Movie Review: Death to Smoochy

Death to Smoochy (2002) 

Directed by Danny Devito

Written by Adan Resnick 

Starring Edward Norton, Robin Williams, Catherine Keener, Jon Stewart, Pam Ferris

Release Date March 29th, 2002

Published March 28th, 2002

I'm not one of those people who harbor a visceral hatred for kids show hosts. Frankly if you feel the need to, even jokingly, take the life of one of the Teletubbies, you need to examine your anger issues. Nonetheless if you are one of the degenerates who sign online petitions to have Barney drawn and quartered, you may be just the audience for Death To Smoochy.

Smoochy is, at first, the story of kid’s show icon Rainbow Randall. On TV, Randall is a paragon of childish virtue and off-screen he is a boozing, drugging womanizer who makes cash under the table selling prime space on his show for parents who want their kid on TV. After the IRS catches up to Randall, he loses his show and eventually his mind. Enter Sheldon Mopes AKA Smoochy the Rhino played by Edward Norton. Smoochy is a good-hearted vegetarian who spends his free time performing his unusual kid’s songs at methadone clinics. After being discovered by a TV executive played by Catherine Keener Smoochy moves onto primetime TV and becomes the sick obsession of Randall.

There are also subplots involving Jon Stewart's network executive and Danny Devito's talent agent conspiring with an evil charity organization to put on an ice show and something to do with Irish mobsters. Honestly once you get to the mobsters, the film has become so incoherent you don't care why they are in the movie. There are a few funny moments in Smoochy, especially Norton's weird and creepy kids songs that I pray are on the film’s soundtrack. Also, the film’s ice show climax is so amazingly elaborate and over the top it almost saves the picture.

Unfortunately those moments lack the proper context to be truly funny, and the films narrative structure, or lack thereof, ruins any of the films remaining comic potential.

Though Norton and Williams are funny, the supporting performances are not, especially Keener whose innate intelligence renders her unable to sell the film’s broadly comic setups. In the end, Death To Smoochy is an occasionally funny mess that wants to be a dark comedy, but turns out to be just plain dark.