Death to Smoochy (2002)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Danny DeVito

Writer (WGA):

Adam Resnick (written by)

Release Date:

29 March 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Musical | Thriller

Tagline:

Get ready for an unexpected hit.

Plot:

When he is fired for taking payola, the host for a children's television show plots revenge against his replacement, a rhino named Smoochy.

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Television | Network Executive | Ratings | Bribery

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Robin Williams	...	Rainbow Randolph
Edward Norton	...	Sheldon Mopes / Smoochy the Rhino
Catherine Keener	...	Nora Wells
Danny DeVito	...	Burke Bennett
Jon Stewart	...	Marion Frank Stokes
Pam Ferris	...	Tommy Cotter
Danny Woodburn	...	Angelo Pike
Michael Rispoli	...	Spinner Dunn
Harvey Fierstein	...	Merv Green
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Buggy Ding Dong
Craig Eldridge	...	Husband
Judy White	...	Wife
Tim MacMenamin	...	Danny
Bruce McFee	...	Roy
Glen Cross	...	Jimmy

Also Known As:

Tötet Smoochy (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sexual references.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA | UK | Germany

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #38779) | Iceland:LH (video rating) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | Germany:16 | Norway:7 | Philippines:PG-13 | Spain:13 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Features a shot of Catherine Keener whizzing a Frisbee at Edward Norton which is very similar to a shot in The War of the Roses (1989) which was also directed by Danny DeVito.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Rainbow grabs the light to smash the TV there is a bulb in it. But when we see him hitting it, there is no bulb inside the light.

Quotes:

[Randolf is pinned by Sheldon]
Randolph: Nooo! You're to close to the fire - the flames are driving me maaaaaad!

Movie Connections:

References American Psycho (2000)

Soundtrack:

The Friends Song

Latest version of NETWORK

Am I the only one who sees this as a modern spin on the movie NETWORK?!? The parallels are extraordinary. Both are about executives finding a new talent that they want to exploit to the general public, but when he becomes too popular, they want to get rid of him. Sure the outcome and general details vary, but the basic theme is virtually identical.

I'm going on the record to say I actually enjoyed this story a lot. The light fluffy delivery made a good contrast to the deep black ideas being played on. The leads played their characters to the right tone, and the supports showed off brilliantly. A wicked treat.