Death to Smoochy was a film not a film I loved when it came out, although the press junket was great. It was one of many private Robin Williams shows I was fortunate enough to attend, and a rare time Edward Norton wanted to talk about a film. I had not revisited it since then, so if it is beloved by at least enough people for Shout! Studios to market a new Blu-ray, I’d give it another shot.
The satire is still rather basic. Yes, the children’s entertainment industry is monopolized by corporate interests, and the performers say the F word. Still, it’s a relic of the era before directors would just let actors improvise and cobble it together in post, Williams excluded.
The film justifies a Blu-ray transfer with the colorful Rainbow Randolph and Smoochy shows. Those contrast with the gritty shadow of the dockyards and shadowy mobsters. They really filmed in New York City and on film so that reproduces better than more recent films.
In new bonus features, Danny Woodburn, Costume Designer Jane Ruhm and Composer David Newman all have Williams stories. Bloopers have Williams doing riffs out of character, making reference to Danny DeVito’s other movies.
In the commentary from the original DVD, DeVito praises the cast and shares some technical information about lenses, green screen and split screens. Cinematographer Anastas Michos gets even more technical but seems to have been recorded separately.
So for people who have loved Death to Smoochy all these years, this is a great collection. I’ve certainly been a stan of other movies like that so I won’t be a Smoochy hater.