World's Greatest Dad

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World's Greatest Dad
Worldsgreatestdad.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait
Written byBobcat Goldthwait
Produced by Howard Gertler
Ted Hamm
Richard Kelly
Sean McKittrick
Tim Perell
Starring Robin Williams
Daryl Sabara
Alexie Gilmore
Evan Martin
Lorraine Nicholson
Henry Simmons
Geoff Pierson
CinematographyHoracio Marquínez
Edited byJason Stewart
Music byGerald Brunskill
Production
company
Distributed by Magnolia Pictures [1]
Release date
  • August 21, 2009 (2009-08-21)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million [2]
Box office$295,750 [3]

World's Greatest Dad is a 2009 American black-comedy drama film written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait and starring Robin Williams, Daryl Sabara and Alexie Gilmore. The film was released on July 24, 2009, on video on demand providers before its limited theatrical release on August 21, 2009.

Contents

Plot

Lance Clayton is a single father and high school English teacher who dreams of becoming a famous writer, but his previous novels have all been rejected by publishers. His 15-year-old son Kyle is a sex-obsessed, underachieving misanthrope who is a student at the school where Lance teaches an unpopular poetry class.

Kyle's poor academic performance and vile behavior gain the attention of the school principal, who advises Lance to transfer Kyle to a special-needs school. One night, Lance discovers that Kyle has died in an autoerotic asphyxiation accident in his bedroom. To salvage his son's dignity, Lance stages Kyle's death as a suicide. He hangs Kyle in a closet and posts a fake suicide note on his body.

A classmate obtains the suicide note from police records and publishes it in the school newspaper. The note strikes a chord with the students and faculty, and many students suddenly claim to have been friends with Kyle, touched by how deep and intelligent he shows himself to be in his writings. Enjoying the attention that his writing is finally receiving, Lance decides to write and publish a phony journal that was supposedly written by his son before his death.

Kyle becomes somewhat of a post-mortem cult phenomenon at the school, and Lance begins to receive the adoration that he has always desired. He becomes much more interesting to his girlfriend Claire, a fellow teacher who had previously shown an interest in their younger colleague Mike. Andrew, Kyle's sole friend, finds Kyle's suicide note and journals highly uncharacteristic based on Kyle's personality when he was alive, but Lance brushes Andrew off when Andrew confronts him.

The journal attracts the attention of book publishers, and Lance lands a television appearance on a national talk show. The school principal decides to rename the school library in Kyle's honor. At the library dedication, Lance feels guilt for exploiting his son's death for his own benefit, as well as animosity toward those feigning fondness for Kyle. While giving a speech, Lance decides that he can no longer continue the charade and confesses to everyone that Kyle's death was accidental, and that he wrote the suicide note and journal. Predictably, Lance is denounced by the students and faculty, including Claire, and simultaneously realizes that it is better to be alone than to be with people who make him feel alone.

Despite being generally despised, Lance feels reborn and dives naked into the school's swimming pool. Outside, Andrew tells Lance that he knew the truth all along but nevertheless enjoyed his writing, and encourages him to keep writing. The two happily watch a zombie movie at Lance's home with his neighbor Bonnie.

Cast

Production

The film was shot in Seattle, Washington, largely at the former F.A. McDonald School in Wallingford. [4] Seattle resident and former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic has a wordless cameo while consoling Robin Williams's character at a newspaper stand; Goldthwait had previously been an opening act for Nirvana. Bruce Hornsby appears as himself at the library dedication.[ citation needed ]

Critical reception

World's Greatest Dad received praise despite tanking at the box office. As of June 2020, it holds an 88% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 118 reviews, with an average rating of 6.93/10. The critical consensus reads: "World's Greatest Dad is a risky, deadpan, dark comedy that effectively explores the nature of posthumous cults of celebrity." [5] The film also holds a score of 69 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [6]

Paul Fischer of Dark Horizons named it as one of the best films of the year. [7] [ better source needed ]

Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz both gave the film favorable reviews on At the Movies . Mankiewicz saluted Daryl Sabara's performance as exceptionally well done, commented on the film's "remarkably funny script", and overall considered it a "little gem".[ citation needed ]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave World's Greatest Dad three stars out of four, but noticed that the material could have been even darker in its satire, and he questioned whether it was the director's intention. [8]

Home media

The movie was released on DVD on December 8, 2009, and features an audio commentary by the director, as well as deleted scenes, outtakes and a "making-of" featurette. [9]

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References

  1. ↑ "World's Greatest Dad". moviefone. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
  2. ↑ "World's Greatest Dad, director Bobcat". Free Press Houston. September 2009. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
  3. ↑ "World's Greatest Dad - Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  4. ↑ Mullen, Molly (July 15, 2008). "Robin Williams comedy filming in Wallingford". Seattle Post-Intelligencer . Retrieved September 7, 2009.
  5. ↑ "World's Greatest Dad". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  6. ↑ "World's Greatest Dad". Metacritic . Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Press". worldsgreatestdadfilm.com/. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
  8. ↑ Ebert, Roger (September 2, 2009). "Yucky teen kills self, becomes cult hero: Good career move" . Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  9. ↑ "World's Greatest Dad Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
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