Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Kelly Makin |
Produced by | Lorne Michaels |
Written by |
Norm Hiscock Bruce McCulloch Kevin McDonald Mark McKinney Scott Thompson |
Starring |
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Music by | Craig Northey |
Cinematography | David A. Makin |
Edited by | Christopher Cooper |
Production
company |
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Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date
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April 12, 1996 (US) November 8, 1996 (UK) March 12, 1997 (France) |
Running time
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89 minutes |
Language | English |
Box office | $2,654,308 |
Brain Candy - Music From the Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
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Soundtrack album | |
Released | April 9, 1996 |
Genre | Movie Soundtrack |
Length | 52:28 |
Label | Matador |
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | link |
Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy a 1996 Canadian–American 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 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, was busy filming NewsRadio during the writing sessions. 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).
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. Michaels is famous for creating Saturday Night Live, and was responsible for bringing the Kids in the Hall to television. He is also known for a demeanor that some interpret as detached, and Mark McKinney mirrors his speech patterns almost exactly as the cold-hearted Roritor. However, Michaels produced the film, so he was fully aware of how he was depicted.