Brain Candy
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| Brain Candy | |
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| Directed by | Kelly Makin |
| Produced by | Lorne Michaels |
| Written by | Kevin McDonald Scott Thompson Mark McKinney Bruce McCulloch Norm Hiscock |
| Starring | Kevin McDonald Scott Thompson Mark McKinney Bruce McCulloch Dave Foley |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 12, 1996 (US) November 8, 1996 (UK) |
| Running time | 89 minutes |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Brain Candy (aka Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy) is a feature film by The Kids in the Hall, a popular Canadian comedy troupe. Directed by Kelly Makin, filmed in Toronto, and released in 1996, it followed the five season run of their television series, 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. Brendan Fraser and Janeane Garofalo have small cameos, Garofalo's being almost entirely absent from the final cut.
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[edit] Premise and characters
The film is about the introduction of a powerful antidepressant, entitled 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.
- Chris Cooper (Kevin McDonald) is the inventor of the drug, and main protagonist of the film. He is motivated by his father's clumsy suicide to create a cure for clinical depression, but quickly gets swept up in the resulting fame. He started developing antidepressants because his father suffered from depression and committed suicide when Chris was young.
- Alice (Bruce McCulloch) is a fellow scientist, and appearent love interest of Chris. She eventually watches from a distance as he slips away into celebrity.
- Don Roritor (Mark McKinney) heads Roritor Pharmaceuticals, founded on his invention of the drug Stummies (likely a play on Tums or Rolaids). He has a close but contentious relationship with his spineless assistant, Marv. His character is based on Lorne Michaels.
- Marv(Dave Foley)is Roritor's assistant. Depite their seemingly close relationship, he actually dislikes Roritor to the point that his happiest memory is having someone ejaculate in his boss' coffee (Roritor's happiest moment, ironically, is drinking the concoction).
- Mrs. Hurdicure (Scott Thompson) is an old woman who initially is severely depressed and an early test subject for GLeeMONEX. Her happiest memory is shown to be a brief and obligatory Christmas visit from her son, played by Dave Foley. The drug quickly whips her out of the depression, but she inevitably becomes the first victim of its side-effect.
- Wally Terzinsky (Scott Thompson) is a husband, father, and closeted homosexual. Wally masturbates to gay pornography, frequents public bath houses, and was sexually active with men during his military career - but remains unaware that he isn't straight. He is prescribed GLeeMONEX by a frustrated therapist, played by Dave Foley. His happiest memory is a homoerotic army mission. It is also possible, however, that the homoerotic mission never happened, but was rather a fantasy Wally had during his army training. The character is almost identical to that of Danny Husk, from the television show The Kids In The Hall.
- Grivo (Bruce McCulloch) is a rock star famous for his bleak lyrics, as well as a general indifference toward his audience, fame, and music. After taking the drug, Grivo switches to jangly, upbeat pop music; his song "Happiness Pie" becomes an anthem for the post-GLeeMONEX world.
Some characters from the television series appear briefly in Brain Candy. Among those who do are the "white trash couple," the cops, cancer boy, talk show host Nina Bedford, Raj & Lacey, Melanie, Bellini, and the bigoted cab driver (who narrates the film). Additionally, Wally is an obvious variation on the show's dimwitted Danny Husk.
[edit] Memorable quotes
- Grivo: Fuck happy.
- Scientist: It was only a couple of Flipper babies!
- Cab driver: When I was a little boy, my mother used to sing me a song. It went like this: Life is short, life is shit, and soon it will be over.
- Therapist: You are gay. You are a gay man. The opposite of straight, you're gay. I know it, your family knows it. Dogs know it! Everybody knows it but you!
- Don: You know, those words hurt. But you must realize they come from a man who's gone mad with depression. Unfortunately, it seems to happen to some of our greatest geniuses. People like Oppenheimer, Schweitzer, Boxcar Willie...
- Mrs. Hurdicure's son: Sorry we're a few hours late, there, Ma, but you know how the kids... uh... hate old people.
- Mrs. Hurdicure's son: So I hear Dad's dead, hey is that eggnog?
- Chris: Cat on my head!
- Drill sergeant: YOU... ARE... SCUM! Do you hear me soldier?
Wally: Yes, sir!
Drill sergeant: Do you know what we are going to be doing today?
Wally: No, sir!
Drill sergeant: We are going to be doing push-ups all day, you and me, all day! [Wally smiles] Do you think that's funny soldier?
Wally: No, sir!
Drill sergeant: Well, just for that, you are going to be doing those push-ups with me lying on your back! You are going to discover muscles, you never knew you had! BIG... muscles, HARD... muscles!
Wally: Oh, yesss, sir!
[edit] Controversy
Two of the film's characters created minor waves in the media before its release. The first was Don Roritor, which many took to be a jab at producer Lorne Michaels. [1] [2] Michaels is famous for creating Saturday Night Live, and was responsible for bringing the Kids in the Hall to television. He's also known for a demeanor that some interpret as detached, and Mark McKinney mirrors his speech patterns almost exactly as the cold-hearted Roritor.
The second contentious character was Cancer Boy. Reprised from the final episode of the TV show, in a sketch that satirized the idea of being as offensive as possible, Cancer Boy is Bruce McCulloch dressed in a bald cap, with pale white makeup, and confined to 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. [3][4] Paramount Pictures fought extensively with the troupe to cut the offending scenes, 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. [5]
[edit] Reaction
The film opened to a lukewarm critical reception; of major critics, Siskel and Ebert were split; [6] Janet Maslin of The New York Times called it "[nothing] more than a sloppy showcase for the group's costume-changing tricks." Edward Guthmann at The San Francisco Chronicle, however, called Brain Candy "a splendid showcase for their diverse, frisky talents."
In the end, the film suffered poor box office returns. The Kids themselves have expressed mixed feelings over the finished product, most notably on the behind-the-scenes DVD of their 2000 tour, Same Guys, New Dresses. The troupe took a four year hiatus after Brain Candy 's release, though the break-up was already in motion even before filming went underway. [7]
[edit] Alternate title and ending
An original working title for the movie was The Drug. Bruce McCulloch came up with Brain Candy at the studio's behest for something more marketable.
Two endings were filmed, with the relatively more upbeat conclusion making the cut. In the alternate version of events, Dave Foley plays a crazed activist who leads a militant movement against GLeeMONEX. Chris Cooper is unable to cope with the mayhem his drug has created, decides to take it himself, and ends up lapsing into a coma.
The unused ending has not been officially released, but a leaked work print was widely traded among fans on the internet during the late 1990s.
