Death To Smoochy | Welcome To The Basement

[@Paritan164]

Death to Smoochy is one of my favorite movies, because Robin Williams is gloriously unhinged, the rest of the cast shines too. I quote lines from that film to this day and nobody knows wtf I'm talking about. I love it.

[@punchout2418]

"alright boys, let's go pray and get shit faced" 😅

[@Paritan164]

@punchout2418 "they all have views, you dumb shit!" "not looking THIS way, cupcake!"

[@Snottle1]

I love this show. So many other shows, both on television and on youtube, dip in quality when they've been around even half as long as this one, and yet this show has always consistently provided fun, laughs, and genuinely interesting insight on a wide variety of films. Thanks Matt, Craig, and Tona for doing what you do!

[@nickcull07]

Strangely enough, this movie was a slice of positivity for me at a point in my life when I was drowning in cynicism. A hopeless optimist buffoons his way through impenetrable bleakness and comes out the other side changed but not completely corrupt. It really made me feel better about life, as silly as it sounds.

[@MrMLGuel]

I gotta say Craig would be a great Mailman type character in a kid's show. I don't know why but it would be perfect.

[@steviea427]

I can see Craig slipping all kinds of adult jokes in with his kid's show performances. Nothing dirty, just funny. You're right, he would be perfect.

[@seanhenry2921]

Boris Karloff's dead! Undead, undead, undead!

[@DeniseFaraday]

Norton: '...all I care about...' Matt: ...is touching children...emotionally! ROFL

[@looneytoon76]

Sugar Bear whose voice was modeled after (some say Bing Crosby others say Dean Martin). He was originally featured on the 60's cartoon Linus the Lionhearted

[@AnthonyValli]

You can really tell how mid 90s-early 00s a movie is by how many dutch angles it has

[@petethedutch]

There's an old Henry Rollins video where he talks about auditioning for Spinner, and playing it so broad and manic - because he knew he wasn't getting the part - that the producer reading with him got so scared that she was crying by the end and Danny De Vito hid from him behind the couch. I guess Rispoli seemed subdued in comparison?

[@PokerJoker811]

I never would have guessed that Fran Newhaus would be interested in a Mads Mikkelsen film!

[@rjones197]

I'm a long time watcher of B&BB, but this show has really won me over. I have been binge watching from the beginning to present while I do arduous chores, and it certainly has been enlightening. I find myself enjoying films again. Thank you.

[@Teaniinja]

I love this movie so much. I bought it right when it came to DVD. I'm sorry you guys didnt like it. It starts with cynicism and gets more hopeful and tests Sheldon's convictions and he passes.

[@bunnylations]

I love it too. I saw it randomly on TV late one night, and immediately ordered it on DVD. Nobody has ever heard of it when I mention it to them.

[@jessicabudin]

I’m so glad you guys mentioned One Hour Photo, what a fantastic movie! I thought about it for weeks after first seeing it. I honestly think it’s one of Williams’ best dramatic performances, I’m even considering writing about it for my masters thesis next year! Been watching you guys since 2014, keep up the basement dwelling! :)

[@better.better]

I agree I remember through the whole movie you feel like you know what's going on, but then the plot twist at the end is superbly executed

[@KendallLindsey]

This is another fantastic episode that proves why I will never stop being a donor!

[@LissaLo13]

I could listen to Matt rant about Doctor Doolittle for hours

[@curly_wyn]

Horrible movie. It doesn’t know what its audience is, and it’s emotionally and unnecessarily unsettling film full of childish jokes and anal fixations.

[@reatru]

Love love love DTS! Delightfully absurd and highly quotable. I'll defend it to the end.

[@Ondrix]

Holy shit...... I wasn't expecting this. Glad you guys watched this movie. It's one of my favorite movies of all time.

[@williamblakehall5566]

"It's a rocketship!" is weirdly prophetic of Jeff Bezos's trip to space.

[@CheapRobot]

Matt's over here talking about animal abuse, meanwhile his cat's balls are on fire.

[@JakeWithee]

I never realized Anthony Newley was in the original Doctor Dolittle! I mostly knew him from "Stop the World - I Want to Get Off", of which I'm quite fond, in no small part because it's the first musical I was ever involved with. He was definitely a Very British Man™.

[@citymistproductions]

What a coincidence, I watched Another Round last night. I really, really enjoyed it. That final scene was some of the most fun I've had in a film in a long, long time.

[@redsands1001]

I've watched the dance sequence multiple times but still need to watch the movie

[@steviea427]

Blue Oyster Cult's "Some Enchanted Evening" album in the back is super cool.

