Death To Smoochy

A TV kiddie show clown (Robin Williams) gets fired over a bribery scandal and sets out to destroy his goody-two-shoes replacement (Edward Norton). Written by Adam Resnick and directed by co-star Danny De Vito (who should have known better), the film is, quite literally, loathsome on every level—cruel, vulgar, mean-spirited, ugly to look at and ugly at heart. De Vito pitches the action at a level of cacophonous hysteria from the very outset, as if desperate to roar through Resnick’s putrid script as quickly as possible and get on with his life. Trapped in the appalling wreckage, with varying degrees of complicity, are a number of otherwise decent actors: Jon Stewart, Harvey Fierstein, Michael Rispoli and Catherine Keener (lit by cinematographer Anastas Michos to look harsh and haggard).