Worlds Greatest Dad is a bizarrely fun movie to watch. Despite the title, this is not "fun for the whole family". In fact, it just may be an acquired taste, and I didn't want to admit that, because Robin Williams is in it, and most of his stuff is not limited to just one audience. He's pulled off many great performances, such as Popeye, Mrs. Doubtfire, and the unforgettable Patch Adams! In Worlds Greatest Dad...he's just a dad. He's just an average, ordinary guy, working as a teacher in a school. On the side, he's a struggling writer, trying to catch his big break as a paid author. He's written many books, all of which get discarded in the trash when he gets rejection notices. Surprisingly, he had a fan the whole, time, the neighbor lady, who took his work out of the trash, and read everything he wrote up to date. His son is Kyle, a perverted young teen who lets his hormones control him to the brink of impulsive behavior. ( He ties a leather belt around his neck, and connects it to the door, to enhance an orgasm. This is how lead singer of INXS hung himself and died. Not to be outdone, its not far from how Robin Williams killed himself.) He does not get along with his son, or rather, his son doesn't get along with him. When he comes home from school, he sees a picture of his dad, and sets it face down, so that he doesn't have to look at him even in a picture. When Kyle is found dead in an embarrassing situation, dad takes it upon himself to cover up the death as a suicide, not wanting the public to know that he died while masturbating. The suicide sparks plenty of unwanted attention from several sources, including a girl that he was trying to woo while he was in school. As the "suicide" death draws attention, poor dad is left in the center of all this muddle and bombarded with several questions. When he finally breaks down at the funeral and confesses the truth, it will leave an entire town shocked, disgusted, and unforgiving. In the end, it seems as though what dad did only made sense to himself. Worlds Greatest Dad is a very dark humored comedy, from director Bobcat. This isn't the first time Williams has worked with the Cat, he appeared as a volunteer for the mime instructor role in Shakes The Clown back in 1991. Again, this isn't a family movie, in fact, I would encourage you keep kids away from it. If you don't like it the first time, I strongly encourage you to give it another go when you are in the right mood. My favorite scene was when he goes swimming with David Bowie's "Under Pressure" song playing, a sense that he felt that he really felt as if he was under pressure from the outcry of an entire town that doesn't seem to understand why he lied about his sons death. A true parent who loves their child would truly understand. We love and miss you, Mr. Williams!!!!

Mr. Clayton is an unpopular teacher who lives his even more unpopular jerk of a son, Kyle. When Kyle accidentally kills himself while masturbating (no I'm not making this up), Clayton makes it look like suicide to spare his son's dignity (at least somewhat). Eventually, when Kyle's "suicide note" (actually written by Clayton) is published in the school paper, people begin to see Kyle as a hero, and Clayton, by association, becomes much more popular. The film shows how death can erase all flaws from from individuals. At every funeral there's always people saying wonderful things about the deceased. "He was such a kind man." or "She was a bright spot in our life." But were they really? This movie takes it even further as the whole school becomes convinced that Kyle was a misunderstood genius. Bobcat Goldthwait is some sort of genius himself when it comes to satire, and though this is not as vicious and controversial as his later film "God Bless America", there are still many great comedic moments. One of my favourite parts is: The Principle: "Hardy anyone came to the funeral. I felt bad, I should have gone." Counsellor: "Don't blame yourself. It was a weekday." But the film also has it's fair share of drama as well- the scene where Clayton finds his son dead is heartbreaking. Robin Williams was a great comedian, but people sometimes forget that he was also an amazing dramatic actor as well. The way he underplays certain scenes allows for a great build up of his character, making the cathartic release that much more satisfying. World's Greatest Dad is a very good movie that you should definitely check out.

I expected a comedy, after all it said it was a comedy and Robin Williams who usually does comedy's was in it.So I was not happy when to my surprise this movie was seriously depressing. By the end of the movie I wanted to kill myself. which if you watch the movie you'll see how ironic that statement is. If you want to watch a comedy, do not watch this movie. I wanted to laugh, did I laugh? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I did not. The main character's life is seriously depressing. Everything that can go wrong, does and then the end does not even make sense. I'm like, why? why is he doing that? I didn't like the beginning, middle or the end. All for different reason. Number one reason is this is not a comedy. I feel like I was duped.

While it might not rank as THE best comedy Robin Williams has ever done, it is a darkly funny film that takes advantage of his comedic and dramatic skills effectively. Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, WORLD'S GREATEST DAD is about Lance Clayton (Williams), a failed writer who teaches poetry at the high school where his son attends. He also has trouble with his son (Daryl Sabara), who is quite a jerk to him and everyone else in his life. However, when his son accidentally dies, he sees an opportunity to get the respect he deserves. While not laugh-out-loud funny, this film was nevertheless able to take serious subject matter and get some mileage out of subverting it, while also making a statement on the legacy of the dead and how people will use it to their advantage. Robin Williams gives one of his best performances in years as Lance Clayton who, if you think about it, is like a cynical version of his John Keating character from DEAD POETS SOCIETY. The deadpan manner in which he reacts to things was also a change of pace from the manic comedy he did in the past. Daryl Sabara was really good as his jerk son. Another aspect which I liked was how, after Lance's son dies, everyone comes out of the woodwork as having liked him when, in fact, they were just responding to Lance's cover-up out of sympathy. It's amazing how far misunderstanding can go, and the film portrays this in a bold and satirical way. Still, this film could rub some people the wrong way, given how life sort of imitated art. However, this is only in retrospect. I highly doubt that Bobcat Goldthwait was anticipating what Robin Williams would eventually do, but it is really odd that things turned out the way that they did. Overall, this is really dark comedy that might turn some people off, but I thought it was a welcome return-to-form for Robin Williams.