Extras:
Deleted Scenes, Audio Commentary, Art Galleries,
Behind-the-Scenes documentary, Interactive Ice Show, Theatrical
Trailers, Bloopers and Outtakes.
Director:
Danny DeVito
Screenplay:
Adam Resnick
Cast:
Rainbow Randolph: Robin Williams
Sheldon Mopes/Smoochy: Edward Norton
Burke: Danny DeVito
Nora: Catherine Keener
Stokes: Jon Stewart
What is it with Warner lately?
You've got to be feeling a little pitty
for them after their string of high budget flops. Death to Smoochy,
Adventures of Pluto Nash,
Battlefield: Earth and the very recent
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (which, upon seeing, you can tell why it was
postponed for a year). But for each of these there is a
Scooby Doo
that I'm not mentioning. It's not that Warner is hard up for money or
anything like MGM but all three of those up there were around $90 million
each (Ecks was $70m with $20m added in for marketing) and they have to take
a hit somewhere.
With that said, the critics hated Death to Smoochy so much that you may
have been wavered away from it. And I have to agree, it's not a movie
best viewed in theaters. But rather, it's a movie that can be fully
appreciated at home without noisy idiots around you and such. You're not
going to find gold here but look hard enough and you may pick up on the
vibe the Smoochy has emanating.
Death to Smoochy seems like a simple plot. The kids showbiz is really
just full of a bunch of money greedy bastards, When kid show host
Rainbow Randolph (Robin Williams) is caught in a bribery scandal, his
show falls down around him. The show's owner, KidNet needs a new mascot
so they choose a cheesy stuffed rhino named Smoochy (played by Edward
Norton). Smoochy believes in making kids laugh and refuses to see the
dark side of the biz.
Meanwhile, old Rainbow Randolph isn't all rainbows and sunshine about
this rhino taking his place atop the kiddy kingdom. He devises a series
of ill-fated plots to thwart Smoochy. But Randolph isn't the only one
who wants death to Smoochy. An executive at KidNet thinks Sheldon Mopes
(Smoochy) is getting to big for his britches and sees money in his
death. Now Sheldon must cope with the real side of the biz and how to
keep it clean while avoiding Randolph and others who want to do him in.
The real highlight here is Robin Williams. His scenes are, for some
reason, hilarious. I love the scene in the flick where he gets on the
phone with Sheldon and tells him he's going on safari ("I'm going on a
safari rhino, safaaaari!") and numerous others. I've always enjoyed
Williams' presense on screen and this is one of his best (ranks up there
with his portrayal of Psy the Photo Guy from One Hour Photo). The flick
itself gets old quick but there is enough dark comedy to keep it quirky.
Robin Williams' performance saves this movie from the average rating of
a 2½
From now on, I'm not even going to mention how Warner is releasing two
versions of the film in widescreen and full-frame. The studio has lost
it's gaul and puts out "consumer friendly" full-frame versions for all
their movies alongside their widescreen counterparts. They've joined
Universal with this one. If people do not like widescreen they should
stick to VHS. I know I should be happy that we even still get
widescreen films but full frame on DVD makes it lose it's value.
("16:9 is catching on in the UK since even Labour-lovers BBC1 show films
in that ratio on analogue TV at any time of day" - DVDfever.co.uk Ed)
Anyway, Death to Smoochy is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen.
The transfer is unique because of its bright color pallette. Bright yet
muted colors give the film a nice clean look and conveys the premise of
the plot. Blacks are deep and fleshtones are accurate but sometimes
minor pixelization and edge enhancement is noticed. Overall, this is a
decent transfer from Warner.
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and this was a welcome
suprise. The track is suprisingly effective and loud for a movie pretty
much occupied by dialouge.
The extras are pretty good for a movie that tanked but this is a case of
quantity over quality. Here's how it stacks up:
Audio Commentary:
Features director and co-star Danny DeVito and the
cinematographer. I would have loved to hear Robin Williams on this
track.
Behind the Scenes Documentary:
This is full of clips of behind the scenes moments and is set to music. Shown
in non-anamorphic 1.85:1 and runs for only 7 minutes.
Additional Scenes:
10 additional scenes are located here and most are
just little snippets cut from the movie. Non-anamorphic and only runs
for little over 6 minues.
Bloopers and Outtakes:
You're probably getting tired of me saying this
but Robin Williams is the main highlight of this average reel. Runs 4
minutes an 28 seconds and is non-anamorphic.
Interactive Ice Show:
What was this? This is a worthless supplement
involving re-editing or something. Ignorant.
Trailers:
Three trailers are shown here. The theatrical trailer is the
only one interesting, the others look like teasers. All are shown in
anamoprhic 1.85:1 widescreen.
Magic Cookie Bag:
Several still galeries featuring behind-the-scenes
looks, sketches, and more. Interesting to see these here on a movie like
this.
Cast & Crew:
Glad to see these still here, makes my job of writing
down the characters/actors easier!
So what we get total is a little over 20 minutes of video supplement.
Bad, huh?
Death to Smoochy is broken up into 30 chapters and is packaged in Warner's
awful trademark cardboard snapper cases (related studio New Line dropped
them, why can't you?) with the banner: Widescreen Edition above them.
Normally Warner only puts seperate versions out for 2.35:1 films, AKA
"big black bars" but I guess people are complaining about the "little
black bars" of 1.85:1 now. Pathetic!
Overall, if you like dark satire then you'll find a good time in Death
to Smoochy like I did. However, be advised that this is not everyone's
cup of tea. A decent DVD of an average movie doesn't outway the offering
of only 20 minutes of video supplements to justify a purchase. A solid
rent though.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
