Death to Smoochy on DVD
Rainbow Randolph is the countrys most beloved entertainer.
Hes had a lock on the afternoon TV ratings for who-knows-how-long, and
everybody absolutely adores him.
That is, until hes arrested. Then hes fired, he
becomes the countrys biggest tabloid headline, and his TV slot is given
to a giant purple rhino. Its enough to make a man go insane.
Robin Williams plays Rainbow Randolph, the former TV star. His one
goal in life is now the elimination of Smoochy (Edward Norton). Hell do
whatever it takes to do the deed and get back his old spot on the telly.
Randolph does everything he can, whether it be tricking Smoochy into becoming a
tabloid headline of his own, or just keeping it simple by trying to kill
him.
Death to Smoochy is easily the most twisted comedy of the year.
Most of the humor is very dark, and the rest is making fun of someone or
something. However, in many cases, those are the best kind. Danny Devito seems
to direct that kind of movie, so Death to Smoochy seems to fit in on his
resume.
Robin Williams and Edward Norton are fabulous in the lead roles.
Williams is appropriately dark and nasty, taking his schtick to a whole new
level. Norton appears to have a great time playing the good-natured
childrens entertainer. And Devito plays the same character he plays in
every movie but we guess thats okay, he seems to have fun.
Death to Smoochy is not the kind of movie everyone will enjoy. If
you have a dark, twisted sense of humor (for example, if you appreciated the
humor in Fight Club or American Psycho), youll probably like Smoochy. If
anything remotely controversial upsets you, youd be well advised to skip
this one.
The DVD is surprisingly impressive, despite this being one of the
biggest bombs of the year. The video quality is very good, though unfortunately
we were stuck with the Pan&Scan version as opposed to the separate
widescreen version available. The picture is free of foreign objects, and the
rich colors of the film are bright but not too bright. There is a tiny
bit of halo effect in a few places, but this is otherwise a very nice transfer.
Even though its Pan&Scan.
Now is the time to mention something a lot of studios seem to be
neglecting, even though it was very popular in the past: putting both versions
of the movie on the same disc. It doesnt even have to be on the same side
(so that quality is not affected), but there are two sides to every DVD. If
studios would go back to putting both versions together, people would not have
to worry about which one they're picking up - because, lets face it,
its not always easy to tell which version is which.
The audio is good, but not great. Surround use is surprisingly
limited, which is unfortunate since there is ample opportunity for it in this
movie. There are plenty of sound effects, dialogue from offscreen characters,
and even a few song-and-dance routines that could have used the surrounds
brilliantly. But alas, it was not to be. Perhaps Warner did not want to spend
too much on this DVD since it really didnt make much in the theatre?
If thats the case, we understand completely.
There are some interesting extras on the disc, beginning with some
bloopers and outtakes. Many of them are just Robin Williams being Robin
Williams (it makes us wonder if anyone ever charges him for all the film he
wastes by doing his thing). There are ten additional scenes, none of which
deserved to be in the movie (okay, theres one, but well let you
decide which one), an audio commentary by Danny Devito (who states early on
that its now been several months since this movie was in theatres,
so the mourning period is over) and director of photography Anastas
Michos, an interesting behind-the-scenes documentary, some still galleries, and
the trailer.
Death to Smoochy, from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
109 minutes, 1.33:1 full frame, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Starring Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Danny Devito, Catherine Keener
Produced by Andrew Lazar and Peter MacGregor-Scott
Written by Adam Resnick
Directed by Danny
Devito
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