"Death to Smoochy" is the movie of my dreams: a smart, self-conscious satire populated by good (often excellent) actors. It is the story of pathological do-gooder and children's performer Sheldon Mopes' (Edward Norton) struggle to maintain his integrity amidst Kidnet, a children's programming conglomerate plagued by a series of corrupt performers.
The movie can't quite decide whether it wants to develop its characters or present them merely as caricatures. This indecision is where the self-consciousness of the filmmaking comes in-Smoochy is neither a clichéd story of a good man fighting corruption nor an overbaked satire of modern media.
In the opening sequence, undercover police bust Kidnet performer Rainbow Randy (Robin Williams) for accepting a bribe to put a child on his show. Kidnet's previous performer (creepily portrayed by Vincent Schiavelli) was addicted to heroin. In an effort to avoid all future scandals, Kidnet sets out to find a performer who is squeaky clean. Enter Mopes, who performs children's songs as fuzzy fuchsia rhinoceros Smoochy. VP of Development Nora Wells (Catherine Keener) discovers the pristine Mopes, gives him a show and a better costume and starts developing all kinds of Smoochy paraphernalia.
Before Smoochy, apparently, the world of children's programming was a complicated web of kickbacks and profit skimming. The problems begin when everyone discovers that Mopes will not be corrupted. This leaves a Kidnet executive (Jon Stewart), Mopes' sly agent Burke (Danny DeVito) and a corrupt charity head missing the good old days. Add in to the mix a mafia head and Rainbow Randy and you have a contest for the pleasure of ending the Smoochy dynasty.
And let us not forget the obligatory love story. Though it is a lot of fun, "Smoochy" is not merely a slapstick underworld romp. It is a fairly heavy-handed satire of media corruption and posturing. What it lacks in subtlety, however, it makes up for in style. Times Square, where the Kidnet offices are located, has never looked more like a consumerist nightmare. The blinding, larger-than-life advertisements are perpetually bombarding the audience with new Kidnet advertisements, telling us to watch Smoochy and buy the products. The rest of the city, however, is a stark contrast to the saccharine of Times Square (this is not Disney's New York).
Mopes travels between these two worlds, eating soy dogs and monitoring the quality and number of Smoochy products sold to children. It is a cold, corrupting world out there and Smoochy delivers real life lessons to his kids.
Many of the characters in this film, it seems, are "not mean, just adjusting." The mafia head becomes Mopes' most ardent ally, the hardened Nora ultimately falls for Mopes' sincerity and even Rainbow Randy forfeits his vendetta. "Death to Smoochy" presents a complicated world with humor and intelligence. And I am a sucker for a man in a rhinoceros suit.