Rent Death to Smoochy on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Adam Resnick
Directed by: Danny DeVito
Starring: Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, Danney DeVito, Jon Stewart
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A kids' show host, Rainbow Randolph, is fired in disgrace while his replacement, Sheldon Mopes, aka. Smoochy the Rhino, finds himself a rising star. Unfortunately for Sheldon, the business of kids' television isn't all child's play.
Verdict
It's a great idea, it just doesn't go anywhere. I'd argue this
squandered the premise, but I don't think this had any idea of where it
wanted to take the story after the first thirty minutes. This could explore two show hosts fighting and in turn revealing what happens behind the scenes and how petty television can be. It could also feature increasingly dramatic confrontations, but this never takes the time to create emotional stakes. It had more than a few good one liners, but the second half drops this by trying to include gangsters, the mob, and thieves. It completely loses focus.
Skip it.
Review
Kids' show host Rainbow Randolph (Robin Williams) gets busted for taking bribes to put
children front and center on his show. The network must quickly pivot,
trying to find a host that doesn't have a criminal history. They land on Sheldon Mopes (Edward Norton), Smoochy. While he's currently playing at drug rehab clinic, he's been preparing his entire life for the role.
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| Edward Norton plays Sheldon Mopes, Smoochy |
It's such a silly premise, and I thought that would be the joke. This split between how things appear and how they are, as well as the hypocrisy. Despite the purpose of a kids' show, the network just wants to make money and exploit it.
Mopes is too wholesome. He thinks the network wants to create great content, but they're just greedy. They don't care about making the world a better place. They want to exploit the Smoochy brand for all it's worth. Everyone is after Mopes so that they can enrich themselves. It's antithetical to everything Mopes believes and counter to the very reason they hired him.
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| Edward Norton, Robin Williams play Sheldon Mopes, Rainbow Randolph |
Randolph is desperate to get his show back. he attempts to sabotage Mopes, but he only embarrasses himself. He then sets Smoochy up to perform at a Nazi rally. Mopes's reputation is ruined and he loses his job, but Randall inadvertently admits he set up Smoochy who in turn is exonerated.
Mopes is out of his depth in trying to negotiate with everyone after his valuable brand, and it seems the message might be that the network can corrupt even the most benign person. Mopes has a moment with executive Nora Wells (Catherine Keener) as they reminisce about old television.
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| Edward Norton plays Sheldon Mopes, Smoochy |
This keeps coming back to the same idea. Randall commits to half baked plans to get his show back that fail spectacularly. Mopes is the innocent victim. Then we have a corrupt agent and network executives that want to capitalize on Smoochy. They could legitimately make money off the brand, but they'd rather take a shortcut and cheat to make even more money. It's just never enough and not soon enough.
The problem is that these characters are underdeveloped comic relief. Smoochy isn't even fighting them directly. They're after his brand, not him. Since the movie is committed to Mopes remaining untainted, there's no development for him in this movie. There's one scene where he's about to cross the line before he's talked out of it. Everything happens around him. All the characters meet at the end, but it's clearly a way to end this movie rather than to provide a proper conclusion.
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| Title Card |
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