Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy (1996)

"Happiness pie"

Director

Kelly Makin

Cast

Dave Foley

Bruce McCulloch

Scott Thompson

Kevin McDonald

Mark McKinney

The Kids in the Hall! If you haven’t heard of this Canadian sketch comedy troupe, well…you probably didn’t watch Comedy Central back in the ‘90s.

The show The Kids in the Hall aired on Canada’s CBC from 1989 to 1995 and was produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels. It also aired through the cable network Comedy Central during that same era, and after. 

Chances are you’ve seen or heard at least one of the five members of the troupe (Scott Thompson, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and David Foley) somewhere on TV or in the movies. 
So, the Kids made one movie- Brain Candy. When this movie was advertised back in '96, I wanted to see it. I didn't think a lot of people knew about the Kids because not everyone had cable back then, 
In this movie, a huge pharmaceutical company, Roritor Pharmaceuticals, has a team of scientists working on something they hope to market to save the company. 

They introduce an amazing antidepressant drug, GLeeMONEX. Roritor rushes the new drug into production despite the need for more testing.

What GLeeMONEX does is bring those suffering from depression into their happiest memories so they can experience that same happiness again, and again. 

The "drug," as it's referenced in the movie, becomes an overnight sensation and makes one of its inventors, Chris Cooper (Kevin McDonald), a celebrity. 

We see the drug help a senior citizen, Mrs. Hurdicure (played fantastically by Scott Thompson) overcome depression, a husband, Wally Terzinsky (Scott Thompson, again) realizes that he's actually gay, and morose rock star, Grivo (Bruce McCulloch) turn into a gleeful musician who whimsically starts singing about "Happiness Pie."

But the drug's unknown side-effect starts kicking in among all who've taken it, locking brains into those happiest memories and leaving patients in a paralytic state of euphoria. 

I didn't laugh as much as I hoped I would. Nevertheless, I still found something really entertaining about Brain Candy. Part of it was the underlying social commentary about our individual pursuit of happiness that, no doubt for the majority of Western peoples, consists in our daily indulgences, no matter how small. 

We want our extra caramel sweetness drizzled on our $6 lattes. We want to call in sick to work and binge watch our favorite TV series. We want to give into our most secret fantasies in some way or another. And as long as we satisfy our day to day, hour to hour, desires and whims, everything else that gets in our way can take a hike. 

Upon the film's release, movie critic Roger Ebert called it, "awful, terrible, dreadful, stupid, idiotic, unfunny, labored, forced, painful, bad!" I wouldn't dig it that deep of a grave. Being familiar with the Kids' style of comedy, this movie was what I expected it to be- a risqué, perhaps tongue-in-cheek comedy. Each of the troupe members switching roles, even in the same scenes, might be distracting for some. As one critic from the New York Times said, this movie was a "sloppy showcase in the group's costume changing tricks." So, assuming Roger Ebert, and that New York Times critic were unfamiliar with The Kids in the Hall, I get where their criticisms are coming from. 

Nevertheless, I found this entertaining. The humor wasn't necessarily "ha-ha" funny, save for some of the clever visuals (i.e. Happiness pie). Rather, the humor was much more satirical. It's a decent comedy, but again, not meant for everyone.  

It's silly at times, and at other times feels a little too scattered in its story flow as famous Kids characters make cameos throughout to tell their own story while trying to tie it all to the main plot. The Kids surely wanted to make something their fans would appreciate. 

Members of the Kids in the Hall have appeared independently in various films and television.

Foley voiced the lead role of Flik in Pixar’s A Bug’s Life and was also known for playing Dave Nelson on TV’s NewsRadio…among so many other film and TV titles.

McDonald has also appeared in a huge variety of movies and television. I remember him (outside of The Kids) as Agent Wendy Pleakley in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch. His voice is completely recognizable.

McKinney spent some time on Saturday Night Live from 1994, staying on as a member of the cast until the end of season 22 in 1997.

McCulloch has released a few music albums in his career. He’s made cameos in programs such as Workaholics, Arrested Development, and Gilmore Girls.  

Thompson has definitely been around in film and television. His comedy and acting is really versatile. Thompson also appeared on The Simspons, The Larry Sanders Show, Aqua Teen Hunger Force - a lot of stuff.

After The Kids in the Hall, the troupe joined again for an eight-episode miniseries called The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town.

I watched the The Kids in the Hall regularly during its Comedy Central days. I was a teenager at the time so some of their comedy went over my head. But, to me, with their often risque’ subject matter, watching them was like a forbidden pleasure. The majority of the sketches in every episode consisted of members playing the female roles. 

There are a good number of lines and sketches from the show that have stuck with me to this day – McKinney’s Headcrusher character, sitting on lawn furniture and taunting passersby with the line, “I’m crushing your head! I’m crushing your head!” 
McDonald’s talk show host character Darcy Pennell with the opening jingle “Darcy, Darcy, Darcy Pennell. She makes your life a lot less hell. Darcy!”
And McCulloch's flying pig character - hilarious!

My favorite sketch from the series is McDonald as Sir Simon Milligan (self-described as "a man possessed by many demons – polite demons that would open a door for a lady carrying too many parcels – but demons, nonetheless!") hosting a show of dark arts, “The Pit of Ultimate Darkness.” During each sketch, he would summon his servant, Hecubus, played by Foley. One particular sketch with Sir Simon even makes me laugh as I think about it while typing this.

I never had the opportunity to see this movie until now.

It’s definitely comedy for a specific audience. I imagine that someone watching this with no idea of The Kids style of comedy will find this really, really strange and probably not very funny.

The best way I can describe The Kids comedy is Monty Python made specifically for the 90s, turning up the risqué to a bit more concentrated level. If Monty Python was the first to say “shit” on British TV (according to John Cleese during his eulogy for Graham Chapman) then The Kids would be the first to have a skit called "Cancer Boy."

Of course, their comedy goes beyond that. Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy is worth taking a look at. Hopefully it locks you into your perfect happiness.

Fun Fact Thingy: Before she was famous, actress Neve Campbell made an appearance in one Kids in the Hall sketch, playing a character named Laura Capelli.