World's Greatest Dad (2009)

When World's Greatest Dad first came out I knew nothing of it. Completely slipped under my radar. Judging by the box however, I automatically assumed it was going to be a silly Robin Williams family comedy along the lines of Old Dogs or R.V. and I avoided it. How wrong I was on that assumption .....

Recently I read an interview with Bobcat where he talked about this, plus another movie he made concerning bestiality (Stay, or Sleeping Dogs Lie, depending on who you ask I guess) and I was like "really? Bobcat made this?" so I looked it up. With positive memories of Shakes the Clown, plus a good understanding of Bobcat's twisted side (Post-Police Academy days that is) World's Greatest Dad became a must see title for me. Coincidentally a couple days later I found it for $4 in a clearance section so I grabbed it .....

I went in not knowing what to expect, but from the Bobcat interview, I had a basic idea of its dark tone. I knew there was gonna be some unexpected twists, and that it was not going to be a typical family comedy as the title/box art might suggest, but I had no idea it was gonna be quite like this. For the record, I say that in a good way. It would be difficult for me to say anymore without giving away any spoilers, so I'll leave it at this: World's Greatest Dad was incredible, and refreshing for its originality. If you can appreciate comedy with an unforgiving cynicism and a dark side then watch this movie with a clean slate and an open mind, you won't be disappointed.

Fmovies: I saw this movie two weeks ago, because a friend of mine told me that it's a good dark comedy. I like dark humor, but I really didn't expected such a strong movie like this. When someone mention "a dark comedy", I usually think about "Don't be a menace to the South Central while drinking your juice in the hood".

But, this is something different. Something that, if you are not psychically prepared, will hit you hard enough and make you feel sick. Robin Williams is a hell of an actor. I like his performances, and really appreciate what he has done for Hollywood.

"World's greatest dad" is one of the best movies of the year. It's something that everyone will find a line of his character in this movie. It's about how ironical the life can be, and how people threat others, and what an egoistic creatures we are. I gave him 10/10, because it's one of the most important movies of the year, a movie that you must watch once in your life and face the truth that the worst thing in life is not to end up all alone, but to end up with people who make you feel all alone.

Robin Williams is a man of two halves, the brilliant 'The Fisher King', 'One Hour Photo' and 'Insomnia' to name but a few and the rubbish 'Flubber', 'Patch Adams' etc. His work never seems to have any grey area he is either proving he can act or acting the fool. In his latest role as Lance Clayton in Bobcat Goldthwait's (yep the guy out of Police Academy) 'World's Greatest Dad' he is once again showing us he's still got what it takes as he tackles the role of a father who loses his son to a tragic accident. This though is no straight drama and contains humour that is very dark indeed. Lance is an aspiring writer who can't seem to get published, he is also a teacher who runs a very poorly attended poetry class and the father to Kyle, perhaps the most obnoxious kid to ever grace our screens. After an accident presents an interesting opportunity for Lance he grabs it by both hands and runs with it until it reaches its unnatural conclusion. Well acted and directed this is a film that would sit perfectly with say Junebug, Thumbsucker, Igby Goes Down and Wonder Boys as one of those quirky small town America trag-coms that you find yourself laughing at even when you shouldn't and one that can at times make your skin crawl ever so slightly. Like finding yourself staring at a car crash you won't be able to look away as the pacing draws you through the story with ease and although it deals with matters that are slightly taboo its ultimately an enjoyable watch and one which cements Williams reputation as a comic actor adapt at playing the wounded human soul.

World's Greatest Dad fmovies. Suburbia has transformed from an innocent place with friendly neighbors to a world full of miserable, sometimes disturbed people, dreams deferred, and earth-shattering secrets. From this year's Sundance Film Festival we have Bobcat Goldthwait's dark comedy World's Greatest Dad, we delve once again into the unknown of Any Town, USA.

