________ 7_
WEdNEsdAy, M arc I h 15, 2002
[he CI ac I camas P rínt
’Smooch’ this movie away
MAGGIE JIRASEK
Editor-in Chief
"Death to Smoochy,” a wild, un-
jredictable, dark comedy is Warner
frother’s newest attraction and
vill change your outlook on
:hildren’s TV forever. Director
)anny DeVito created a piece that
s everything else but a movie for
¡hildren.
Starring Robin Williams, Edward
Norton, Jon Stewart, Catherine
Ceener and Danny DeVito, “Death
to Smoochy” shows what really
goes on behind the scenes of
children’s TV programming. The
novie tells the story of Rainbow
Randolph, the colorful star of a
children’s television show, who af
ter a bribery scandal gets replaced
>y a purple rhino named Smoochy
(Norton). Of course, the rhino is
much more handsome and suitable
for the show and therefore wins
the children’s hearts.
Randolph is not happy with the
situation at all and tries to do ev
erything to get back to fame and
destroy the oh-so-cute and puffy
Smoochy. Especially after
Randolph finds out that Smoochy
is having an affair with his ex-girl-
friend, the top-programming ex
ecutive at the network, Nora. He
turns into a psycho and starts plot
ting revenge. When the Mafia,
Irish gangs, punch-drunk boxers,
dwarves and children get in
volved, the results can get insane
to some degree, if not bloody.
Although the movie shows a
sense of humor and creativity, it
lacks character development.
Just when you think that you can
predict a certain individual’s ac
tion in the movie, something to
tally out of context occurs and
makes you wonder whether that
character might have been brain
washed behind the scenes. Wil
liams, for example, goes nuts in
his role as Randolph and turns
out to be a psycho 15 minutes
into the movie. He is so bent on
revenge that it becomes hilari
ous but disturbing at the same
time. Towards the end, Randolph
decides to be the good guy and
wants to save everybody.
The movie was also very
bloody at times and the lan
guage used was not the one you
would use around children. Es
pecially the character of
Randolph seemed to like
cussing, at times to extensive de
grees. In a private screening at
the Warner Brother’s Studios
Friday, March 1, DeVito tested
his piece to a crowd of college
students. Afterwards, in a
question-and-answer session,
he admitted that there was
pressure to tone the movie
down a little and that he him-
Stuff of Dreams: form
and function combine
in decorative art show
ERINNLERTEN
Staff Writer
Sometimes a chair is just a chair,
but at Matières de Rêves: Stuff of
Dreams, currently showing at the
Portland Art Museum, a chair
might be Ruth Francken’s
“L’homme chair,” inspired by the
“sit-in” demonstrations of the
1960s.
And a bed might be the monu
mental canopied bed made for
Emilie Valtesse de la Vigne, the
courtesan who inspired Zola’s
“Nana.” Throughout the ages, ex
ceptional objects have been cre
ated that exceed the requirements
of utility, the conventions of tradi
tion, and standards of craftsman
ship.
Direct from the Musée des Arts
Décoratifs, situated in a wing of
the Louvre Palace in Paris, Stuff of
Dreams offers 100 masterpieces of
French decorative art dating from
the middle-ages to present. Includ
ing glass work, ceramics jewelry
and silver as well as furniture,
these objects carry with them fas
cinating stories of the people who
commissioned, collected, used or
loved them.
Also in the exhibit is the clock from
Marie Antoinette’s bathroom in the
Tuileries Palace, and the burled
wood and gilt bronze ceremonial
cradle of the Due de Bordeaux.
The Portland Art Museum,
through its connections with Ma
dame Hélène David-Weill,
Président, L’Union Centrale des
Arts Décoratifs, was approached
to work with the French museum
in organizing a traveling exhibition
featuring some of its most impres
sive works. This international ex
change is curated by Penelope
Hunter-Stiebel, Consulting Cura
tor of European Art and Odile
Nouvel, head of the 19th century
art department at the Musée de
Arts Décoratifs.
The
Musée
des
Arts
Décoratifs, widely recognized as
the foremost private collection in
France, has temporarily closed its
galleries for renovations until
2003. Following its premiere in
Portland, the exhibition can be
seen from June 1 through Aug. 11
at the Wadsworth Atheneum in
Hartford, and from Sept. 22
through Jan. 5 at the Birmingham
Museum of Art in Alabama.
Stuff of Dreams will be on dis
play in Portland through April 28.
For ticket information call the Port
land Art Museum at (503) 226-2811
or check out their website
www.pam.org.
To reach Erinn Lerten
goawayrocks@hotmail.com or
drop by B-104.
A scene from the new Warner Bros, movie "Death To Smoochy" starring Edward Norton as
Smoochy, and Robin Williams as Rainbow Randolph, from Director Danny Devito.
self went a little bit overboard, make a lot of sense and are vio Smoochy,” rated R for lan
squirting the blood from a lent in a sort of humorous way guage and sexual references,
bottle off camera. DeVito also but do entertain you, then you will be released March 29 na
warned that this is definitely would probably enjoy it. If you tionwide.
To reach Maggie Jirasek e-
not a movie you want to bring think that this comedy is a soft
children’s tale, then you better mail bunny_97222@yahoo.com
your kids to.
If you like movies that don’t , stay away from it ‘Death to or drop by B-104.
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