[@curly_wyn]

I’ve been cured of my fever, and now I no longer need cowbell!

[@steviea427]

@@curly_wyn Is there nothing BOC can't do!?

[@ChrisWorcestershire]

I was so excited when I saw that you two were watching this. I don't care about how poorly it was received, I love Death to Smoochy.

[@craigjohnson6423]

I am very glad to hear that. Our opinions are just that: opinions. I always hope that when we pan a movie we don't destroy anyone's love of said movie.

[@ChrisWorcestershire]

@@craigjohnson6423 No, of course not! I had a feeling it wasn't going to be a big hit with you guys; it is a pretty flawed movie. I just enjoyed hearing your takes on it and experiencing the film again with the both of you.

[@KP-gs4fu]

I’ve heard the John Stewart haircut joke about twenty times now, but I still cackle like a mad man when I hear it.

[@PoseidonXIII]

Great discussions all around! And I still need to check out One Hour Photo.

[@ReetinEntertainment]

Death to Smoochy is one of my favorite movies. I love a lot of the one-liners.

[@Papscott333]

that "Paul Municipal" joke was top tier. haven't watched the whole episode yet, had to pause to make this comment.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

This movie was horrifying, but I’m weirdly proud of the hosts for being able to tell the difference between authoritarian regimes

[@gabrielbrito2120]

To be fair, I was also thinking about Lagosi. I was doing the long fingers thing while you were saying “Hey, you guys!”

[@kyleyoung3446]

The first DVD I ever bought was Death To Smoochy.

[@ALMOSTMACROSWAG]

Death To Smoochy is a surprisingly wholesome movie by the end and I smiled ear to ear at the ending dance scene. You guys are the cynics, but you probably already knew that.

[@nevet1212]

Loved this episode as always, the jabs at John Stewart where my favorites.

[@primalkaran3483]

Hello guys, love your show! Seen It - The Bridge on the River Kwai? One of the best film endings I’ve seen.

[@toddevangelista]

New idea: "Stop or My Mom Will Shoot" on ICE!

[@corbelius6]

I LOVE This Movie!

[@Trevin_Taylor]

“Regardless of his personal life…”

[@leiasleeping1282]

Till this day I still hear Matt say “I’m going to spring one onion” in the entry.

[@yellowstone51]

Just a quick word on Anthony Newley and his weird voice, not sure if you already knew this but Bowie absolutely LOVED him. Bowie's earliest albums were basically a deliberate attempt to sound like him, and there's a great sound clip of Bowie doing impressions of musicians and when he does Newley it sounds like a bad Bowie impression.

[@DrLipkin]

I don't know if it would make for a better theme month or Seen It theme, but I'd love to see some focus on remakes/reboots, specifically of movies you've already watched on the show. I personally enjoyed the Brendan Fraiser remake of Bedazzled, and hadn't heard of the original until you watched it some years ago.

[@arnoldsaidwhat]

I need this to come out on Blu-ray I just love it

[@ROOKTABULA]

This was one of those films that really let down because I was really looking forward to enjoying it.

[@theULTIMATETetris]

I like to pass on watching these for a year so I can go through them in bulk. I see that it's this classic that brings me back once more.

[@PurushaDesa]

“Pam Ferris is Danny DeVito’s muse,” is a sentence I never thought I would ever formulate.

[@Sinatra1138]

I think I want to make one comment on Matt's assessment of Anthony Newley during Seen It. As someone who is a fan of Broadway, I only somewhat agree with him. For the longest time, I wasn't a big fan of Newley either, but his voice grew on me (He has a wonderfully fun version of "Pop Goes the Weasel" that really got me into him vocally). Personally, I think he was a better songwriter than he was a singer. After all, he wrote some of the greatest songs to come from the stage, like "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)", "What Kind of Fool Am I?", and all of the music for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

[@redsands1001]

Poor spinner. Always loved the ending dance sequence. May have to look up visions of light

[@caffeineadvocate]

"Rhinoplasty.." Ok, Matt. I see you.

[@michaellafferty6364]

Now I want to see Charlie Kaufman's children's show.

[@alexfriedman8670]

20:25 on Anthony Newley as Mr. Mugg in Doctor Doolittle "Is he handsome?" "Nooooo! He doesn't have charm, he doesn't have charisma, he has bad posture-" cut to our homeboy looking exactly like Anthony Newley

[@maggitPL]

1:11 Cue the Lugosi autograph scene from Ed Wood.

