Death to Smoochy has got to be one of the ultimate “love it or hate it” movies. I think it’s absolutely hysterical and one of the funniest, sharpest critiques of pop culture entertainment that’s been put up on the big screen in years. Mercilessly directed by Danny DeVito and written seemingly without limits by Adam Resnick, the film opened to savage reviews and audience indifference back in 2002, but for me, easily ranks as one of the craziest black comedies in recent memory. Starring Robin Williams, in one of his absolute best performances, as a cracked-out and morally bankrupt children’s TV show host named Rainbow Randolph, the story charts his very public firing due to an off-camera bribery scandal, while detailing the rivalry that erupts between him and his replacement, a completely naive and ridiculous Edward Norton, doing unexpectedly great comedic work as a simpleton with his own costumed creation: Smoochy the dinosaur. The supporting cast was superb, with the likes of extra-sardonic Jon Stewart (dig the bowl cut!) and extra-hot Catherine Keener delivering some scaborous jabs towards at the TV industry, both playing jaded and cynical network execs who are mostly only interested in the bottom line. But the film is repeatedly stolen by the great character actor Michael Rispoli, who portrays a punch-drunk and mostly deaf former boxer who takes a shine to Norton and the Smoochy character, and who wants to get in on the fun himself. How his character is integrated into the plot yields some serious laughs. Pam Ferris, Harvey Fierstein and Vincent Schiavelli all landed some great jokes with perfect comic timing.
Death to Smoochy is a film that revels in its cruelty, delighting in the pschological terrorization of children, the mental anguish of numerous adult characters, and brazen comic violence that pushes the limits of taste and respectability on more than one occasion. In short, it’s fun for the entire family! It’s no surprise that DeVito ended up on the long running FX comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, as all of Death to Smoochy feels like it was cut from the same exuberantly devilish cloth as that wild and woolly show. The dynamite script leveld insults at everyone, never backing down from any challenge it presented to itself within the narrative, and finding the perfect balance between funny-nasty and outright off-putting. Cinematographer Anastas N. Michos knew exactly how to capture the harsh light of a TV soundstage, giving the picture a sickly visual texture that extends to the grotesque actions of the characters. The purposefully tacky production design was spot on, too. And damn, it really can’t be undersold how sexy Keener was here; she’d do similarly icy-hot work in Being John Malkovich, 8mm, Your Friends and Neighbors, and Full Frontal, before dropping a charming bomb in The 40 Year Old Virgin. This is a ribald, filthy, risk-taking, and completely mean spirited film, crafted with an anarchic spirit all throughout, and a work that deserved to gross a lot more than $9 million at the domestic box-office.
Podcasting Them Softly 