World's Greatest Dad

Awful lighting. AWFUL. Lazy set design. No attention to color, framing or camera movements. The usage of music is some of the absolute worst I’ve ever seen in a serious film. Simply, this is just not the work of a filmmaker; at best, it's the work of a comedian interested in storytelling. These were my immediate thoughts while watching World’s Greatest Dad, a new comedy from comedian Bobcat Goldsthwait, who here writes, directs and makes a cameo.

Wait, did I just say Bobcat Goldsthwait? Yep. Remember that early 90s film Shakes the Clown? Awful but destined to be a cult film? He directed that, too. And other stuff, too. Anyone can play guitar.

I probably should’ve watched World’s Greatest Dad when it came out. I was living in Seattle when it was filmed there and it screened early at the Seattle International Film Festival. When it hit mainstream distribution there was a lot of press in Seattle, if only because it was filmed in town (though you’d hardly know it, save for maybe three shots). Nothing did it for me, however. I never made it to the theater to see the film. In retrospect, this maybe had much to do with the awful promotional poster. These things DO matter. The poster looks like the poster for Norbit. Or whatever. It looks like a cheesy Hollywood comedy. And no, despite starring Robin Williams in a comedic role, this is NOT a cheesy Hollywood comedy. It’s a lot of things, but not that.

This is an awkward film that starts rough. It likely read very well on paper and got made only because of that reason and the fact that Williams signed on to star in what could’ve been a potential Oscar-buzz-worthy role for the actor.

I know people who HATE Robin Williams. H-A-T-E him. Not me. I’ve seen Dead Poet’s Society, Fisher King, Good Will Hunting, August Rush, The Birdcage, Insomnia and Awakenings. Flat out, Robin Williams is, at times, a GREAT dramatic actor. Not always (see One Hour Photo), but often enough. And he’s in that mode here - or trying to be - as a single father who tragically loses his piece-of-shit son, who dies while masturbating.

Williams, as high school teacher/aspiring writer Lance Clayton, finds his dead masturbating son and does what I suspect many would do in this unique situation: he makes it look like his son killed himself. He even writes a suicide note.

Here’s where the plot gets strange: the suicide note gets printed in the school paper (Clayton and his son worked/attended the same school) and everyone talks about how well the note is written. Dad then starts writing more and more under his son’s name, which everyone in the school cares dearly about despite hating the song when he was alive (of course, right?). Dad does such a good job writing for his dead that all of his writer dreams begin to come true. He goes on talk shows and gets book deals. Gets his young, sexy girlfriend to commit and worship him. Life is good for a while.

The problems are almost too many to list. For example, Clayton, a poetry-loving 50-something stocky geek with glasses and grey hair is banging the hottest teacher at the school - a young, tall, thin, shallow minded, pretty teacher. The kid who kills himself jerking off is one of the more unbelievable depictions of a high schooler I’ve ever seen on film. Very one-dimensional and extreme. Adolescence has never gotten such a bad rap. That Bobcat is so removed from his youth is a big, huge problem considering the film’s subject matter (problems at school, basically, and what they mean about society).

Also, the jokes. They’re often bad. They’re not too different from the jokes in Superbad, the difference being that the actors in that film are young and energetic and convincing.  Here’s an example of one of the film’s better bits: “But dad, being seen with one teacher is bad enough. Being seen with two is AIDS.” To which the dad responds, “If you don’t act right at dinner I’ll stab you in the face.” Yikes. And that’s one of the best bits in the film. Ugh.

I wanted to hate the film for SO many reasons, but couldn’t. And by the time the DVD was back in the case, I momentarily thought that I liked the film. The script, while not strong, does have enough good ideas to warrant being made. The direction, however, is fucking awful. Bobcat just isn’t a director, no matter what glasses he wears. He’s a decent enough writer and a funny, unique man, but, under the direction of a REAL director, Williams likely could’ve given a great, buzz-worthy performance.

I suppose you could compare the film to Election, Happiness and American Pie, all three of which do a much better job at doing what they do than World’s Greatest Dad. But is this a bad film? Ehh. I wouldn’t quite say that. It’s not a well made film by any stretch of the imagination, but it does offer some entertainment value at time. Empty, shallow, poorly executed entertainment value. But, whatever … yeah, in a world full of pretty damn great films, this one stinks. I’ll say it: no good.   5/10

Written by G. William Locke