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Death To Smoochy
Studio: Warner Brothers
Year: 2002
Rated: R
Film Length: 109 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (1.85:1)
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Sometimes its nice to go against the grain. Despite
the bad reviews Death To Smoochy received
critically, this review is going to a positive one.
Popular children’s show host Rainbow Randolph
(Robin Williams) is the colorfully dressed star of
Kidnet's cable show until he is caught illegally
taking monetary bribes from parents to get their
own kids on the program.
In an effort to quickly replace his time slot with
a new show, TV bosses Nora Wells (Catherine Keener)
and Frank Stokes (Jon Stewart) comb the most
unlikeliest places to find struggling performer
Sheldon Mopes (Edward Norton), a rather holy fool
who instantly rises to stardom with his lovable
character of Smoochy, a purple rhinoceros who
vaguely reminds us of Barney the Dinosaur.
Flat broke and reviled, Smiley blames his successor --
Smoochy -- for his misfortune, and vows to kill him.
With a script that is smart, crafty and witty, Death
To Smoochy brings a sort of fresh originality to
the screen we don't often see. Both Williams and
Norton are at the top of their form here -- especially
Norton, who manages to project his character's sweet
innocence and naivete. Still, I think the movie failed
with most critics due to the fact that the script
becomes a bit sloppy at times, holding back the film
from really cutting loose and having a good time with
itself.
How is the transfer?
Warner doesn't seem to be breaking their track
record of releasing first rate transfers of their
current theatrical product. Once again we get an
absolutely crisp and detailed transfer that
rivals with the best the studio has to offer. What
will impress you most about this transfer is the
fact that just about every scene looks like a
candy store.
Filled with a vivid rainbow of colors, every
frame looks like Walt Disney threw up all over
it. This film never ceases to dazzle us with
its beauty. My notepad is filled with scribblings
that point out individual things to look for such
as Nora Well's red leather jacket, or the colorful
surroundings of the Kidnet television offices.
And as many times as I have been to Times Square,
I have never seen it look so beautiful than in this
film. As beautiful as Times Square looks, it's
amazing to see that Nora's hat and scarf become the
objects of attention with their deep vivid blue
colors. There is absolutely no film grain to be
seen anywhere in this transfer.
The 5.1 Dolby Digital mix is average. Most of
this film is heavy through the front channels.
Dialogue stays in the center channel while action
is nicely distributed left and right. The rears
are only sparingly used, providing effect noises
such as wind on a snowy Coney Island evening and
the faint sounds of the surrounding city. The LFE
channel seems to be totally nonexistent here.
Special Features
Warner Brothers has provided what they coin as
a "Rhino-Mite" selection of bonus features. Indeed,
this DVD does aim to please.
First of all, before I begin, I have a question.
Why has Warner Brothers opted to release a
separate FULL FRAME version of this DVD? The only
time they think of such a dastardly deed is when
it concerns a family title. The way they are
marketing this film makes me think that perhaps
Warner is unaware that this is the farthest thing
from a family title there can be. How many parents
are going to take a look at the misleading cover
and buy this for the kids?
Back to the review....
When you pop in the disc, you are greeted with
a clever animated menu that has child performer
Rainbow Randolph doing a few dances. Keep the
menu going for a bit and you'll see the story
progress into one that stars Smoochy himself.
First is up is a full-length commentary
by Director Danny Devito and Director of
Photography Anastas Michos. Danny is in rare
form, convincing you that this was the most fun
he ever had making a film, congratulating the
cast that really supported him. One of Danny's
favorite scenes to shoot was the Coney Island scene
(with its added snow) as the park was so close
to his heart. He recalls a story about going
to Nathans hot dogs as a kid. Watch the Hot Dog
that Sheldon pops in his mouth as Danny tells
you exactly what it is made of. Anastas is very
brief and low-key here, almost mumbling as he
talks about why he chose different camera angles
for different scenes. The contrast between him
and Devito is quite scary. As I continued listening
to this commentary I got the distinct feeling that
both these men were never in the room together,
thus, the commentaries seem that they are pasted
together. Danny was eager to work with Harvey
Fierstein as they worked together in a stage play
during the 70s. Working in Times Square was quite
a thrill for Devito, as they added their own
exclusive newsstand on 46th street. Anastas, on
the other hand, is very proud of the way they
sparked up the Kidnet offices adding lots of color
and spiral lighting. While the commentary is
often interesting, it sort of lacks any flavor due
to the fact that it loses its spontaneous energy
from what seems to be two separate recording sessions
spliced together as one.