[@derekrucker377]

Anthony Newley actually had a GREAT and memorable (for young me) turn in the 1985 made-for-TV Alice in Wonderland as the Mad Hatter. Pretty good singing performance, as well as Telly Savalas.

[@JeniJustJeni]

I really hope you liked this movie as much as I did. I have postponed watching this episode until I watched it and tonight was the night. *Buckles in*

[@AtticusTsaiMcCarthy]

Somehow I also thought of Bela Lugosi when trying to think of Boris Karloff

I always link this movie to Henry Rollins' stand up routine about auditioning for it and wrecking an entire room in the process.

[@rkgaustin]

Cynical Rhino is the cool band name for today.

[@TheFillem]

I loved thos movie when it came out. For me it came so out of left field and unexpectedly and I really thought that the cast seemed to enjoy being in it. Looking forward to hearing what the Base me Boys make of it and hearing their arguments against it (I'm guessing :))

[@adamjg4]

Steyr AUG -- a fine vintage bullpup design 13:59

[@jordanhunter1267]

crustyfrank27 is my spirit animal

[@caboosethegoose]

The exact same thing that happened to Matt happened to me! Those old horror icons can sometimes blend together haha.

[@JTMitchell87]

It's not often where I go into these episodes hoping you guys will enjoy what you're talking about, but this was one of them. I'm pretty fond of this movie, but I also understand that it's not for everyone. I may even go as far as to say it's one of my favorite Robin Williams movies. I agree, however, that Spinner should have been done better/differently because his schtick gets old _very_ quickly.

[@scootermustang7683]

Death to Smootchy is one of my top 5

[@GreatWightSpark]

I wonder why Robin Williams was cast in this, since he felt the same way about Disney's use of the Genie in advertising.

[@jeffthevideoguy23]

It's a Martini and fish eye guy from "Cuckoo's Nest" reunion!

[@RicardoAlmeidatm]

Why is charging money for kids to star in your private TV show illegal?

[@stormcloudsabound]

My guess is that it's a bribe of some kind, or racketeering or embezzlement or some such, who knows.

[@aestevalis0]

I remember Sugar Bear.

[@nishbrown]

Little known fact: Roger Ebert never took a shit in his entire life.

[@bradforddillman7671]

Catherine Keener makes everything better. I’ll watch it just for her. Someday.

[@GreenbeanFloyd]

Death to Smoochy starring Smeath Todoochy! Spoonerize more, people. Life is better with spoonerisms!

[@AlterEagleProduction]

I guess Sloth from Goonies got the phrase, "Hey you guys!" From Scar Face.

[@NapiurPictures]

Holy shit Spinner is Jackie Aprile from Sopranos? He might have been completely over top, but man does that man have a range. Two completely different characters.

[@Dawidsu]

Also Rudy Pipilo from The Deuce, perhaps the best written gangster character.

[@TheMaestroso]

I saw this multiple times on Comedy Central (though not as many times as Joe Dirt - seems like that was always on), and yeah - I don't hate it, but the flaws are pretty clear. Too bad ambitious movies like this rarely get made, because going to the movies would be a lot more entertaining.

[@SleepFan771]

Death To Smoochy looks like The Hudsucker Proxy a bit.

[@SleepFan771]

Robin Williams is disturbing in Insomnia! The only Christopher Nolan I'd call underrated.

[@jonblain4938]

My favorite doctor Doolittle story from ‘Pictures at a Revolution’ is the story of the giraffe “stepping on his own cock.”

[@TheRealSpiderMew]

I had to read "In cold blood" in college. Before that i used to read for fun all the time. But after that i could never enjoy picking up a book again. it was just too much for me.

[@vampricramen]

If Tim Burton is to be believed, and why would he be, Lugosi would be spinning in his coffin to be confused with Karloff.

[@nealwhaley63]

I saw this film in the theater. 2002? Good lord….

[@reaper23113]

honestly i could see Craigs childrens show character on mr rodgers

[@redsands1001]

11:03. Lol. Wait Are we old?

[@Demeaner4]

Boris Karloff's dead... Undead undead undead

[@DarthBleak]

Love you guys.

[@hilaryc8648]

One of the many interesting facts about Anthony Newley is that Bowie was a huge fan and based his vocal style on him.

[@craigjohnson6423]

That is a very interesting fact about Anthony Newley.

