Robin Williams Tribute Month: World's Greatest Dad (2009)

 Bobcat Goldthwait's mind is certainly a dark and mysterious one. His comedy World's Greatest Dad, is one of the most difficult Williams movie to watch in the wake of his death, considering it's suicidal themes. But the truth is, this is probably the best black-humour movie I've seen in a long time.

Single father, high-school teacher and amateur writer, Lance Clayton (Robin Williams) consistently has his novels rejected from publishers. He's involved with a much younger, more attractive teacher, Claire (Alexie Gilmore) whom he is paranoid might be cheating on him, and on top of that he has a difficult to deal with, "douchebag" of a son, Kyle (Daryl Sabara) that is an underachiever, constantly getting into fights and has a fetish for erotic asphyxiation.

Lance seems to be surrounded by irritating teachers, such as Mike (Henry Simmons), another English teacher whose much more popular English elective, better physique and publishing success is only made worse by his excruciating (and quite probably false) modesty, and Principal Anderson (Geoff Pierson), who is so deadpan serious that even Bale's Batman would be more of a laugh. In fact, the only remotely likable adult around Lance is his elderly neighbour, Bonnie (Mitzi McCall) who is quite willing to chat with lance over a cup of tea and some hash brownies.

Compared to most of his other comedies, this is one of Robin Williams's more subdued performances, though just because it's missing some of his energy is not to say that it's not both funny and really quite touching. This style really does suit the character, who seems so hopelessly repressed despite all the sh*t that's unfolding around him that it really is difficult not to see elements of Williams's inner demons come out through Lance.

This is a great script. It knows exactly where the line is, and steps over it with finesse. It never really devolves into gross-out comedy but rather takes a "we'll you've got to laugh or you'd cry" stance towards the bleak situations that play out over the course of the film. One of my favourite quotes from Lance, when he's talking about his struggles as a writer is “Ernest Hemingway once said all he wanted to do was write one true sentence. He also tried to scratch an itch in the back of his head with a shotgun.” That sentence for me, perfectly sums up the tone of the film

This is one of the best of Robin's last films, and whilst it deals with difficult subject matter, Goldthwait handles it perfectly, backed up by a unique performance from Williams. Also, it's got a great final scene, with the Queen-Bowie song "Under Pressure" playing in the background. Make sure you watch through to that part.