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To those who regularly tuned into the Comedy Central television show, which aired from April 1999 to October 2000, Jerri Blank (Amy Sedaris) is no stranger. A self-confessed “boozer, user, and loser,” 47-year-old Jerri finds herself back in school at Flatpoint High where she vows to start her life over right where she left off.

Strangers with Candy acts as a prequel to Comedy Central’s episodes. Unlike the show, which provides a near solid half hour of both intelligent and sarcastic humor, the 97 minute film gets a bit dry and predictable, grabbing certain scenes directly from previously filmed episodes of the show.

Jerri ran away at the ripe age of 15, and after having spent years in prison she returns to her childhood home to find that her father (Dan Hedaya) has been in a coma for 32 years. Her stepmother (Deborah Rush) provides cruel and honest support for Jerri as she tries to bring her daddy back by becoming the perfect daughter and student that she never was.

What makes this film hilarious are the little things, like when Jerri’s stepmother is woken up by a honking horn on what is to be Jerri’s first day of school. After a small fit of rage her stepmother backs the car out of the driveway and drops the 47-year-old off at school, which is right across the street. When Jerri bids her farewell, other students start to make fun of her for getting a ride and she curses her stepmother, ending with “pick me up at 3:30,” under her breath.

After making friends with some nerds at school, Jerri decides to make her daddy proud by winning Flatpoint’s science fair. The three team up to beat the popular kids who are led by “science fair extraordinaire” Roger Beekman (Matthew Broderick). Resident Christian science teacher Chuck Noblet (Stephen Colbert) sees Beekman’s participation as a personal threat from Principal Blackman (Gregory Hollimon), who brought Beekman in for the fair.When Jerri’s teammate Megawatti (Carlo Alban) comes up with the plans for a superconductor, Brason (Chris Pratt), a preppy hunk on the opposing team, has to steal a kiss or two from Jerri in order to win the science fair by taking Megawatti’s plans.

As Jerri deals with her crush on her other teammate, Tammi (Maria Thayer), Megawatti’s crush on her, and her confusing and hilarious relationship with the studly Brason, 47-year-old Jerri keeps you laughing with some of the best physical comedy ever brought to screen. Anyone who knows of Stephen Colbert’s scorching wit from either Comedy Central’s Daily Show or the Colbert Report can expect the same straight-faced satirical genius in Strangers with Candy. The film, written by Colbert, Sedaris and Dinello offers viewers a mix of well-written dark comedy and improvisation.

Strangers With Candy was originally set to be released in October of 2005 through Warner Independent Pictures, but there were cocerns that the producers didn’t secure all the necessary rights. It was the first full-length feature film to be produced through David Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants. While both sides say that all rights were acquired from Comedy Central, Warner insists that there were other outstanding issues.

What viewers must understand before seeing this film is that many of the jokes are anticlimactic or don’t even have a punch line. It is the kind of humor that is funny because it is awkward, ironic, and not too obvious. Strangers with Candy pokes fun at the adults in a high school setting, rather than the students. Casting a 47-year-old main character to weave them all together makes for a ridiculous 97 minutes.