Death to Smoochy
Cast
Robin Williams as 'Rainbow' Randolph Smiley
Edward Norton as Sheldon Mopes/Smoochy the Rhino
Catherine Keener as Nora Wells
Danny DeVito as Burke Bennett
Jon Stewart as Marion Frank Stokes
Director: Danny DeVito
Rater #2 has description and Review.
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie
Rater #2
6/10. Death to Smoochy does to kids shows as The Man Who Wasn't There does
to hair: you'll never look at it in the same way again. This movie
shows the dark underworld of kiddie programming.
Rainbow Randolph is a popular kids show host, whose songs
like "Friends Come in All Sizes" are crowd pleasers. However, during
a sting operation, he is arrested for accepting bribes and gets
replaced by Smoochy the Rhino, aka Sheldon Mopes, who is "a walking
bottle of maple syrup." Of course, Randolph is mad, so he attempts
to get Smoochy off the air and kill him. I'll bet Barney and Seseme
Street have the same sort of feud going on.
Enjoyable and sometimes funny, Death to Smoochy is best when
showcasing Edward Norton, who is Smoochy, and Robin Williams, who is
Randolph, together. They have chemistry together, but Catherine
Keener gives another lackluster performance. She could always
perform better, but she was better in this than Being John
Malkovich. She has potential, she just doesn't use it. Norton,
although not the caliber of Fight Club, did perform excellently as
the na�ve children's star. Williams puts in yet another great
performance. Other characters, such as Danny DeVito as Smoochy's
agent, Jon Stewart as a person for the TV company, and Harvey
Fierstein as a bad guy, did well. Also, the Irish mob is involved.
Another aspect I liked about this movie was that it also had some
song/dance numbers, playing like a silly semi-musical. Smoochy and
Randolph both have a few songs, and, out of the blue, Randolph
dances. Very entertaining.
DeVito, who also directed this movie, could have made it a little
less dark (dark comedies are not my favorite), but I enjoyed
watching this movie, although I didn't laugh all that often. Despite
what the covers may say to you, this is not a kid's movie, even
though it has characters like that on it.
Also, many wacky analogies were used (it reminded me of Judge Harm
on The Simpsons), which made me laugh a lot. The ending isn't a
complete surprise, but it isn't totally predictable either, making
Death to Smoochy a good rental some day.
Rater #3
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #4
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #5
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rated R for language and sexual references.
Running time: 109 minutes
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