Death to Smoochy (2002)

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.

Director:

Danny DeVito

Writer:

Adam Resnick

Stars:

Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Catherine Keener

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robin Williams	...	Rainbow Randolph
Edward Norton	...	Sheldon Mopes / Smoochy the Rhino
Catherine Keener	...	Nora Wells
Danny DeVito	...	Burke Bennett
Jon Stewart	...	Marion Frank Stokes
Pam Ferris	...	Tommy Cotter
Danny Woodburn	...	Angelo Pike
Michael Rispoli	...	Spinner Dunn
Harvey Fierstein	...	Merv Green
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Buggy Ding Dong
Craig Eldridge	...	Husband
Judy White	...	Wife
Tim MacMenamin	...	Danny
Bruce McFee	...	Roy
Glen Cross	...	Jimmy

Storyline

Fired in disgrace, kids show host Randolph Smiley finds himself out on the street, while his replacement Sheldon Mopes, finds himself on the fast track to success with a new hit show as the proud purple rhino Smoochy. But things take a turn for the worst when Sheldon finds out that some of the people that he works with, and some he doesn't know he's working for, are all in it for the money. Meanwhile, Randolph is slowly turning insane with his only thoughts focusing on killing Smoochy and getting back to his life of luxury.

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Plot Keywords:

homosexual | gay | black teddy | woman on top | children | 

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Taglines:

It's the Rhino vs. the Wino... with a little help from the mob

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

UK Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 March 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Smoochy

Filming Locations:

Times Square, 42nd Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,266,463, 31 March 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$8,355,815, 5 May 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.,FilmFour,Senator Film Produktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When hosting The 78th Annual Academy Awards (2006), Jon Stewart mentioned this movie as one of his few acting jobs. He said "Welcome to the Seventy-Eighth Annual Academy Awards... hosted by me... the fourth male lead in "Death To Smoochy". Rent it."

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Goofs

The bread in the restaurant scene between Sheldon and Burke keeps changing between shots (position toward camera and number of slices - 5 to 4 and back to 5).

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Quotes

Randolph: He's a pillow-biter, you know.
Sheldon: I wouldn't know anything about his sleeping disorders.

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Connections

References Life of Brian (1979)

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Soundtracks

The Cookie Chant
Music by David Newman
Lyrics by Adam Resnick
Performed by Edward Norton

User Reviews

Funny as hell

I have been updating my movie knowledge of Ed Norton movies and came across this film that I'd never even heard of. Then I read some of the reviews and thought "aah, this might be one of those really bad B-category craps" but I watched it anyway. Well, first of all, this movie really is funny! Totally over the top, colourful, cheesy, sticky sweet mess of fun, black comedy and drama. I loved the characters, and Smoochy (Edward Norton) is absolutely adorable. He looks like he really enjoyed being this goofy guy in a rhino costume and he's having fun with it. The medical centre scene is so hilarious I had to watch it again and again, as well as the scene when he has to improvise in front of the kids. Brilliant. Hysterical. I loved every minute of this movie. Of course, it's just a sidelined little project, never became a blockbuster, and it does need a certain mood to be enjoyable, but it still got on my ultimate funny-movie top list. De Vito did a good job directing it, so well done!