Watching this movie seriously reminded me of watching Napolean Dynamite. Let me just say I thought ND was ok, but that dancing at the end of the film was kind of a strange necessity to make people think they’d actually just watched a movie, otherwise you may just think what the hell was that? I just didn’t see any kind of resolution in ND, no heroic end-of-the-third-act moment, other than, “yeah the guy learned how to dance”, So........... WGD, very niche humour, weird, gross out comedy. I don’t find it funny to just hear people swear or say sexually suggestive things in a movie, Superbad was as unfunny as comedies come in my opinion. WGD was a movie that centered fairly uninteresting people (not characters, it goes deeper than that), specifically a teenager with a sick mind and poor social skills, and the normal people with little more than generic twenty first century live's that surround him. The best thing about this movie was by far, Robin Williams. He is such a fantastic versatile actor, and the emotional performance he gave to this film, is just down right phenomenal. I began to love his character, I was amazed, almost shocked at how this man handles his life. WGD is a sad, depressing, but mildly amusing, and (for some) a fascinating film.
The movie seemed very “indy” with it’s approach to writing, I think improvisation as well as adhoc changes to the script helped flesh out these characters as the actors gradually learned more about them. There is really nothing fancy to it, the 3 act structure is utilised from a bare bones level and the films characters grow very well with the movie. Robin Williams is a writer, an amateur unpublished writer who is a high school teacher by day. He is a single Dad who lives with his son Kyle (Daryl Sabara). Kyle is not a very nice guy, he doesn’t like anything, music, films, books, he only has one friend who he doesn’t seem to associate with much, but Kyle loves porn and anything sexual in the darkest most ominously grotesque way you could imagine
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We see the lack of finesse in the father son relationship that Williams clearly tries to change. He may love his son, he may hate his son, but I took it that he sure loves his son to bits, because he’s his son, but he hates who he is (as in the kind of person he has grown to become). The second act see’s this movie taking a turn from gross out sexual humour, to something much more emotional. Williams finds his son dead after some weird erotic-asphyxiation accident in his bedroom (Think David Carradine). The scene where Williams finds his son in this state is hard hitting, it’s really fucking sad and I loved the way Williams played it, the imagery is weird and bleak, but we finally see how much Williams loved Kyle. With the same scene still playing out, the movie yet again takes a huge turn from the emotional to the somewhat disrespectful. But is it really that disrespectful? and to whom is the disrespect aimed at? (They’re the crazy kind of questions I started to ask myself).
Williams decides to make his son’s death look like he had committed suicide, he writes a fake suicide note, and hangs his son from a doorway. This is where the disrespect comes in. Williams is either, trying to save his own, his sons, or both of their credibility’s. But I couldn’t help think that this is what Williams wanted, and Kyle would have been happier to let people know who he was and maybe he’d be proud for people to know how he died, instead of everybody thinking he was a suicidal depressed youth like his father has just made him out to be.
The suicide note leaks into public domain and is eventually published for all to see. This is where the moral dilemma of our main character kicks in. The suicide note almost becomes famous for it’s deep and meaningful content, it’s philosophical ideals impact many people from the school. But this is Williams work, he has eventually found a means to get people to read his work as a creative writer, he has found a way to fulfil his greatest dream, but under completely false pretences. Suffering the death of his only son, through whom he finds the vehicle on which he can be a published and respected writer. Kyle becomes famous at the high school, to Ferris Bueller proportions.
Williams has been in a relationship with a work colleague for some time, she’s the art teacher at the school. The relationship is a little weird, and his girlfriend has some kind of fear of the relationship becoming public. There’s this whole thing with teachers at the same school being in a relationship, maybe there are some legal implications, but her reasons I think are more than that.
To jump away from plot details and keeping with the theme of morality, we really see such an interesting character arc developing. Empathy and sheer frustration from the audience’s part will actually allow you to make your own assumptions about this guy. The movie doesn’t really tell you “this is what this guy is like”, or “this is how he handles these situations”. Nobody could probably have a greater understanding of this than the writer/director and lead actor. It’s ambiguousness seems almost personal and creating this kind of artistic impression in a way that the audience can’t fully understand, but cares completely, it is just incredible.
I recommend anybody watch this movie, but it’s such a shame it would come under the comedy montra, It’s funny in places, but my physical reactions to these elements saw me do little more than break a smile. This flick is much more than a comedy, it is a drama, it’s psychological, and probably more than anything, a tragedy.
Worlds Greatest Dad was Written & Directed by Bobcat Goldthwaite, who most of us remember as Zed from Police Academy 2 and upwards. It’s the work of a true creative mind and I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall whilst the character discussions were taking place. But, as it happens, we do find out that Robin Williams character Lance, truly did love his son, is a genuine heartfelt man living an unhappy life. He learns some important lessons about life, about happiness, and about love.