The Behind-The-Scenes Documentary begins
with a whole lotta foot tappin' as several shots
show Williams, Norton and the midget cast practicing
their dance numbers. What follows is perhaps one
of the funniest featurettes I have yet to see, as
this featurette never has the opportunity to
take itself seriously. There's really very little
interviewing going on here. Instead, we get slapped
across our face with shot after shot of the cast
having a ball, shouting out profanities, and saying
whatever comes to their mind first. This is the
first REAL no-bullshit behind-the-scenes featurette
that shows us what really went on behind the scenes
without making itself a promotional vehicle. We even
get a look at some of the special effects shots
being done as well as the stand-in dance work that
was done by Olympic Figure Skater, Elvis Stojko.
Man, I wish all the featurettes on these DVDs were
as fun to watch as this one.
(length: approx. 7.4 minutes)
There are 10 additional scenes . They
include...
* Angelo introducing Rainbow Randolph at the
very beginning of the film.
* As replacements are sought for Smoochy, a
Japanese kiddie-show called Tinpan Tikashi is
considered.
* Rainbow Randolph, undercover in Times Square,
making a phone call to his old friend Angelo.
* A never used song called "Last Nappy Time",
which was a tribute to the fallen Spinner Dunn.
* A very bloody alternative ending to Merv Green
(Harvey Fierstein).
* A bathroom scene with Bugsy (Vincent Schiavelli)
about to do smack.
All of the added scenes are less than a minute
apiece. In total, they last about 6.25 minutes.
Most of it adds nothing to the film and was
obviously omitted for pacing concerns.
Bloopers and Outtakes seems to be the
rap party gag reel, and what a gag reel it is!
Set to up tempo music, we watch the cast flub
their lines, miss their cues, and do a whole
lotta shakin' for the camera. This is the kind
of stuff you wish went on forever, but unfortunately,
lasts for just under 5 minutes.
In Interactive Ice Show you take the part
of Director and call the shots by playing Smoochy's
ice show with your choice of different camera
positions. To be honest, you'll play with this
for a mere minute and probably opt to do something
else -- that is, unless you get frustrated if and
when your remote locks up on the feature like mine
did. Move on -- nothing worthwhile here.
Three of the film's original theatrical trailers
are included on this DVD, each with a different
perspective on promotion. Check out Danny's
Trailer to see the most interesting way the
filmmakers sought to promote this film.
The Magic Cookie Bag is an entire area full
of delicious extras. First up is almost thirty
behind-the-scenes stills that are sort of
fun to look at. Some Production Designs still
drawings show what the designers were originally
aiming for. Costume Design stills are
artist renderings of the characters that made up
the Ice Show as well of the layers of costuming
that made up Norton's Smoochy character. Other
Art Materials mainly show Kidnet promotional
posters and logos for their Rainbow Randolph and
Smoochy TV shows. Production Stills take
a close personal look at some of the character
shots from the film. Smoochy's Summer Vacation
is clever for only about 10 seconds, as it mainly
consists of pictures taken by Director of Photography
Tass Michos, where he inserts a Smoochy doll into
every picture frame. I suppose the only person
who thought this would be interesting to watch was
Tass Michos himself.
Finally, the usual cast and crew page enables
you to click upon any cast member or filmmaker listed
to see a complete filmography of their film and
television career.
DVD-ROM content enables you to link to
Warner Brother's theatrical website where you can
play games or check on-line events.
Final Thoughts
Despite what you may have heard, Death To Smoochy
is an amusing, outlandish black comedy filled with
all sorts of oddities, pulled off as best as possible
by William's maniacal madness and Norton's golly-gee
goodness.
Rent this one for sure. The supplements are well
worth the effort alone. Some of you may even opt
to buy this DVD afterwards.
Release Date: September 17, 2002
