Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20883 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-04-18
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 105 minutes

DVD Description
Children's television … it's a cut-throat world. Fired from his hit kid's show after a bribery scandal, Rainbow Randolph star Randolph Smiley (Robin Williams) finds himself out on the street and replaced by squeaky-clean Sheldon Mopes (Edward Norton), an all-round do-gooder who entertains kids dressed as a lovable purple rhino called Smoochy.

Much to Randolph's anger, The Smoochy Show is a huge hit, but he isn't about to take it on the chin. He sets out on an unrelenting smear campaign, hoping to drag Smoochy's name through the mud with a series of increasingly aggressive schemes. But Randolph is only a part of the problem. What with merchandise spin-offs, an on-again-off-again romance with network exec Nora (Catherine Keener) and the unwanted attentions of a shifty agent (Danny DeVito) and some Irish gangsters, Sheldon's honourable intentions are coming under fire from every angle. Led by a hilarious Robin Williams and directed by Danny DeVito, Death To Smoochy is a seriously twisted look at the lengths to which some people will go to hold onto fame.

Special Features

• Trailer
  
• Cast and crew interviews
  
• Director's commentary
  
• Behind the scenes
  
• Additional scenes and songs
  
• Bloopers and out-takes

DVD Technical Information:

• Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Anamorphic
  
• Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital 5.1
  
• Disc Type: Single sided dual layer - DVD-9
  
• Colour
  
• PAL
  
• Subtitles: English for the Hard of Hearing
  
• Region Code: 2
  
• Running Time: 105 mins approx.

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 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.

Customer Reviews

Class!
Absolutely hilarious in bits.

I'm not a huge Robin Williams fan (he should have a quality control valve fitted), but he made me laugh until I wept in a couple of parts of this film. It would appear that while he was allowed to ad-lib, the director/producers restrained him from going too far off-subject. The scene where he moves from courthouse to car is the highlight of his entire career.

Someone before me remarked that the film is patchy, which is true, but it is definitely worth a watch. Williams is excellent, Norton good, while not having to do too much and Keener's not bad. Highly recommended!

shocking!
this movie was terrible it didnt keep me intrested and the storyline was slow. the characters also were unbelievable and over-the-top. all in all a shockingly bad movie!

Dire, misguided, unfunny garbage
When children's entertainer Rainbow Randolph (Robin Williams) is fired from his television show for taking a bribe, he is replaced by the idealistic Sheldon Mopes (Edward Norton), who wears a purple rhinoceros suit and is the Smoochy of the title. What follows is a film where almost everyone overacts like this is the one chance they'll ever get to mug like a loon, while the story grabs for every meagre laugh it can get and misses pretty much every time.

Norton, one of the most talented actors working today, is atrocious in this one, giving a woefully misjudged performance as Sheldon/Smoochy. How are we supposed to take this character seriously if Norton can't even do it himself? Catherine Keener, one of the most talented actresses working today, fares a little better, but it's almost painful to watch her struggling with such horrible material. Plus, you've got Robin Williams, who has always divided his time between doing some decent acting and being incredibly annoying. Guess which way he goes in this one?

It would be easy to devote another dozen paragraphs to describing why this film is so awful, but, really, why bother? Death To Smoochy is far too stupid and exaggerated to work as the satire it sometimes wants to be, and is not nearly funny enough to entertain as a conventional comedy.