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A grim—sometimes monoto nously so—look at one wo man's wallow in drugs, prosti tution, hipster life, and all the rest of the forties and fifties underground scene. Florrie Fisher was a not‐so‐nice Jew ish girl of a conventional, wealthy family. She was turned on to pot by a musician (re member when only musicians smoked?) and went on to hero in, cocaine, and anything else around. Her addiction lasted 20 years. She tells of her life as a prostitute (hubby was her pimp) quite vividly. At last she was cured by Synanon, has re married and begun a new ca reer helping addicts. Moral: Don't take that first toke, kids.

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The lonely trip back. As told to Jean Davis and Todd Persons

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The Lonely Trip Back

Florrie fisher.

212 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1971

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Strangers With Candy : “The Trip Back”

If you’re reading this, I probably don’t need to tell you that “The Trip Back” takes its name from the 1970 anti-drug film featuring the inimitable Florrie Fisher, the reformed yet totally unhinged addict-turned-motivational speaker who inspired Jerri Blank. We’ve seen her influence throughout the first season of Strangers With Candy, in places like Jerri’s severe, skunk-striped bob and garish makeup and her lectures warning the students of Flatpoint about the dangers of taking “just one snort of tick.” And now, as the first season draws to a close, we have what may be the most fitting Florrie Fisher homage of all: an episode in which Jerri backslides into addiction, only to almost decapitate her best friend. It’s a story so hyperbolic and ludicrous, even Fisher couldn’t have dreamed it up.

The end of freshman year is in sight and things are looking up for Jerri: She’s getting straight “D”s in Noblet’s class and, if she’s able to stay on the straight and narrow and maintain her just-barely-adequate performance, she’ll be a high school sophomore by the time she turns 47.  But, to quote a guy who, like Jerri Blank, knew a thing or two about the hooch, there are no second acts in American lives.

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Until now, Jerri’s kept her appetite for drugs and drink in check, but the one impulse she hasn’t kept under control is her raging, omnivorous libido, and in “The Trip Back” it proves to be her undoing. Within seconds of her conversation with Noblet, Jerri is being lured into a bathroom stall by Trish, a sexy blonde pothead. She pulls a joint and lighter out of her underwear, prompting what’s one of Jerri’s wittiest lines ever: “That’s quite a humidor you got there.” Not all that surprisingly, Jerri isn’t able to resist Trish’s “skunk weed.” The first hit doesn’t have a huge effect, at least not for Jerri, who closes her eyes and sees a maniacally laughing skull consumed by flames—“nothing unusual” for her. But by the second toke, the pot kicks in and Jerri has officially fallen off the wagon.

So rapid is her descent that by the time Derrick gets home from school, Jerri and Trish are spread out on the living room floor, fingers coated in Dorito residue, giggling hysterically over an operation on television. (“I’ve seen this one before. They untie her tubes,” says Jerri.) In a physical manifestation of Jerri’s descent back into drug addiction, her hair is suddenly a stringy, unkempt, and inexplicably long mess. She’s so far gone, she even mistakes Derrick’s basketball for a turkey and puts it in the oven—which is, of course, a sly twist on the dubious cautionary tale about the suburban mother who accidentally cooked her child during an acid flashback.

Jerri’s transformation does not go unnoticed. Orlando spies Jerri stumbling around the playground with Trish and shares his concerns with Principal Blackman, who in turn asks Officer Savillion—whom you might remember from “Old Habits, New Beginnings” —to go undercover at Flatpoint. His complete failure to blend in at school provides a very funny running gag throughout the episode: He asks one student where he can buy some “big, fat doobies” and later introduces himself to Noblet as the new student in school, even though it’s the last day of the year. Meanwhile, after Jerri fashions a bong out of clay in art class, Jellineck decides to take a break from art and talk to his students about the terrible effects of smoking “mari-hoo-wanna.” He confesses that a few years ago, he turned to pot during difficult times. “My plugs weren’t taking, my parents were brutally murdered, and I was fat,” Jellineck says.” “But you know something? The only thing it fixed was… my life.” He ends with possibly the least dire—and one of the most honest—anti-drug warnings you’ll ever hear:

“I know we’ve all read the scientific studies that say it’s not addictive and there are no side effects. But scientists don’t smoke pot, we do, and that’s the difference. Look, all I’m saying is if you still want to smoke pot, then be prepared to spend a lot of time laughing with your friends. Think about it.”

Terrifying, isn’t it? What? No? One of the things I’ve wondered throughout this season is whether Strangers With Candy ever really has a broader social or political point. I tend to think not; most of the time the show is, if anything, making fun of the idea of teaching lessons through television. But, arguably, this is one moment where it seems like maybe, just maybe, the show might actually be trying to say something. It’s also an instance that feels particularly Stephen Colbertian, even if Paul Dinello is delivering the line. Jellineck’s admonishment against smoking pot—that it will lead to having fun with friends—operates by the kind of logic Colbert uses on his show: Illustrate the flaws of a position by pretending to support it.

