Movie Review: Death to Smoochy (2002)
Starring: Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, Danny DeVito, Jon Stewart
Director: Danny DeVito
Writer(s): Adam Resnick
Studio: Warner Bros.
Rating: R
Official Bar Score: 
This all-star cast will go down in my book as one of the funniest, best made movies of all times! Directed by Danny DeVito, this film takes the children’s television world to a rated R level. Rainbow Randolph (Robin Williams), the teenybopper idol de jour, has the nation’s childrens industry locked, marketing himself on everything from cereal to dolls to ice shows. His popularity craze and rising bank roll turns the actor greedy, thus making him turn to accepting bribes from parents who want their children to be stars. After accepting a bribe from a pair of FBI agents, Rainbow gets busted and fired and in turn loses all of his perks, money, and respect. Executives of the network, Kidnet, the host of Randolph’s show, Nora Wells (Catherine Keener) and Frank Stokes (John Stewart) must find a new wholesome character to fill his shoes. After reviewing less than promising options, they settle on Smoochy the Rhino, Sheldon Mopes (Ed Norton), a health food eating, tree hugging, neo-hippie who’s recent gigs include singing drug jingles in methadone clinics. Mopes, however, refuses to play by Kidnet’s rules, insisting that Smoochy should not be a commercialized property, but an educational, ethical program. Meanwhile, Sheldon’s sudden success puts Rainbow over the deep end, as he sets out to sabotage the innocuous image of Smoochy.
Supporting the movie were some also wise casting choices; Harvey Fierstein as the leader of a mafia-like corrupt charity organization, DeVito himself as Smoochy’s slimy agent and Vincent Schiavelli as a heroine addicted assassin.
The movie is filled with hundred of one liners, funny jingles (”But my step dad’s not mean, he’s just adjusting”), and fantastic backgrounds full of vibrant colors and shapes. It also features a group of midgets, excuse me, little people, which always makes a movie just a little more funny. (Oh wait, I already mentioned DeVito).
“You better grow eyes in the back of your head, you horned piece of shit, because I’m not gonna sleep until worms are crawling up your foam-rubber ass! I’m goin’ on safari motherfucker! SAH-FAR-I!”
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Great review. This movie is fucking hilarious. When Smoochy rolls into the Nazi rally, I lose it every time.
Thanks:) I tried to avoid all the bells and whistles and rickety rackety! I love the quotes from this movie. “When my brothers and I played cowboys and Indians, I was always the Chinese railroad worker.” Classic.
i have no quotes so this film was not all that great. if i could remember any then i would say classic but i think its more along the lines of say 4. i remember laughing my ass off but not any lines.
So you have to remember the lines for it to be a classic?
I think it would have to be a good movie for it to be classic.
Dude this movie isn’t good, it’s great. Dark comedy at it’s finest.
I never heard you preach it’s greatnest before
We have had this argument before. Why would I beat a dead horse?
To make sure it’s dead. You can never be sure with those fuckers.
C’mon fellows! What’s wrong with you?!?! Ive never laughed so hard in my life. Read on. “Captain Kangaroo, like Jesus Christ, was someone you could really believe in. With those guys it wasn’t about the bells and whistles and the rickety rackety, it was all about the work. Especially Jesus. Forget about it.” That’s the best analogy in the history of movies! The casting and the script were genius. Top movie for me, by far, along with Fight Club and American History X. Yeah, that’s right! Ed Norton is all about the work. Forget about it.
ROBIN WILLIAMS’ BEST FUCKING MOVIE EVER HANDS DOWN!
Nah.
1. “Insomnia”
2. “Good Will Hunting”
3. “Death to Smoochy”
no way man good will hunting was more of matt damons movie than robin williams in my opinion performance wise…and insomnia is good but didnt stand out to me too much
Are we talking performance? Then I would say:
1. Insomnia
2. Good Will Hunting
3. The Fisher King
I fucking love Insomnia. Robin Williams surprised the shit out of me. Not once did I think he was goofy. He actually kind of disturbed me.
you should watch one hour photo. that charactor is creepyer then any other role he has ever played. made me fucking parinoid for weeks about every person i met. and yes if you have at least two to three lines and one scene after one veiwing i would say classic in a heart beat but what do i know, im just some fucked up shit head on the Internet.
Death to Smoochy? More like “Life to the Saved”! PRAISE THE LORD!!
Mattrix, “One Hour Photo” was about as good as spoiled communion wine.
i thought you guys drank like piss and ate shit at cummonmion but hey to each there own me one hour photo freaked me out those were the heavy drug days though.
Hahahahahaha The Stormin’ Mormon is Matt’s mortal enemy.
Mattrix, mattrix, mattrix… Jesus may love you, but I think you are a masturbating heretic.
HERETIC?!?!?! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I AM? I WAS ONCE A CHRIST LOVING LITTLE BASTARD LIKE YOU,just not mormon thank alia,odin, loke, satan, god jesus and budda. but i had a change of heart. your god faild me. he was on a smoke break, again. chain smoking motherfucker. so i seached all religons including mormonism, there all the same if your as good as you can be god loves you and still drops shit on you. if your bad he loves you but drops more shit on you. so now i am egnostic. i belive there is something out there but wether his name is god to bob i dont know, all i can say is that while im here on this plane of excistance i will do as i please. the price will be paid im sure but from whom the judgment comes i dont know, nor do i care. but for me to be a heretic i would have to have the same religon as you and then take it to the most extreme. like the suicide bommers in the middle east, or the cathlics and prodastants in ireland. or some even darker shit than that, but i will not go that far yet. i still belive in the golden rule start no shit there will be no shit, and if it gets started with you finish it! but yes i do masturbate and thats just the tip of the ice burge.
If you sit on your hand until it’s numb and then masturbate, it’s called “The Stranger”
the remake was good but the origonal gone in 60 seconds was a hour long car chase i loved it the second one wasnt great though to futureistic.
I have never seen the original actually, but I liked the remake. But I feel you Matt, car chases pre-computers were better. Watch “The French Connection” for real. Best chase scene ever.
i tell you what lets have a chase week. we can do the bourne chase scenes then the french connection then both gone in 60 seconds and transporter thats the cool shit right there the evolution of the car chase.
Matt, that is a brilliant idea. You know what’s a bad ass chase scene? Hummer vs. Ferrari in “The Rock”.
now that is a classic chase yes