A Smoochy Autopsy
An R-rated comedy for kids: Death to Smoochy (2002)
For some time, I only vaguely recalled the film from constant reruns on Comedy Central. I was intrigued every time, but I kept missing every airing. I’ve finally seen the film recently and realized why it was so popular on the channel: Death to Smoochy is an R-rated movie for kids.
Comedy Central had a habit of showing films that would inescapably meet the eyes of kids that didn’t have helicopter parents (Half Baked, Dogma, etc.) The film provides a disillusioning interpretation of the entertainment industry’s ruthlessness through the fictional production of a kid’s show. “What if Steve from Blue’s Clues was a dick?” is the crutch of the film’s concept, with Rainbow Randy offering the greatest “what if?” of that scenario.
The journey of disillusionment is driven by the character Sheldon/Smoochy, played by Edward Norton. He starts out as a nobody, playing shows in a methadone clinic, to being a safe bet for a TV channel mired in controversy: Rainbow Randy’s scheme to sell seats to his show to desperate parents. From early on, it’s established that Sheldon is a Good Dude™️. He’s not only playing for strung out recovering addicts, but he’s all about organic, clean eating before it became a thing. He just wants people to be healthy and happy. The choice to give him a southern accent brings his Barney Fife naïveté to the unsubtle surface. His innocence puts him in stark contrast to the viciousness of the lion’s den he steps into.
For any kid or pre-teen watching it, it undoubtedly provided easy accessibility for a generation raised on children’s programming while growing up. It’s hard not to delight in watching a supposed “innocent” host cussing up a storm, something that Robin Williams does just as well as his G-rated scene chewing.
All the main beats of the film hit right in the jugular of what kids start finding funny when coming of age, especially in the early 2000s:
“OMG NAZIS” ✅ Jokes about mental disabilities ✅ Little people exhibitionism ✅ Dick jokes ✅✅
The violence is mostly slap-stick, with the worst of it off-camera. Bad things happen to the leads, but nothing so extreme as to make even the most goody-two shoe of kids unable to handle it.
The real weakness of the film is the actual children’s shows at the center of it. The staging feels incredibly hollow and slapped together to only serve a purpose to stage the comedy. Even if it’s made for adults, there is no reason why they couldn’t just put a little more effort to portray the show in a convincing way. It would have only made the experience much funnier. As much as kids love these shows, I don’t recall little people being so common. Yes, I know we had Ewoks, but c’mon man — at least build out the set and supporting casts. Kids have high standards too, and I definitely would have thought Smoochy sucked. What we really get is a loose interpretation of a kid’s show that is more fitting of what director Danny DeVito likely grew up with. It’s easy to see in the way the kids constantly gather around the host, the host being more man than animal (how dare they). Rainbow Randy is the more convincing of the two shows. It also helps that Robin Williams is instinctively so charismatic, that even Edward Norton’s noble attempts can’t possibly match it.
This is a film that, in reputation, really thrives on having a strong nostalgic imprinting towards it. Without that, the value of the film can only be seen from a cynical lens. No wonder critics trashed it, and the kids who grew up watching it will always have a soft spot for it. Does the film have anything to offer other than its edginess? Not really.
There is one thing I absolutely love about the film. Every moment on screen, I couldn’t help but be drawn into it: Rainbow Randy’s jacket.
Man, I miss Robin Williams.