But hey, maybe not, because Jerri’s relapse does have some pretty disastrous results. First, she fails her history final in spectacular fashion, tracing the outline of her hand in response to the question “What was the capitol of France during the Nazi occupation?” Ever-loyal Orlando helps Jerri cram for the make-up exam Noblet has allowed her to take, but Jerri ditches the cram session to go on a legendary bender. What follows is, in my estimation, maybe the greatest comedic drug-’n’-drinks montage of all time (tied with the “trip to town” sequence from Wet Hot American Summer ), with Jerri doing progressively crazier things and eventually becoming a human joint.

The next morning, stumbling down the street in a drug-induced daze, she runs into Orlando. Amy Sedaris’ performance as Jerri Blank is so outrageous, it’s easy to overlook the quieter moments, but do yourself a favor and rewatch the second or two where hungover Jerri is silently walking down the street. Sedaris does “strung-out” better than any serious dramatic actor I can think of. She’s also pretty damn good at “high person pretending she’s not”: When Orlando tells her it’s noon and she’s missed the exam by five hours, she points her thumb at the sky like she’s double-checking him, then concedes his point. “Oh, no, right…” in a perfect stoner whine. Still, she won’t admit she did drugs. To prove her point, she does what any of us would do in the same situation: She takes Orlando’s sword and swings it around wildly. Naturally, because she is stoned, Jerri swings the weapon wildly and inadvertently slices her friend’s neck open.

Orlando barely survives. The good news for Jerri is he doesn’t remember the attack that landed him in the hospital; the bad news is she failed freshman year, has to start all over again in the fall, and spend her summer vacation in the slammer on drug charges. In any other universe, this would qualify as a disappointment, but on Strangers With Candy it’s anything but.

Stray observations:

• Jerri after her second hit: “I see a carnival of colors. I see grays and browns and grays.”
• Derrick’s latest excuse for not following through with threats against Jerri: “You are so lucky I’m a coward.”
• Sara: “You can’t help an addict until they reach rock bottom. Sometimes it’s important to help the process along.”
• Jerri: “I got on Indian underwear. It’s creeping up the trail.”
• “Let’s just say it’s a bong.”
• Trish, at the gym water fountain: “I’m a little dry.” Jerri: “I’m plenty wet.”
• Was that Officer Savillion giving Noblet a sponge bath in the hospital?
• Jerri to Orlando: “You were jumped by sexy, muscular black guys.”
• Jerri’s final line: “My asshole’s hungry, baby.”

The Trip Back (1970)

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The trip back.

Directed by Ralph Weisinger

Florence "Florrie" Fisher was a motivational speaker in the 1960s and 1970s who traveled to high schools in the United States, speaking about her past as a heroin addict and prostitute.

Florrie Fisher

Director Director

Ralph Weisinger

Avon Productions New York Daily News

Documentary

Releases by Date

01 jan 1970, releases by country.

28 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Will Sloan

This is one of the anti-drug scare films in the American Genre Film Archives and Something Weird Video’s The Scare Film Archives Volume 1: Drug Stories Blu-Ray. Most of them are kitschy bullshit, of course, but this one is amazing. It’s 28 minutes of a woman named Florrie Fisher — scion of a wealthy family turned heroin addict — delivering a furious stream-of-consciousness monologue about the dangers of drugs to an auditorium of teenagers. She yells and cries alarming stories about sleeping in bathrooms and prostituting herself and sleeping on shit-covered prison floors and countless other alarming incidents, with no structure but feverish passion. She’s an incredible speaker — imagine Judge Judy to the power of ten. Apparently she was the inspiration for the Amy Sedaris character from Strangers with Candy .

I was reminded a little of Klaus Kinski’s “Jesus” performances. You can find this short film online. Really, I mean it: check it out.

Review by Sex Ray Spex ⚡ 2

Surprisingly engrossing but hard for me to watch. Like, the luridness of Go Ask Alice was funny bc it was not written by an addict and that was obvious.

Sometimes it feels to me like addiction is the most misunderstood thing in America. And recovering addicts trying to save their souls through self flagellation and what they perceive to be good works is a whole other ball of wax. And don't even get me started on synanon

Review by Jack Russo ★★★½

" People say "give me statistics". The hell with statistics. I don't want a piece of paper with numbers on it, I am unto myself a statistic, the only statistic I need "

The fury and the flames in an addict's sermon on her shortcomings and all the suffering she endured. Informed by the drug den bathrooms and shit-smeared prison cells, scarred by the sights of junkies who eradicated their self in the pursuit of the ultimate high.

