Review of Death to Smoochy (2002) by Tyler M — 23 Jan 2008

Mix film noir with Barney, or mix "The Manchurian Candidate" with Disney On Ice, or mix the blackest of black comedy with Captain Kangaroo, or better yet, blend all those things together and you have some sort of idea of where this is going.

THough I don't agree with the plethora of negative reviews this movie received, I will concede: it is definitely odd and definitely not your average comedy. I've read far too many reviews (from Roger Ebert to the one in the Village Voice) that say they have no clue who the demographic could be for this film, they have no clue who Adam Resnick and Danny Devito were targeting, but I can give them one simple answer: Me.

There's something devilish and misanthropic in this film's relentless irreverence. Robin Williams gets the chance to actually be funny, which unfortunately most of his film career hasn't allowed - and Edward Norton is brilliant.

Danny DeVito crafts here, with Resnick's hilarious script, the ultimate madcap satire. Satire can often cut like a knife but rarely does it shoot bullets and its even rarer for the bullets to be on the one hand so maliciously sinister and on the other hand so candy-coated; they are bullets much like the offensive penis-shaped cookie and its our job to turn them into rockets that can take us to Smoochy's Magic Jungle.