Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy

Bold and totally off-the-wall comedy. Read full review

I wish the film had made its points a little more artfully and implicitly, rather than simply sticking them in McDonald and McKinney’s mouths, but Brain Candy has an overarching satirical vision that makes it much more than just an assemblage of mostly funny running gags and stand-alone bits. Read full review

The Kids in the Hall might be impossible to like if they didn't pursue their constitutional right to offend with such whimsy and joy. Even in their darkest moments, the comedy doesn't seem mean-spirited, and there is a righteous undercurrent that hints the guys care about their targets more than one might think. [19 Apr 1996, p.3]

Not to everyone's tastes then, but for fans of the show - big, big laughs. Read full review

The only way to enjoy Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy is to savor the performances and behavior quirks, and release the notion that plot is essential. Read full review

What's so great about Brain Candy is what's great about every classic comedy: it's thoroughly quotable, infinitely watchable and so rich with detail that you'll be laughing at something new every time you watch it. Read full review

The mad scientist/corporate heavy comedy is an odd combination of belly laughs and cerebral humor that will delight those familiar with the sketchcom troupe's antics. Read full review

A twisted comedy for twisted times, this movie made me happy. Go figure. Read full review

Brain Candy is not for kids. But adults, especially those cursed with a twisted, jaded or perverse sense of humor, will find plenty in it to laugh about. [12 Apr 1996, p.F12]

Brain Candy may be too safe a venture for the Kids in the Hall, but it still has more oddball charm than most Lorne Michaels-produced comedy on the big screen. [12 Apr 1996, p.68]

A cheesily entertaining effort that recalls the irreverent '50s comedies of Jerry Lewis. [12 Apr 1996, p.03]

The Kids' first movie is just all right. But there's enough good stuff in it to merit a sequel. [12 Apr 1996, p.F5]

There are a few good jabs at fame, advertising and sexuality along the way. But don't worry, nothing gets too serious in this silly, on-target movie. [15 Apr 1996, p.5D]

If you're not on the Kids' wavelength, this could quickly become annoying. So, for that matter, could their offbeat sense of humor, which isn't just dark but gleefully dark. But if you like this sort of thing, it's fun hopping around with the troupe as their movie's geography gradually becomes clear. [21 Apr 1996, p.A2]

The Kids in the Hall's first feature isn't anything more than a sloppy showcase for the group's costume-changing tricks, but sometimes its sheer chutzpah can be amusing. Just as often, flashes of complete plot incoherence or atrocious taste spoil the effect. Read full review

There are some very funny bits, but they're interspersed with long stretches of exposition that drag the whole thing down, down, down. Read full review

Cobbling together so many different characters (nearly all of them familiar to regular viewers) has left the Kids' feature debut as something of a letdown. We've seen it all before, and better, on HBO and Comedy Central. Read full review

Brain Candy is a good example of why not everything -- even a cult hit -- ought to be turned into a movie. [12 Apr 1996, p.6G]

Makin has a knack for comic jolts, and, apparently, little interest in the longer narrative arc that movies, no matter how unorthodox, require. [13 Apr 1996]

A quintet of Canadian TV comedians, hit the cinema screen with a splat. Read full review

Shrill and slovenly opus. Read full review

I felt the Kids were too busy being hip and ironic to connect at the simpler level where comedy lives. They were brought down by their own self-protective devices. Read full review

The first movie from the cult television comedy troupe doesn’t have a single good laugh. Read full review