World's Greatest Dad

2009 "Lance Clayton is about to get everything he deserves."
6.9| 1h39m| R| en| More Info
Released: 20 August 2009 Released
Producted By: Magnolia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.worldsgreatestdadfilm.com/
Synopsis

In the wake of a freak accident, Lance suffers the worst tragedy and the greatest opportunity of his life. He is suddenly faced with the possibility of fame, fortune and popularity, if he can only live with the knowledge of how he got there.

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Reviews

TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film
SunnyHello Nice effects though.
BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.
John Smith I was catching up with some of Robin Williams brilliant work (standup and movies) after his tragic demise.Robin Williams plays Lance Clayton, high school poetry teacher and single parent. Lance Clayton is a failed writer, having had several books rejected. His son Kyle performs poorly at school, is ill tempered and disobedient, with few friends. After his son's death caused by autoerotic asphyxiation, Lance makes the death look like suicide. When the school students interpret Kyle's fake suicide note as deeply intelligent, and become the late Kyle's new best friends, Lance exploits this by publishing Kyle's fake Journal. Finally Lance admits Kyle's true cause of death and that he wrote Kyle's Journal. The message of the film is that its better to be alone than to be with people who make you feel alone.World's Greatest Dad, is probably better titled World's Worst Dad. Neither parent or child have much empathy for each other. Both seemed to be 'losers'. The cause of Kyle's death seems implausible, given Kyle's likely novice experience. The film seems to be seeking attention through highlighting taboo subjects. The message of being alone and unliked, fails for me as the film does not offer solutions for better parenting and focuses for a time on youth suicide, which is not properly dealt with.The acting was OK, but I felt the messages in the film were off key and inappropriate. 5.5/10
Ashutosh Sharma I watched this movie after watching Robin William starer Dead Poets Society and i was surprised that same actor in same role of a English poetry teacher, can deliver two contrasting characters with such brilliance. If you want to watch a dark comedy where you are laughing at the plight of characters and the situation no matter how weird it may seem can bring out the laughter, go for it.It is also a reflection that once someone is dead same people who them you for a fool or never cared, show how much they meant to them.The movie also brings out the fact that all of us have some peculiarities of our own. You need more reason to watch it, the movie has a Queen-Bowie song...:P
Neddy Merrill Borrowing liberally from "Heathers", this cynical dark comedy from Bobcat Goldthwait ends with the great, great line: "I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone." Unfortunately you are going to have to work hard to get there. The movie treads the path worn by "Heathers" of various special interest groups at a high school using the supposed suicide of a student to their own ends ultimately fictionalizing and defying him in the process. One of the parties, his father played by the late (due to suicide) Robin Williams, capitalizes on the tragedy to get everything his wants. Mostly, the script lacks funny and has few of the whipsmart lines that made "Heathers" a classic. However, if approached as a dark drama, the movie does raise some very discuss- able philosophical questions. Chief among these concerns whether the titular father's action although wildly dishonest and driven by greed do make the best of a bad situation and ultimately rehabilitate the legacy of the scumbag son. Can you do the wrong thing for the wrong reasons and wind up with a right that justifies the inherently evil actions? Is it better to be popular as a fraud or alone but true to yourself? We're told the father's deception helped vast swaths of the school and the surrounding community - does this justify his actions. In short, not much funny but a fair amount of thinky.
bowmanblue 'The World's Greatest Dad.' Hardly the world's greatest title to a film and, in my opinion, misleading.The front cover shows cuddly, lovable Robin Williams and in most of the film's descriptions, we're told it's a 'comedy.' Fair enough, we think and go on to expect some happy-go-lucky, silly, daft, frivolous, slapstick affair, possibly on a par with something like American Pie, or Mrs Doubtfire.Wrong.The World's Greatest Dad is more at home among Robin William's other film One Hour Photo. Yes, there are moments of humour, but they are surrounded by a great deal of tragedy. In the film, Robin Williams' son accidentally kills himself (I won't say how - you'll have to find out) in an embarrassing way. To cover this up, Williams makes it look like a suicide.By doing this both he (and his son's) status changes. This film is about the human reaction to death. Suddenly, his son was no longer an outsider and freak - now he's a saint. Now Robin Williams is no longer a meek, underdog, but a hero, struggling to cope with life.I won't give away too much of how the story unfolds. However, I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a decent 'black comedy drama.' I've seen it criticised by people who say 'Where's the humour?' Sure enough, there are few traditional jokes. It's more a cringe worthy exercise as Robin William's character digs a deeper metaphorical hole for himself and finds it increasingly harder to get back out.Also, I've seen this film accused of having 'no likable characters.' Again, possibly true, but, I think that's half the point.Don't expect belly laughs, just a film that somehow manages to raise a slight smile through the face of tragedy. But, when you consider the main crux of this film is a teenage boy's death, it does what it's supposed to.