Death to Smoochy (2002)

Director:

Danny DeVito

Guionista (WGA):

Adam Resnick (written by)

Release Date:

29 marzo 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Musical | Thriller

Frase comercial:

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:

Murder | Kimchi | Phallic Cookie | Directed By Star | Box Office Flop

Awards:

1 nomination

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Very Underrated

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

También conocida como:

Tötet Smoochy (Germany)
Maten a Smoochy (Argentina) (video title) [es]
Smoochy (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sexual references.

Duración:

109 min

País:

USA | UK | Germany

Idioma:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sonido:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Clasificación:

South Korea:12 | Iceland:LH (video rating) | USA:R (certificate #38779) | 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

Trivialidades:

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: During Smoochy's "Step-Dad" song, the young, bored-looking little girl over his left shoulder repeatedly appears and disappears.

Quotes:

Randolph: Didn't she tell you of the love we once had. Passionate yet tender, old-fashioned yet experimental.
Sheldon: Randolph, you have lost your mind.
Randolph: Oh, enlighten the lad, Nora. You were such a hot little brood mare, does the bridle still fit?
Sheldon: Hey, watch your mouth mister!
Nora: What experiments? I've had firmer handshakes, ya drunk.
Randolph: Please, it's small but, it's fierce!

Movie Connections:

References Scarface (1983)

Soundtrack:

My Stepdad's Not Mean (He's Just Adjusting)

Very Underrated

I remember first seeing this film in theaters not knowing what to think. I decided to go when my friend invited me along and told me it was a dark comedy. Since I really like dark comedies and I had nothing better to do that day, I decided to see it. What I saw that day was one of the most memorable films of its kind ever made. The characters were intriguing, the story was compelling, and the film had a cleverly dark (very dark) sense of humor. The directing was great. It would be easy to direct it like you would a normal comedy. Since there were so many colors in the sets it would be a lot easier to direct it in the style of a kid's film, or something of a more innocent, strait-foreword nature. Fortunately DeVito was able to use color but still give the film its twisted horror-like look. Come to think of it, this is probably why the film caught so much of my attention; it had a children's fairy tale meets horror look to it. This isn't much unlike what Tim Burton does for his films, but what was so funny about this film was that this style of setting was used for and adult comedy. Not something I'd expect. Other than the unique sense of directing, what also made the film good was the clever script, and great acting. The films stars: Edward Norton, Robin Williams (who ultimately stole the show), Catherine Keener, and Danny DeVito, who were all excellent. Like the film they had the perfect balance of Drama and comedy. After all the good qualities this film had, I can not see why the critics gave it such bad reviews. Even IMDb, which I usually trust, did not do this film justice. I understand that this film isn't for everyone, but for all those people who love cult films, this should be no exception. Who knows why it got bad reviews. Maybe the world just isn't ready for a comedy that has a mature edge to it. Or maybe people just don't like comedies that are actually creative. Anyway there's only one thing I can say about the general public: Screw 'em. See this movie.

9/10