World’s Greatest Dad is the second of Bobcat Goldthwait’s films that I’ve seen. So far, it appears that I am a huge fan of his writing and style. The comedy in this film is definitely dark, but had me laughing almost as much as it had me missing Robin Williams. I give World’s Greatest Dad the Not Quite Golden, Ponyboy rating.
World’s Greatest Dad has a lot of great moments!
Lance (Robin Williams) is a teacher who is desperately trying to become a successful writer. His son, Kyle (Daryl Sabara), is an odd one and, after a freak accident, Lance finds himself attracting a lot of community and media attention after covering up the truth with a phony suicide note.
Robin Williams does a terrific job hitting the emotional beats in this film. His interactions with his son are hard to watch as his son is the ultimate apathetic teenager with an obsession with the opposite sex. It’s clear that Lance has done the best he could as a single parent, but definitely has lost his son’s respect. He struggles with most relationships in his life including his secret girlfriend and co-worker, Claire Reed (Alexie Gilmore). He struggles with jealousy and insecurities and Williams nails it.
A great performance by Robin Williams!
The scene where Lance discovers the accident is painful. Williams really goes through it and gives an emotional performance that is easy to be remembered. This set up follows an earlier scene where Williams thought he found his son dead. However, it turns into a comedic moment. If you remember Daryl Sabara from Spy Kids you’ll be extremely surprised at the character he is playing. In one scene he brings printed pornography to school to show his friend Andrew (Evan Martin) who is disgusted by Kyle’s selection.
If you like dark humor than Bobcat may be a writer you’ll get on board with. I plan on watching his documentary and Willow Creek pretty soon. World’s Greatest Dad isn’t family friendly film at all, so don’t let the cover art fool you.
Berkreviews.com 