Watch Brain Candy

Brain Candy from 1996 is a bizarre and hilarious comedy film directed by Kelly Makin and produced by Lorne Michaels. The movie stars David Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Scott Thompson, and Mark McKinney from the Canadian comedy troupe "The Kids in the Hall." Brain Candy tells the story of a struggling pharmaceutical company that invents a revolutionary new drug, Gleemonex, which promises to cure unhappiness by eliminating all negative emotions.

The movie begins with a scene of a depressed businessman named Cooper (Kevin McDonald), who is so miserable in his life that he has been experiencing suicidal thoughts. His wife assigns him to see a therapist named Chris Cooper (Bruce McCulloch), who works for a pharmaceutical company called Roritor. Chris decides to test out the new drug, Gleemonex, on Cooper, which immediately puts him in an euphoric state. The drug causes Cooper to hallucinate that he is surrounded by giant flowers, glowing mushrooms, and dancing unicorns.

The word of the new drug spreads like wildfire, and the Roritor company's stock goes through the roof. However, things begin to spiral out of control as more and more people take the drug. For example, a young depressed girl named Marv (Mark McKinney) finds happiness for the first time in her life after taking the drug. However, she consequently experiences a nightmarish comedown that leads her to commit murder.

The pressure is on for the Roritor company to produce more of the drug, and they eventually run out of the key ingredient, which is the spinal fluid of a creature called a "pale whale." This leads Chris Cooper and his team to embark on a suicidal mission to find and extract more spinal fluid from the pale whale. In the midst of all this, the company's CEO, Don Roritor (also played by Kevin McDonald), becomes obsessed with beating his rival, a man named Sherrie (David Foley), in a televised fundraising event that will determine which of their companies will get the next big government contract.

Despite the numerous comedic moments in the movie, Brain Candy has an underlying and very pertinent message about the culture of happiness that pervades our society. The movie portrays how we try to eliminate everything that could potentially make us unhappy, whether it's through drugs or other means, leading to a homogenized and shallow existence. Notably, the movie features catchy musical numbers that satirize the various aspects of the pharmaceutical industry and popular culture.

Brain Candy is a unique and entertaining movie that will elicit both laughter and thoughtfulness from its viewers. The movie has a strong cast that does a superb job of bringing its vision to life. Whether you're a fan of the Kids in the Hall or just enjoy dark comedies, this is definitely a movie worth watching.