DVD Reviews

World's Greatest Dad – DVD Review

By Frankie Dees Dec 17, 2009, 17:16 GMT

Robin Williams stars as Lance Clayton, a man who has learned to settle.

Squeaky-voiced comedian Bobcat Goldthwait tries his directorial hand at another acerbic dark comedy after 2006’s ‘Sleeping Dogs Lie’ and this time corrals friend Robin Williams into headlining with an understated performance that might just be Williams best since ‘Insomnia’.

The Bobcat, mostly known for his stand-up and prominent film roles in the eighties (a few of the ‘Police Academy’s’, ‘Scrooged’ and, um, ‘Hot to Trot’), transitioned nicely into directing via eps of ‘The Man Show’ and ‘Chappelle’s Show’ early in the decade but lately he’s returned to writing and directing (after ‘91’s ‘Shakes the Clown’) using his own distinctly off-center comedic voice.

And trust me when I say off-center as his 2006 effort, ‘Sleeping Dogs Lie’, is about a girl who blows a dog in college...yeah, I’m gonna let that sink in. I’ve actually seen ‘Sleeping Dogs Lie’ and it’s not quite as subversive as you would think when considering that synopsis.

It’s mostly a low-key relationship dramedy about this girl understandably struggling with sharing this whopper of a dog skeleton in her closet with her significant other. Then again, that the subject is broached at all will probably offend a few people.

The same of which can be said for his latest pic, ‘The World’s Greatest Dad’, which centers around a really repulsive act but gets away with not being a total sleazefest considering the tone.

Robin Williams stars as Lance Clayton, a middle-aged high-school Poetry teacher who aspires to be a real (i.e. published) writer but comes to terms with the fact that will probably never happen.

Quietly suffering his horrible teenage son Kyle (Daryl Sabara) who pretty much goes out of his way to assure he is hated by everybody, Lance has settled into a rather browbeaten existence.

His life’s lone bright spot is his relationship with the cute art teacher Claire but even that comes into question when a hunky new teacher starts grabbing all the attention. Then an unforeseen freak accident occurs which is devastating to him but opens up a devilish opportunity to flaunt his writing…if he can stomach that the means to an end is worth it.

I know I’m being frustratingly vague here but all the marketing has avoided this plot development so far be it for me to divulge it here.

Williams generally works best for me when he’s understated and he does great work here as a man who is slowly suffocating and then suddenly realizing what it all means and Daryl Sabara is believably horrible with the worst sort of f-you indifference that teenagers will sometimes employ to cover up something damaged in their lives.

What didn’t quite work for me is Goldthwait’s somewhat flimsy script and clumsy direction which is probably a little too rough around the edges to gain any mass appeal.

The film is presented with an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen transfer that’s serviceable for the material. Special Features include an audio commentary from Mr. Bobcat himself who offers an enjoyable listen with plenty of anecdotes and fun little stories.

We get an 18-minute BTS featurette with various footage and cast and crew interviews. ‘Outtakes’ is just a couple minutes and is surprisingly tame considering the subject matter of the film. 4 minutes of ‘Deleted Scenes’, a cable promo and the music video ‘I Hope I Become a Ghost’ from The Deadly Syndrome round things out.

It’s not going to be for everybody (I feel for sorry for the soccer mom browsing the aisle and renting this judging by the Disneyfied cover) but for fans of Goldthwait’s past work and for more adventurous moviegoers, this makes for an interestingly offbeat evening.