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Movies / On DVD / Death to Smoochy
Death to Smoochy

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Death to Smoochy (2002)

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Reviews Counted:25

Fresh:3

Rotten:22

Average Rating:4/10

Consensus: The talent involved can't save a script that has nowhere to go with its promising premise.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language and sexual references

Runtime: 2 hrs 23 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Mar 29, 2002 Wide

Box Office: $8,308,230

Synopsis: Robin Williams goes berserk as Rainbow Randolph, the disgraced host of a children's television show, in director Danny DeVito's fast-paced satire, DEATH TO SMOOCHY. Busted by the Feds for accepting... Robin Williams goes berserk as Rainbow Randolph, the disgraced host of a children's television show, in director Danny DeVito's fast-paced satire, DEATH TO SMOOCHY. Busted by the Feds for accepting a bribe to get a child on his show, Randolph gets booted from his network, Kidnet, and is replaced by the earnest do-gooder Sheldon Mopes (Edward Norton), who plays Smoochy, a loveable pink rhino with a strong resemblance to Barney. Sheldon sums up his own personality with a classic line, "When my brothers and I played cowboys and Indians, I was always the Chinese railroad worker." As Sheldon becomes a superstar, Randolph plots his revenge. Sheldon's refusal to push cheap toys and sugary drinks angers the Kidnet execs, especially tough-as-nails Nora (Catherine Keener). Sheldon also runs up against the Irish mob and his agent (DeVito) gets him into trouble with a corrupt charity. Meanwhile, Nora finds herself falling for the principled performer. Robin Williams is amazing, completely shedding his "nice guy" persona and making the shockingly foulmouthed kiddie show host simultaneously hilarious and frightening. Norton does a great job of winning the audience over to his buffoonish but truly good hearted character. He and Keener lend heart to the scathingly funny script by Adam Resnick. [More]

Starring: Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, Danny DeVito

Starring: Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, Danny DeVito, Jon Stewart, Harvey Fierstein, Michael Rispoli, Pam Ferris, Danny Woodburn, Vincent Schiavelli, Elvis Stojko

Director: Danny DeVito

Director: Danny DeVito
Screenwriter: Adam Resnick
Producer: Andrew Lazar, Peter MacGregor-Scott
Composer: David Newman
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Release:

Sep 17, 2002

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Reviews for Death to Smoochy

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/06/02
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
11/05/02
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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A dark comedy that blows up like an exploding cigar, leaving nothing much behind but smoke, noise and a bad taste.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
07/20/02
Michael Wilmington
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Death to Smoochy is often very funny, but what's even more remarkable is the integrity of DeVito's misanthropic vision.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
04/02/02
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice
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I'm sure that some country, maybe France or something, will hail this as a work of genius, because it is so incredibly awful.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
04/01/02
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
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A blacker than black comedy.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
03/29/02
Michael O'Sullivan
Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post
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This is a particularly toxic little bonbon, palatable to only a chosen and very jaundiced few.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
03/29/02
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
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An annoying, strident misfire.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
03/29/02
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
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In Death to Smoochy, we don't get Williams' usual tear and a smile, just sneers and bile, and the spectacle is nothing short of refreshing.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
03/29/02
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
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The cynicism is colossal, the casting superb: Norton may be the only actor alive who could pull off a character like Sherman, without making him either an idiot or a parody.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
03/29/02
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday
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The comedy Death to Smoochy is a rancorous curiosity: a movie without an apparent audience.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/29/02
Liam Lacey
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
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Loud, obscene, obvious and endlessly, assaultively repetitive, Death to Smoochy stands as a classic case of a bad thing happening to good actors.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
03/29/02
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News
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For all its calculated cruelties, Death to Smoochy never gets as down and dirty.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
03/29/02
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
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This is the kind of stinker that emerges every so often from Hollywood when major 'talent' -- Danny DeVito and Robin Williams, in this case -- get it into their heads that something disastrously unfunny is hilarious.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
03/29/02
Steven Rosen
Steven Rosen
Denver Post
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The script boasts some tart TV-insider humor, but the film has not a trace of humanity or empathy.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
03/29/02
Loren King
Loren King
Boston Globe
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
03/29/02
Arizona Republic
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The premise is silly enough to wring out some laughs, but the plot plays out disappointingly.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
03/29/02
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Death to Smoochy is so off-the-wall that it may well ultimately acquire the cult status of Resnick's earlier Chris Elliot vehicle, Cabin Boy.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
03/29/02
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
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Latest News for Death to Smoochy

January 05, 2006: Jon Stewart to Host the Oscars!
Every news outlet, movie site, and cine-blog is reporting the news, so I'll just cite good ol' ComingSoon.net as our source, but there's the good news: Everyone's favorite... More...

January 03, 2006: Vincent Schiavelli Passes at 57
Character actor Vincent Schiavelli, the long-faced veteran of over 150 film and television appearances, died of lung cancer December 26 at home in Sicily. He was 57 years old. More...

February 25, 2002: It should be noted that when 'black comedies' push the envelope too far, their subsequent box office suffers. Prime recent examples would be: Freddy Got Fingered, Very Bad Things, Whipped, and Jawbreaker. Opens in new window
More...

February 06, 2002: The working environment of the shoot may have been buoyant, but as DeVito points out, the film at times is anything but. Opens in new window
More...

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