Review of Death to Smoochy (2002) by Dawdlingpoet — 23 Nov 2021

This is very much a dark comedy - a satirical take on kids TV presenters and the effects of being forced out of the limelight. Its definitely one of Robin Williams' darker roles - the plot may be about kids TV presenters but this film is certainly not kid friendly, with strong language, some violence and some crude sex references. As a satire its relatively good - I presume the Smoochy the Rhino character is meant to remind the viewer of Barney the dinosaur, another animal cartoon character, also in purple. Unlike some people, I like Robin Williams darker character roles in film - some of them anyway. I wouldn't say this film is awful, as I believe others have panned it but it certainly won't appeal to everyone. For one thing, it is very much a zany and erratic watch for the most part, somewhat over the top - visually its a bit like an adults film wrapped around a kids show that is choc full of more than the usual amount of sugar, not in terms of the sentimentality or cheesiness but in terms of the speed, plot pace wise. It almost has the feel of an overactive comic strip about it - think along the lines of the madcap pace of The Mask, only without the CGI.

This isn't a film that will appeal, or be enjoyed by, everyone but I thought it was pretty good for what it is and I enjoyed it, so I'd recommend it on that basis.