Even from thousands of miles away, over telephone lines, it's obvious that Robin Williams is struggling with demons. Only this time, they're not born of a drug habit or Patch Adams, but are more canine in nature. And they're so violent, they even cause him to spill his coffee. Still, though it's 8 a.m. California time, he turns the sticky into shtick: "Down Cujo! Never buy your puppy from a meth lab; know that! Back, Simba!" Even hip-deep in retriever, Robin Williams is on. And when he's on -- and not trying to save the world with comedy -- he's pretty damn hee-larious. Or infuriating. Or both. So impishly manic he probably shits espresso, Williams is one of those polarizing entertainers: he either gets you laughing, whether you like it or not, or gets under your skin like an overachieving chigger. The star of Death to Smoochy brought the pleasure and the pain -- working the word "nasty" like he was Janet Jackson -- over a phone interview last week.
STREET: So, this movie [Death to Smoochy]... It's pretty dark.
WILLIAMS: Nice insight. You must be all-honors, Phi Beta Krappa, nothing but "ehs." I have a few college memories. Well, mostly, they're memories of losing a few memories in college. But it [the movie] is nasty funny, kick-ass funny. If you want that, that's great, but if you want happy, just regular "fun" fun, this is not that movie. And don't bring a kid. Please, please, or else the welfare worker will be calling. A lot.
Did you love it from the get-go, or did it take some time to think over?
I laughed my ass off when I read it, literally -- do you like the implants? It was almost like my stand-up, because it was so free form and nasty in its own way. When Danny [DeVito] had signed up to direct it, I went, "I've got to do this because he won't be afraid of it."
Being "Mr. Improv," how much of that went into Smoochy? Did Danny DeVito keep you on a short leash?
There are no boundaries with him. There's not even little road cones. There's just the sense of try anything, and he'll pick the best because he's so visual. I think that's why he pushed the physical comedy in this, which I think is great. That, combined with his own nasty sense of humor, Danny's like a troll without a bridge. He will shoot until he drops because he's nocturnal. He just wanted to go more. He's not afraid of anything. Plus, [screenwriter Adam] Resnick's writing was so strong that you didn't need to improvise a lot. In terms of percentage of improv, my God, all of a sudden I become Dustin Hoffman, like [Rain Man voice], "12 percent, 12 percent, definitely 12 percent improv."
At least you got some nice clothes in this one.
Oh, yes. It's just miles of sequins. It looks like something that Liberace would go [effeminate voice], 'Don't wear that. Don't put that on, it's just too much.' Siegfried and Roy would go [effeminate, German voice], 'That is way too much. That's loud even for a blind person.'
I get that a lot about these pants. My friends say they make me look hippy.
Oh, it looks fine. But those shoes, honey? They make your ankles look thick, thick, thick. You need to get you some nice mules, girlfriend.
