, Gleemonex. The drug is rushed into production to help the ailing Roritor Pharmaceuticals and becomes an overnight media sensation. Those involved in the early stages of Gleemonex – the scientists, marketing arm and several early users – are followed, right up through the troubling coma-like side effect of being stuck in their happiest memory.
Some characters from the television series appear briefly in Brain Candy. Among those who do are the "white trash couple," the cops, Cancer Boy (see below), talk show host Nina Bedford (introduced in the show as "Nina Spudkneeyak"), Raj & Lacey, Melanie, Bellini, and the bigoted cab driver (who narrates the film).
The movie received negative feedback due to the Cancer Boy character. Originally appearing in the final episode of the TV show, in a sketch that satirized the idea of being as offensive as possible, Cancer Boy is played by Bruce McCulloch dressed in a bald cap, with pale white makeup, using a wheelchair. He relays depressing information with a cheerful smile and releases a hit pop single entitled "Whistle When You're Low". Many found the character to be in exceedingly poor taste. Paramount Pictures had fought extensively with the troupe to cut the character from the film, to no avail. The group has expressed some regret over their hardline position years later, feeling the battle left Paramount bitter and reluctant to fully market the film.
On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a score of 44% based on reviews from 39 critics. On Metacritic, it has a score of 55% based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Siskel and Ebert were split, and they had a heated disagreement over Brain Candy on their weekly review show: Gene Siskel gave the movie three-and-a-half stars, calling the movie "audacious, clever, very funny" and predicted it would become a midnight cult film; Roger Ebert claimed that he did not laugh once during the screening and found it "awful, terrible, dreadful, stupid, idiotic, unfunny, labored, forced, painful, bad." Janet Maslin of The New York Times called the film "[nothing] more than a sloppy showcase for the group's costume-changing tricks." Edward Guthmann at The San Francisco Chronicle, called Brain Candy "a splendid showcase for their diverse, frisky talents." Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle called it "one long sketch that never seems to rocket off into the inspired heights of lunacy the series maintained so well".
The film suffered poor box office returns. This was turned into a plot device in the opening episode of the 2022 Amazon Prime Video revival series of The Kids in the Hall. As the first episode opens, the movie is under a curse because of its poor sales. With the purchase of a VHS copy at a garage sale, the movie finally breaks even; the curse is lifted, the Kids are exhumed, and the new series begins.
Hub AI
Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy AI simulator
(@Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy_simulator)
Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy
Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy is a 1996 Canadian comedy film written by and starring the Canadian comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Directed by Kelly Makin and filmed in Toronto, it followed the five-season run (1988–1995) of their television series The Kids in the Hall, which had been successful in both Canada and the United States.
The five-man team plays all of the major characters and many of the bit parts. The film was written by four of the five members of the troupe, along with Norm Hiscock; the troupe's fifth member, Dave Foley, had quit the troupe and was already working as a cast member on NewsRadio, but was contractually obligated to be in the film. Foley also plays fewer characters in the film than do the other four members. Brendan Fraser and Janeane Garofalo have cameos in the film, Garofalo's being almost entirely absent from the final cut.
The film is about the introduction of a powerful antidepressant, Gleemonex. The drug is rushed into production to help the ailing Roritor Pharmaceuticals and becomes an overnight media sensation. Those involved in the early stages of Gleemonex – the scientists, marketing arm and several early users – are followed, right up through the troubling coma-like side effect of being stuck in their happiest memory.
Some characters from the television series appear briefly in Brain Candy. Among those who do are the "white trash couple," the cops, Cancer Boy (see below), talk show host Nina Bedford (introduced in the show as "Nina Spudkneeyak"), Raj & Lacey, Melanie, Bellini, and the bigoted cab driver (who narrates the film).
The movie received negative feedback due to the Cancer Boy character. Originally appearing in the final episode of the TV show, in a sketch that satirized the idea of being as offensive as possible, Cancer Boy is played by Bruce McCulloch dressed in a bald cap, with pale white makeup, using a wheelchair. He relays depressing information with a cheerful smile and releases a hit pop single entitled "Whistle When You're Low". Many found the character to be in exceedingly poor taste. Paramount Pictures had fought extensively with the troupe to cut the character from the film, to no avail. The group has expressed some regret over their hardline position years later, feeling the battle left Paramount bitter and reluctant to fully market the film.
On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a score of 44% based on reviews from 39 critics. On Metacritic, it has a score of 55% based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Siskel and Ebert were split, and they had a heated disagreement over Brain Candy on their weekly review show: Gene Siskel gave the movie three-and-a-half stars, calling the movie "audacious, clever, very funny" and predicted it would become a midnight cult film; Roger Ebert claimed that he did not laugh once during the screening and found it "awful, terrible, dreadful, stupid, idiotic, unfunny, labored, forced, painful, bad." Janet Maslin of The New York Times called the film "[nothing] more than a sloppy showcase for the group's costume-changing tricks." Edward Guthmann at The San Francisco Chronicle, called Brain Candy "a splendid showcase for their diverse, frisky talents." Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle called it "one long sketch that never seems to rocket off into the inspired heights of lunacy the series maintained so well".
The film suffered poor box office returns. This was turned into a plot device in the opening episode of the 2022 Amazon Prime Video revival series of The Kids in the Hall. As the first episode opens, the movie is under a curse because of its poor sales. With the purchase of a VHS copy at a garage sale, the movie finally breaks even; the curse is lifted, the Kids are exhumed, and the new series begins.