Death To Smoochy

Directed by Danny DeVito Cert. PG Starring Edward Norton, Robin Williams, Dur. 110 mins

DEATH TO SMOOCHY had a release date some months ago, but release dates are apt to change at very late notice.

This week, being the week before Harry Potter, has obviously been deemed the last chance for poor old Smoochy, who died his first death in the states at the beginning of the year.

This film, filled with American talent but funded by British money, is the story of 'Rainbow' Randolph Smiley, played by Robin Williams. He's the silly-costumed star, of a kids' TV show.

Though in his real life he's shamefully corrupt, he enjoys being a living institution - until he's fired after an embarrassing bribery scandal.

He's replaced by Sheldon Mopes, played by Edward Norton, who wows the nation and jaded network executive Randolph, as Smoochy the Rhino. He's a good person. A really good person. Little does the fluffy rhino know that he is now the target of his predecessor's rage and hatred. Smoochy is soon at the wrong end of Smiley's revenge attacks as Williams tries to return to the spotlight as America's most loveable clown.

That's all you need to know. It's silly stuff, but when I saw it I was in a darkened theatre full of people laughing. Not laughing a lot, but laughing enough. To go deeper into it might be even more silly but there is, arguably, a more serious undertone. The hapless Sheldon Mopes is a good-guy... he's politically correct, but a fool. He's supported by good and bad guys and the difference between the two is blurred.

More than that, some of the characters I Iiked best are actually rotten to the core, but have a grain of something more human and loveable than the supposedly loveable Smoochy, who may or may not deserve death! DEATH TO SMOOCHY has a great cast and is well worth seeing.

Also released... (if my sources are correct)... ORANGE COUNTY (12), directed by Jake Kasdan. A strange comedy with an 'indy' feel. Colin Hanks (Yes, son of Tom - nepotism is alive and well.) plays Shaun Brumder, a local surfer kid from ORANGE COUNTY who dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer, away from his dysfunctional family. This plan hits one complication after another starting when his dim-witted career guidance counsellor sends off the wrong application. Shaun goes to great lengths to get into Stanford any way. I haven't seen it but it's getting good reviews in the states.