When Amy Sedaris turned her face into a gargoyle as Jerri Blank for the Comedy Central series "Strangers With Candy," something bracingly absurd hit the small screen. The menopause-meets-puberty concept put a 47-year-old ex-con back in high school; the comic results often as smart as they were outrageous. Reuniting Sedaris with series co-creators and co-stars Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello, this film prequel to the sitcom -- the first big-screen production of David Letterman's Worldwide Pants -- offers more laughs than most comedies of recent vintage.

Subscribe to the Hollywood Reporter and see the entertainment industry from its best angle: the inside looking out. Complete access to real-time news and exclusive analysis that goes behind the scenes from film to television, home video to digital media.

   Subscribe now.