Death becomes Danny DeVito on DEATH TO SMOOCHY

DeVito stars in and directs the dark and quirky comedy

By Pamela Harland     March 13, 2002

Dark is one way to put it. Bizarre... another. The new comedy DEATH TO SMOOCHY is about as weird as they come. And SMOOCHY director/co-star Danny DeVito wouldn't want it any other way.

"I thought it was really outrageous and far out and fun to do," says DeVito, who appeared at a recent screening of the film on the Warner Bros. lot to discuss his quirky new movie.

When DeVito

read the script he immediately thought up ideas for the film about a flamboyant children's show host named Rainbow Randolph (Robin Williams) who upon taking a bribe from undercover FBI Agents gets fired and exorcised from the business only to be replaced by a singing purple Rhino no relation to Barney named Smoochy (Edward Norton). Sounds like a kid's film but it's far from it. In fact, DeVito wants the public to know SMOOCHY is not for children.

"The thing is, we are trying to get the message out there that it is absolutely not for kids," says the 57-year-old DeVito.

SMOOCHY takes the unique perspective of focusing on the dark side of producing a kid's TV show. Nazi skinheads, phallic looking objects and more "F" words spoken here than in PULP FICTION, SMOOCHY is racy and raunchy along the lines of the Farrelly Brothers. And DeVito, who did not produce the project, says he was the right gun for hire for the job.

"They sent me the script to direct and I read it and I called Rhea [Perlman, his wife/actress] and I said, 'You know how we are always looking for movies to take the kids to?... this ain't it,'" laughs DeVito.

DeVito's daughters might steal a peek at the film anyway. Five or six years ago, while he was working on the set of MATILDA, his two daughters told him of a film they just saw that they absolutely loved called THE USUAL SUSPECTS. DeVito, who was so busy with MATILDA, hadn't yet heard of the film but said when he finished filming he would go with the girls to see it. By the time they went the girls had already seen the film three times and needless to say he was a bit surprised.

"You get

to that first scene where they are all in a line up and they are reading the paper saying, 'F**k you, you f**king c**ksucker...'" says DeVito. "I looked at my kids and went, 'Uh huh.'"

That's why DeVito feels so strongly and responsible about the marketing of SMOOCHY. "We are doing everything we can to tell people it's not for kids," explains DeVito. "Keep your kids away."

Big responsibility also came up when he had to step in front of the camera and direct himself. But he admits to cutting himself a little more slack than he normally does with his actors.

"I do less takes for me," reveals DeVito. "It's one thing I noticed. It's really interesting. I'll shoot Edward and Catherine [Keener] and Robin and I'll keep going and try different things. And I go up and I do like one or two takes. They really get pissed off at me."

Playing Smoochy's agent in the film, DeVito says his character didn't exactly turn out the way he had first planned. In fact, he went in a whole other direction.

"I was not the bad guy when we started the movie," says DeVito. "There was a whole other involvement with some out-of-town gangsters. The picture got to be where there were way too many characters and I started trimming while I was going along. I figured if anybody's going to be the bad guy it might as well be me."

A lot of the creative control stayed with DeVito - who admits to cutting some scenes out that went too far - but all the final decisions were his own. He says Warner Bros. never forced him to cut anything he didn't want omitted. But they did make suggestions.

"It's all about my choice," says DeVito. "I don't mean to offend anybody from Warner Bros. but I do have final cut which means that as long as the movie is under a certain length and as long as I am not changing the rating of the movie, like making it an X rated film instead of an R rated film, then I can do anything I please. I take it upon myself and try to balance that out."

Working with

Williams and Norton was a pleasure, says DeVito, who calls the actors  "...genuine team players on the set all the time." Although when he first discussed Norton playing Smoochy and the naïve and kind hearted Sheldon Mopes - Smoochy's alter ego over dinner, Norton was a bit confused about who he was portraying in the film.

"At one point during dinner he said to me something like, 'Yeah this Rainbow Randolph is a really complex character,'" says DeVito. "And I said, 'Whoa, whoa, you are going to play the Smooch.'"

After explaining what he had in mind, Norton agreed to play Smoochy, which was what DeVito had envisioned all along.

"Edward is so perfect for that part even though he is always doing AMERICAN HISTORY X and FIGHT CLUB and stuff like that," says DeVito. "He is so genuine. He's got all that naiveté and Robin... there are so many colors of Rainbow Randolph, he is just all over the place."

Williams, who ad-libbed some lines in the film says DeVito, was right on target with his portrayal of Rainbow Randolph.

"Robin just kept going farther and farther in these areas," laughs DeVito. "I let him go. There are some things for the DVD that I've got saved that will be kinda interesting."

Interesting for now is what the public's reaction to the film will be. DEATH TO SMOOCHY is sure to put off some people not just kids - who might be offended by the raw humor and bad language. But DeVito laughs off any worries of insulting anyone, saying his characters have every right to grace the big screen.

"Well, there's a place for everybody in the world," says DeVito.