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Death to Smoochy
Warner Bros.
FILM:
MPAA RATING: R for language and sexual references
Starring
Robin Williams,
Edward Norton,
Danny DeVito,
Jon Stewart,
Catherine Keener,
Harvey Fierstein,
Pam Ferris,
and
Michael Rispoli
A dark comedy set in the dog-eat-dog world of children's television programming.
| GENRE(S): |
Comedy
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Adam Resnick
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Danny DeVito
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: September 17, 2002
Video: September 17, 2002
Theatrical: March 29, 2002
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
108 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
75
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
If you're in the mood for razor-sharp satire, this is the most refreshingly outrageous movie of the season.
75
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
The spectacle is nothing short of refreshing.
70
Village Voice
J. Hoberman
Death to Smoochy is often very funny, but what's even more remarkable is the integrity of DeVito's misanthropic vision.
67
Austin Chronicle
Marc Savlov
It's good -- no, great -- to see Williams as a mean rat bastard.
63
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
In general, parodies may not rely overmuch on plot, but they need more in this department than Death to Smoochy possesses.
63
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
Plays like a long TV sketch, but with an array of characters, themes, subplots and situations just clever enough to keep it moving, and to give cover to its underlying cynicism.
60
New Times (L.A.)
Gregory Weinkauf
Resnick has crafted an ambitious, if extremely uneven, character study.
50
Los Angeles Times
Kevin Thomas
Starts out as such a deliciously savage satire of TV kiddie shows that it's a shame it swerves out of control and over the top, sliding into tedium before pulling together for a clever, if protracted, finish.
50
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
So off-the-wall that it may well ultimately acquire the cult status of Resnick's earlier Chris Elliot vehicle, "Cabin Boy."
50
Boston Globe
Loren King
The script boasts some tart TV-insider humor, but the film has not a trace of humanity or empathy.
50
Variety
Todd McCarthy
Pushes its dark, smart, clever, cynical, satirical, nasty, provocative and sarcastic instincts to the point of heavily diminished returns -- to the point where the very amusing premise just isn't funny anymore.
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Liam Lacey
Sporadically funny, twisted for sure, it risks becoming as repetitive and shrill as the kinds of programs it satirizes.
50
USA Today
Claudia Puig
Smoochy, like the cuddly character, tries to be loved and ends on an unrealistically upbeat note. But it's in better, wittier form just being vicious and biting.
50
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
DeVito definitely has a gift for absurd black humor that kicks in here and there, but Adam Resnick's script is slavishly mean-spirited.
50
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
A dark comedy that blows up like an exploding cigar, leaving nothing much behind but smoke, noise and a bad taste.
40
LA Weekly
John Powers
A broad, braying yuk fest that revels in coarse jokes, lacks the courage of its own cynicism (things keep wavering into sentimentality) and refuses to develop its own premise.
40
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
This black-comic assault on family entertainment is going to set a lot of teeth on edge -- If only his (De Vito's) material were better this time.
38
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
Williams, going full throttle as the desperate deposed kiddie icon Rainbow Ralph, is, well, simply exhausting.
38
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
Death to Smoochy? Yes, please.
33
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
Tells a moldy-oldie, not-nearly-as-nasty-as-it-thinks-it-is joke. Over and over again.
30
Salon.com
Stephanie Zacharek
All noise with very little fun, and almost no restraint.
30
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
A misfire of spectacular proportions.
30
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Scott Tobias
An aggressive black comedy that seeks to satisfy a bloodlust already quelled many times over.
30
Washington Post
Michael O'Sullivan
It's so over the top, the top isn't even visible in the rear-view mirror.
25
Baltimore Sun
Michael Sragow
To call Death to Smoochy satire -- or parody, burlesque, or even lampoon -- would be too generous. The moviemakers merely glide on the thin ice of yesterday's cynicism.
20
Slate
David Edelstein
DiVito turns actors like Robin Williams, Edward Norton, and Catherine Keener into nothing less horrific than giant Danny DeVitos.
20
Film Threat
Alex Nohe
It is impossible to say whether the premise or its execution is more fatal in "Death to Smoochy." One would expect something greater out of the talents assembled.
20
The New York Times
A.O. Scott
There are a few laughs, but I'm not sure that a comedy is supposed to make you recoil, which is what "Smoochy" does.
12
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
To make a film this awful, you have to have enormous ambition and confidence, and dream big dreams.
10
Chicago Reader
Hank Sartin
It's hard to pinpoint where things go wrong.
 The average user rating for this movie is 6.1 (out of 10) based on 25 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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