neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Death To Smoochy
	Danny DeVito Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Danny DeVito, Catherine Keener, Jon Stewart 2002		Sometimes a movie comes along and succeeds on the sheer strength of its perversity. (Anything from director David Cronenberg comes to mind.) The brainy, unrepentantly vulgar satire "Death to Smoochy" would be such a film if it wasn't so damned funny, too. Funny in a cruel way, that is. In his best role since who-knows-when, Robin Williams goes blithely bonkers as Rainbow Randolph, a venomous, devious kiddie-show host who loses his timeslot and the trappings of fame to Smoochy, a holistic good-guy folksinger in a purple rhino suit. Edward Norton ("Fight Club") brings warmth, fervor and deadpan comic flair to the part of Smoochy, a Barney-on-granola. Catherine Keener and Jon Stewart are the hardened network execs in charge. Danny DeVito directs in ideally breakneck fashion and is oh-so-oily as Smoochy's sneaky agent. If you can laugh at revenge plots, contract killings and after-school icons battling for network airtime like Godzilla and Mothra fight over who'll trash Tokyo, get in line.