In July 1991, I was the typical nine-year-old, perfectly content with my games of tag and peanut butter sandwiches, but the highlight of my childhood was always the cornucopia of quality-and not so quality-kid’s television filling the airwaves.
Unfortunately for us naive kids, the children’s television market was permanently rocked when a scraggly Paul “Pee-Wee Herman” Reubens was arrested in a Florida porno theater.
Because he wasn’t the first kids host in trouble for his on-screen antics (Soupy Sales once told kids to send him the little green pieces of paper from their parent’s wallets), it was only a matter of time before Hollywood tackled the issue, as it does in “Death to Smoochy,” with Rainbow Randolph as its corrupt star.
Randolph, villainously played by Robin Williams, hosts his own highly-rated kids show, complete with songs, dances and a packed audience of adoring child fans. Capitalizing on his cornered market, Randolph earns a little cash on the side by promising parents a prime spot for their children. That is, until the feds get wise.
His replacement is the oversized rhino Smoochy, Barney’s magenta offspring. Smoochy is the creation of squeaky-clean, Earth-loving Sheldon Mopes (Edward Norton), who is rescued from his methadone clinic gig to take over the reigns of the show.
Sounding more like the illegitimate son of Woody from “Cheers” than Barney, even Norton seems bored with his trite, sickeningly-sweet Mopes, who goes so far as to make all the show’s food out of organic products.
Completing the roster are the hackneyed evil studio executives, Nora Wells (Catherine Keener) and Frank Stokes (Jon Stewart). Frank and Nora, still reeling from their near-firing following the Randolph scandal, treat Sheldon as just another tool of big business, authorizing the whole line of Smoochy merchandise, despite Sheldon’s very vocal objections.
Both execs act like they fit in better with “The Devil’s Advocate”‘s John Milton than working for the wholesome-sounding KidNET. The characters reflect the major problem with the film; an almost total lack of originality. Coming off the dreary John Travolta bomb “Lucky Numbers” and the even-worse “Cabin Boy,” screenwriter Adam Resnick pulls out a very tired collection of unimaginative characters to fill his slow-moving plot. In all fairness, Resnick does show promise, with a too-far-and-few-between assortment of pure comedic gold (the phallic-shaped cookie being the hands-down funniest bit).
Luckily, the film is somewhat saved by its talented crew of actors. Boasting three Academy Award nominees (including a best supporting actor win for Robin Williams in “Good Will Hunting”), the cast can do little but shine. Taking a break from his usual up-lifting (and sometimes nauseatingly sweet) roles, Williams may have stumbled into a brand new genre. Randolph is the perfect continuation of Oliver Rose’s dark humor (Michael Douglas’ role in another of director Danny Devito’s films, “The War of the Roses”).
Devito, who also appears in “Smoochy” as Sheldon’s evil agent Burke, joined the directing big leagues in the late ’80s with his pair of dark comedies, “Throw Mama from the Train” and the aforementioned “Roses.” After an almost eight-year break from directing (his last being 1996’s “Matilda”), Devito returns with his standard style. Although a very competent director, Devito never takes any leaps in style, relying instead on his typical visual camera techniques. The picture choice couldn’t be better for Devito though, as he returns to his darker, and ultimately more entertaining roots.
By the final credits, the film accomplishes its goals of sometimes being laugh-out-loud funny, combined with a scary touch of “Sopranos”-like drama, but these moments are too spaced apart to really bring justice to this dark comedy. The top notch actors and director would have been better suited for a movie with more than one great joke.
Todd LaPlace is a sophomore in journalism. He thinks three of the four acting Oscars should have gone to people snubbed by the Academy (Supporting actress nominee Helen Mirren being the lone exception). He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
