Brain Candy - Premise and Characters

Premise and Characters

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.

• Marv (Dave Foley) is Roritor's assistant. Despite their seemingly close relationship, he actually dislikes Roritor to the point that his happiest memory is having someone urinate in his boss' latte (Roritor's happiest moment, ironically, is drinking the concoction).
• Alice (Bruce McCulloch) is a fellow scientist, and apparent love interest of Chris. She eventually watches from a distance as he slips away into celebrity.
• Grivo (Bruce McCulloch) is a rock star (evidently a parody of Glenn Danzig) famous for his bleak lyrics, as well as a general indifference toward his audience, fame, and music. After taking the drug, Grivo switches to jangly, upbeat pop music; his song "Happiness Pie" becomes an anthem for the post-GLeeMONEX world and wins an MTV Video Award for Best New Video.
• Chris Cooper (Kevin McDonald, Jason Barr, younger) is the inventor of the drug, and main protagonist of the film. He is motivated by the clumsy suicide of his father (also played by McDonald) to create a cure for clinical depression, but quickly gets swept up in the resulting fame.
• Don Roritor (Mark McKinney) heads Roritor Pharmaceuticals, founded on his invention of the drug Stummies (likely a play on Tums or Rolaids). He has a close but contentious relationship with his spineless assistant, Marv. (Roritor's speaking style is openly derived from McKinney's notorious impersonations of producer Lorne Michaels.)
• Mrs. Hurdicure (Scott Thompson) is an old woman who initially is severely depressed and an early test subject for GLeeMONEX (referred to as "Patient 957"). Her happiest memory is shown to be a brief and obligatory Christmas visit from her son, played by Dave Foley. The drug quickly whips her out of the depression, but she inevitably becomes the first victim of its side effect.
• Wally Terzinsky (Scott Thompson) is a husband, father, and closeted homosexual. Wally masturbates to gay pornography, frequents public bath houses, and was sexually active with men during his military service - but remains unaware of his sexual orientation. He is prescribed GLeeMONEX by a frustrated therapist, (Dave Foley) ("You're gay. I know it, your family knows it... dogs know it!"). His happiest memory is a homoerotic Army mission fantasized by Wally while being chewed out by his drill instructor (Mark McKinney). Wally finds himself standing considerably closer to his drill instructor when through fantasizing. Shortly after this, he finally admits (via song and dance) that he is in fact homosexual. The character is an obvious variation on the TV show's dimwitted Danny Husk (Kevin McDonald as his wife in both the movie and series).

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).

• Ginny Hurdicure (Kathryn Greenwood)
• Raymond's kid (Amy Smith)
• Raymond's kid (Lachlan Murdoch)
• Cooper's groupie (Nicole de Boer)
• Cooper's groupie (Krista Bridges)
• Wally Jr. (Christopher Redman)