[@hilaryc8648]

@@craigjohnson6423 Glad you enjoyed it. Another one. Newley’s surreal and ground breaking Brit TV show, ‘The Strange World of Gurney Slade’ was a big influence on Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

[@curseyoujordanshow]

I enjoyed it. It's not a movie I'm likely to ever watch again, but I'm glad I watched it once. And though it's rare in general that I ever agree with Roger Ebert's opinions, I have to wonder if his parents were trampled to death by a rhino, because that critique is more over the top than anything in the film.

[@animemanj]

How'd I know they were gonna pick that line for the end card?

[@Zylork0122]

Can't get enough of that sugar crisp, sugar crisp...

[@scootermustang7683]

Henry Rollins has a story about how he was almost cast as Spinner Dunn

[@better.better]

No, let's be honest it's just a Danny DeVito movie. I don't remember does he write them too? Every single one of the movies he's directed has this flavor. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I don't remember did he direct the one with Arnold Schwarzenegger... what is it called? Twins? because that didn't feel like a Danny DeVito movie. Throw Momma From The Train definitely felt like a Danny DeVito movie and I think that actually did pretty well

[@rbdz29]

I can tell just by watching clips of Death to Smoochy that, I think - as bad as it looks: a glorious trainwreck is what they wanted to make; a case study in making a bad movie about self-absorbed and narcissistic fame-seekers who want a movie to tell their story. So, instead of making an Oscar caliber movie about shitty people, they basically said, fuck it - here's your thing. Are you happy now? I think that was the point, to make a demented and dystopian satire about D-list celebrities whose super stardom depends on children who basically don't have a clue about what's going on. The comparison people make is between Smoochy and Barney the Purple Dinosaur, but Rainbow Randolph looks more like Krusty the Clown and that Death to Smoochy is loosely inspired by the Krusty Gets Kancelled episode of The Simpsons.

[@OneUponADime]

Matts Robin Williams is great

[@theugliestweinie8365]

Witness me!

[@Stroheim333]

Death to Smoochy is a black comedy that doesn't always hit its notes perfectly, but good enough. I can't understand the hate, and I have seen the movie three times now.

[@curly_wyn]

Yeah, and the forced happy ending where none of the characters face any repercussions or learn anything is definitely a note not hit.

[@dawidmamczur]

Thanks for steering me into this movie, guys. It starts off way over the top and yet finds headroom to be even more outrageous. The plot heads towards a brick wall, but with such a ridiculous speed that it breaks it and starts heading for another one. Yes, it's idiotic, but to me it looks like what the Coen brothers tried to achieve when they did The Ladykillers, but this movie succeeds. It does it all on purpose and I think it does it well. The attention to detail is great too, for example the songs are so perfectly bad and Williams, not altogether a bad vocalist, manages to sing them so flawlessly amateurish. I admit, at times the movie made me wince and cringe a bit. Also it completely ignores the fact that Norton collaborates with the Irish mob and not only are there no consequences for him, he benefits from it. But nevertheless, I had a whale of a time watching it, though normally I'm not into such moronic stuff.

[@Karthonic]

This is one of my "Comfort Snack" movies, if that make sense? There's definitely some cringe parts but I still find it entertaining. Then again I unironically enjoy Manos, so.

[@better.better]

I feel like where it went wrong is that it's Matilda without the kid. there's nothing there to pull at the heart strings, otherwise it's pretty much the same flavor: you got your corruption, you've got the come-up-ance, you got the guy who's down on his luck who has this windfall land in his lap, you got the love interest that builds between two characters who are only associated with one another because of the main plot device. the main difference is that Matilda was the plot device whereas in this movie "the show" is the plot device, and there's just no way that you're going to love "the show" as much as you grow to love a baby that grows into a tween where most of the movie is about how great this child is and loving the adopted parent is. there's just no way to develop an emotional connection like that for "the show*

[@TitaniumSeraph]

As a kid I liked Doctor Dolittle, but I can't watch it as an adult. I dunno what happened. haha I will defend the song "Beautiful Things". NOT as it's sung in the movie. But I've heard many very nice covers of it.

[@Adonto01]

Before I hit play on this episode I’m going to take a shot and say you won’t like it. I love this movie, but it is super weird and I totally understand why others don’t.

[@treytison1444]

No good songs in Doctor Dolittle? My Friend the Doctor slaps.

[@aestevalis0]

I made the same mistake Matt did.

[@banjohead66]

BOC!

[@aestevalis0]

I prefer my friends king-sized.

[@ahsokatano4908]

I miss Chad Vader 😞

[@trisblackshaw1640]

I really didn't hate it.

[@nishbrown]

This movie was made to be laughed AT, not with.