This film mainly takes place in a school setting, but the themes and conflicts that arise coincide with those found in other films about suburbia. Robin Williams stars as struggling writer Lance Clayton. He lives with his son Kyle (Daryl Sabara), a porn obsessed, perverted teenager who attends the private school Lance teaches a not-so-popular poetry elective. There is tough love between the two. It's a typical teenager vs. the parent relationship only the censors have been turned off.

Lance is dating another teacher on staff, Claire (Alexie Gillmore), who he suspects isn't totally committed to their relationship. Life isn't getting any easier for Lance who struggles to reach his students or find a publisher for his work. When things couldn't get any worse, Lance suffers a blow few could recover from. From tragedy comes opportunity and it is up to Lance to decide what is the right thing to do.

It would be wrong of me to give away the tragedy, but it is something that does occur in Any Town, USA. In fact it happened not too long ago just a town over from me. It's the first time I can think of it being used in a film, or at least of this magnitude. There are several times during the film that I felt uncomfortable, but not to the point of disgust. There are some pretty heavy issues handled here and I think it is tasteful.

Williams does a fine job, especially in the second half of the film. For a comedian I can imagine it being difficult to change emotionally like that, but Williams has proved time after time in films like Good Will Hunting, One Hour Photo, and Insomniac that he can play just about any role thrown at him. He has a presence that is very real and powerful.

I was surprised by Sabara's performance as Kyle. I had only seen him in Spy Kids so I really didn't know what to expect. He seemed to have a clear idea of who Kyle was and what is motives are.

Goldthwait, who also wrote the screenplay, tackles a lot of issues both for adults and teenagers. At first I thought the film was going to end up like last years Towelhead, a hodgepodge of issues and conflicts that are each could have been their own film, but here we have an even dosage of each, culminating to a great finale and realization by William's character.

The film isn't perfect. One thing I don't like films to do is talk about other films. I feel like it is only a way for the writer to show off his movie knowledge and personal views about certain movies, although one segment involving zombie movies is relevant to the story. Occasionally it can be beneficial. Some of the scenes were a bit overdone with cheesy, overused dialogue, and some of the deliveries felt like they were just saying their lines and not really connecting with them.

Overall I was impressed. Goldthwait is not a big time filmmaker but this is certainly a step in the right direction (he has acted in several films and worked on other projects behind the camera). Williams gives one of his better performances as of late, but he doesn't steal the show. I thought the story was good enough to stand on its own, which is a very good thing. I hope this film doesn

This movie worked very well as a dark comedy. It followed no set boundaries and goes its own way. The results are incredibly dark, sometimes being almost twisted. There are some scenes where the viewer doesn't know whether to laugh or feel sad. Robin Williams delivers his best performance in a while as Lance Clayton, a struggling writer striving for success and hell-bent on not dying alone. I personally found it rather impressive that it was both written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait because I'm personally not too big of a fan of his stand-up and this was a far departure from it. However, the one thing that I saw as holding the movie back was its climax, which I believed took the right route, but could have been more powerful or had a bit more of a sting to it. Overall, this movie, like Observe and Report released earlier in 2009, won't be for everyone, but it works very well in its own way.

WORLDS GREATEST DAD feels like a well-deserved smack in the face. Tragedy happens every day and our self-centered culture leaps in to turn the event into a grandiose communal affair. Immediate world-wide exposure seems to open the door for each and every one of us to adhere ourselves to tragic misfortunes of others and become a superstar. It's not a pleasant truth, but a truth that was well characterized in this movie. As a parent of teenagers, the abrupt 360 degree attitudinal shift of the kids seemed entirely realistic. Teenagers thrive on group think and group drama and attention. Each kid portrayed reminded me of kids I know - they were fabulous actors. I run into the indulgent & blinded parental approach adopted by Robin Williams all the time, it felt entirely plausible. Loved this movie and it left me thinking about all sorts of themes for days and days. If you are thinking about starting a family - see this movie. If you have a family - see this movie. If you work with kids - see this movie. If you have thoughts of self-promotion in relation to another's misfortune - see this movie. If you prefer to be smacked in the face with a lot of humor to balance the pain - see this movie!