Review of Death to Smoochy (2002) by Filipeneto — 23 Aug 2018

This film is a black comedy about the universe of children's TV programs. In the movie, idealistic Sheldon Mopes (aka Smoochy the Rhino), after a meteoric rise in television and fame, will face several enemies and rivals, who will wish his disappearance, beginning with Rainbow Randolph (which he came to replace without doing anything to it) and ending in his own unscrupulous agent. A story that can be very unpleasant as there are no pleasant characters. Mopes is the nicest character, but he's so angelic, overly well-intentioned and uncommon in his way of thinking (which, though, is consistent with what the character stands for) that we end up not being able to like him. He is too naïve and, therefore, becomes worthy of our mistrust.

As a comedy, the film turns out partially, especially if you enjoy black humor. But the jokes are rather weak and make you smile rather than laugh, perhaps because black humor has some moral stigma for many people and isn't pleasing to the majority of the public. The actors do a decent job, especially Edward Norton and Danny DeVito. Robin Williams is a great comic actor but this is perhaps his weakest film. It just wasn't the right character for him. The remaining cast is limited to comply with what it has to do, without great merit. All this contributes to make this film into a weak and forgettable comedy, where small notes of irony are the most positive point to emphasize.