Less a scare film and more a scare tactic, Fisher strips the fear down to a vicious lecture that draws it conviction from its dual-status as a lurid confessional piece. It's almost entirely formless beyond the many recounts of jailtime and subsequent plunges into…

Review by Cody Workman 2

It’s interesting and compelling but...not entirely convincing...still worth a watch!

Review by MushiMinion 6

"YOU'RE TOLD WHEN TO EAT, WHAT TO EAT, HOW TO EAT, AND WHATTAYA EAT... BEANS A-AND AND AND... CORNBREAD! IN THE AFTERNOON! COFFEE A-AND AND AND GRITS IN THE MORNING. AND RICE AND HOGSHEAD CHEESE AT NIGHT!"

What happens when you hire a "motivational" speaker who is an ex-heroin addict scream and rant at your students for half-an-hour in a stream-of-consciousness fever dream. I suppose in that way she does make a pretty good argument against drug use, but not in the way she thinks she is. Funny enough, Florrie Fisher is the spitting image of Amy Sedaris from Strangers With Candy .

I've shared this story on another review somewhere, and I think it bares repeating. When I was in…

Review by mariocki ★★½

Watched out of curiosity as Strangers With Candy fans. Fisher is a force of nature, breathlessly monologuing for the entire film with barely a pause for questions. Her righteous zeal and her fire and brimstone concern for the youth of America are certainly something to behold; it's all thrown into sharp relief, however, once she casually mentions her connection to Synanon..

Review by Hatercles

As with all anti-drug productions, there’s great fun in mockery here. Florrie certainly gives ammunition in that regard, from addressing the “Negroes” in the class to dismissing the idea of giving statistical information to back her claims up. But on this rewatch I was really struck by how raw she is. She actually is a really good public speaker, and she knows how to deploy a raw bluntness, right from the beginning when she corrects the teacher introducing her by stating that she is not a former drug addict but is still and will always be one. Above all, whatever else you can say about her, she is authentic. Her warnings come from personal experiences rather than old wives tales, and again, she’s a real character that’s never boring to listen to. I don’t know that any anti-drug PSAs work, but I think this has a better chance than say Cartoon All-Stars.

Review by The Moirai ★

God, shut up lady

Review by Gregory⛧Joseph ★★★

[In a frothing rage, puffing on a cigarette] "I also know kids in Florida who smoked OREGANO, and anybody who cooks knows it's just an HERB! And they got a little dizzy or they got a little bitter taste and--man this is the end! You don't know what the hell you're doing, somebody gives you anything--catnip, y'know THYME--and rolls it up in a cigarette and you think you got high on it! That's how psychological it is! And I repeat: if you smoke marijuana, y'know if you THINK about smoking marijuana, there's something wrong upstairs and you do need a little psychiatric help!"

-Flory Fisher losing her mind during the q&a when a teenager asks an innocent question about what she would say to casual weed smokers who have no interest in the harder stuff.

Review by Chris Kirby ★★★

The tenth film in AGFA’s Drug Stories Vol 1

So this is the inspiration for Strangers With Candy, huh? Wow this lady is something else. She lived through hell and good on her for coming out the other side. But she still speaks with condescension and presumption and it turns this “motivational speech” into a wild sideshow of wild stories and tangent after tangent or streamed thought. 

I had to turn the volume down because I just couldn’t with her voice yelling for so damn long.

Review by Brahski

Watched this as a part of AGFA and Something Weird's Drug Stories! whic was a lot of fun! Scare ads and PSAs aren't my favorite, but I enjoyed myself.

The Trip Back was obviously a highlight (and I can't find the other films featured on letterboxd). Florrie Fisher is an icon and a monster. Gonna have to look into Strangers with Candy . Also, I was the girl crying they cut to randomly.

Review by JVJ

The best performance by an actress in the history of motion pictures is Sheryl Lee in TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME.

The second best is Amy Sedaris in STRANGERS WITH CANDY.

THE TRIP BACK is the proof - and best viewed with a crowd.

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The Lonely Trip Back Mass Market Paperback – August 1, 1972

• Print length 248 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Bantam Books
• Publication date August 1, 1972
• See all details

Product details

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000KA0V6S
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bantam Books; 1st edition (August 1, 1972)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 248 pages
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
• Best Sellers Rank: #7,337,334 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books )

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The lonely trip back.

As told to jean davis and todd persons, by florrie fisher.

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Florrie Fisher (1918-1972)

IMDbPro Starmeter See rank

• Writer (uncredited)

• Self - Author
• 1971 • 1 ep

• book "The Lonely Trip Back" (uncredited)

Personal details

• September 18 , 1918
• Brooklyn, New York, USA
• May 26 , 1972
• Miami, Florida, USA (heart and kidney failure due to complications from liver cancer)
• Spouses Rosinsky, Joe (divorced)
• 1 Print Biography

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• Trivia She was the basis for the character of Jerri Blank from Strangers with Candy (1999)

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