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I have a confession to make. I have a dark side. And I’ve always secretly dreamed of punching out one of those ultra-cheery overstuffed cartoony mascots (my brother once did -- but that’s another story). So I guess it was that dark secret that drew me to Death to Smoochy.
Robin Willaims plays Rainbow Randolph, a popular kids’ show host who’s reduced to somewhat demented obsessiveness when he’s caught trying to make a few illegal bucks on the side and loses his job. The TV network, in an attempt to recover their squeaky-clean image, hires Smoochy (Edward Norton), a giant purple rhino, to take over. Sheldon Mopes, who plays Smoochy, is a lovable, naïve guy who immediately gets on everyone’s nerves. He refuses to endorse big-dollar Smoochy products – like action figures and soda and breakfast cereal. And he sings songs about organic foods. Sheldon doesn’t believe in making money off the show -- he just wants to help the kids.
Determined to get his old job back, Randolph plots to destroy Smoochy’s reputation. But he’s not the only one out to get Smoochy. Even the greedy network execs want him out of the picture.
Just thinking back and picturing scenes from this movie makes me burst out laughing all over again. I guess that’s just my dark side coming out again… But I can’t help it. Some of it is just that funny -- and it really does make me wonder what goes on behind the scenes of real kids’ shows (and it makes me just a little bit afraid to have children).
I’ll admit, however, that the end of this movie disappointed me. I just didn’t get the payoff I was hoping for. In fact, a few plot lines disappointed me -- and when I watched the disagreeable producer, Nora (Catherine Keener), start to soften and fall for Sheldon, I cringed (and I wanted to throw something at the TV). Why, I wondered, couldn’t this just be a nice, dark movie -- all the way to the end?
But that said, I still enjoyed the movie as a whole. It was demented and a bit twisted -- and I liked it.
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