Death to Smoochy

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 kid's TV business isn't all child's play.

Offbeat comedies are largely a matter of taste for the most part, and a film's success can be decided by its sense of humour. Death to Smoochy, though not hilarious, has enough going for it to be worth a watch, but is left stranded by a plot that is very rough around the edges indeed.

Children's TV isn't a subject that's broached very often in movies and it gives this a sense of freshness that otherwise may have been absent. The idea of juxtaposing the rose-tinted view of the world of kid's shows of this type with corruption and violent gangsters is a good one, but it never really gets dark enough to make the contrast powerful. Too often it becomes a farcical crime caper, taking vague stabs at charm along the way. These moments mostly fall horribly flat, but are at least few and far between.

The plot is riddled with holes and nonsensical progression, but this is obviously not intended to be the focus. It all serves as a backdrop for the comedy, which is mostly successful, but rarely raises more than a chuckle. Story certainly seems to have been a secondary consideration here, conspicuous by the obvious absence of thought that went into it, and detracting much from what the movie could have been. Having said that, the flick has a fair few good points to counter all this.

It's a solid cast, Robin Williams stealing the limelight with his embittered, borderline psychotic, ousted TV star. It's a character that gives him a great deal of scope to show his impressive range, moving seamlessly between calm, rage and the desperation of a broken man. Ed Norton's talents are sorely underused, but he does what he can. The lack of substance in his role is clearly apparent and wide-eyed naivety is about the extent of what you can expect. That and a fluffy pink rhino costume.

Overall, it certainly doesn't leave you feeling like time has been wasted, but more a nagging sense of disappointment provided by an opportunity missed. Had the two extremes that are at play been realised to their full potential, it could easily have been a very memorable film. As it is, it's a curious little stopover, but not one that I'll feel the urge to revisit any time soon.

The Verdict:

6/10
A few solid laughs to be had, but let down badly by the clear lack of investment in putting together a cohesive plot. It could have been so much more, but there's just about enough here to merit a visit, if not just for the wonderfully off-kilter Robin Williams.