World's Greatest Dad (2009)
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Reviews Counted: 115
Fresh: 102 | Rotten: 13
World's Greatest Dad is a risky, deadpan, dark comedy that effectively explores the nature of posthumous cults of celebrity.
Average Rating: 7.1/10
Critic Reviews: 30
Fresh: 29 | Rotten: 1
World's Greatest Dad is a risky, deadpan, dark comedy that effectively explores the nature of posthumous cults of celebrity.
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Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 49,156
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Movie Info
A high school poetry teacher and single father discovers that the thing he covets most in life may not be what makes him truly happy in this pitch-black comedy directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, and starring Robin Williams. Lance Clayton (Williams) is a mild-mannered high school teacher from Seattle who was granted sole custody of his son, Kyle (Daryl Sabara), following a nasty divorce. As hard as Lance tries to connect with his hostile, loathsome son, all he receives for his sincere efforts are
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Cast
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Robin Williams
Lance Clayton -
Daryl Sabara
Kyle Clayton -
Alexie Gilmore
Claire -
Tom Kenny
Jerry Klein -
Geoffrey Pierson
Principal Anderson -
Henry Simmons
Mike Lane -
Toby Huss
Bert Green -
Morgan Murphy
Morgan -
Naomi Glick
Ginger -
Dan Spencer
Dan Spencer -
Zach Sanchez
Peter -
Evan Martin
Andrew -
Ellie Jameson
Jennifer -
Michael Thomas Moore
Chris -
Alles Mist
Metal Kid -
Jermaine Williams
Jason -
Lorraine Nicholson
Heather -
Mitzi McCall
Bonnie -
Rebecca Erwin Spencer
Nosy Neighbor -
Cheri Minns
Nosy Neighbor -
Zazu
Nosy Neighbor -
Tony V.
Dr. Pentola -
Krist Novoselic
Newsstand Vendor -
Mabel Mae
Mabel -
Zoé
The Fighting Pug -
Jill Talley
Make-Up Woman -
Deborah Horne
Dr. Dana -
Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Hornsby -
Riley Dean Stone
Bruce Hornsby's Mic Sta...
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World's Greatest Dad Trailer & Photos
All Critics (115) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (103) | Rotten (13) | DVD (3)
The bravest, smartest comedy of the year.
Top CriticGoldthwait's script turns into a surprisingly restrained, focused sendup of the blind adulation often bestowed on flawed personalities once they croak too soon.
Offering Robin Williams his richest role in memory while serving up a nice cold bowl of shock soup for the audience, World's Greatest Dad is a surprisingly smart and severely twisted dark comedy from comic Bobcat Goldthwait.
Making Kyle godawful may seem edgy, even authentic. But it's pure setup.
With his delicate mix of sick humor and compassion, Goldthwait is that rare comic writer who can legitimately be compared to Lenny Bruce.
There's more going on here than the age-old struggle between maturity and its surly teen antithesis.
... This voyage through the moral maze is more entertaining and whisper it quietly, more profound, than most.
Goldthwait has given it a title that will make some shy away. But don't. It's a comedy about the particularly American capacity to create legends out of the dead, and it's sharper than most.
Beware that poster, with its jolly red writing and Mork from Ork's face thereon. This is not the Robin Williams of Old Dogs and License To Wed.
A comedy of quite astonishing blackness.
Writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait can't quite manage to bring things to a satisfying conclusion, but he's good enough at weaving the freakishly perverse into the everyday without the results seeming too forced.
Goldthwait's pacing is uncertain, and his humour is frequently "off", but the sense of risky provocation is compelling.
We can't wait to see what Goldthwait does next.
It's good to see Williams trying something darker than usual, but it's a pity the whimsy is laid on so thick.
Sadly, the ending seems unsatisfying but the journey there is a funny one.
Williams keeps his head above water, and a giddy climax recuperates some of the original energy -- enough, at least, to make this director's next project one worth rooting for anew.
This film is bold and provocative, but it's weak at the core. It is the weakness of an old dog trying desperately to learn new tricks.
It's the most daring black comedy of the year, and I admire its willingness to be not only vicious, but downright un-American.
What threatens to be the World's Greatest Dud proves anything but.
The cinematography and some of the performances are not stellar, but Goldthwait's script is extraordinary, examining the choices we make between surviving and really living.
Odd, confident, challenging, and featuring a brilliant turn by Williams. If only there was just a little more to it.
A startlingly excellent dark comedy about the power of positive posthumous PR. One of 2010's must-see movies.
Audience Reviews for World's Greatest Dad
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Dr. Dana: [reading a line from the book in the film] Is it more important for me to be a good person, or to be thought of as a good person? I'm so sick of living a life in fear of being found out for the phony I am. A life where I don't trust anyones intentions including my own.
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- Lance Clayton: You guys didn't like Kyle. That's okay. I didn't either. I loved him. He was my son. But he was also a douchebag.
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- Lance Clayton: I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone.
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Latest News on World's Greatest Dad
May 10, 2012:
Five Favorite Films with Bobcat GoldthwaitComedian, actor, and filmmaker Bobcat Goldthwait became a fixture on the stand-up comedy circuit in...
March 14, 2011:
Bobcat Goldthwait Says God Bless AmericaBobcat Goldthwait is getting ready to direct his next pitch-black comedy, about a man who snaps and...
January 14, 2011:
Sandler and Samberg Teaming for I Hate You DadAdam Sandler and Andy Samberg are in talks to star together in "I Hate You Dad," a Columbia/Happy...
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Foreign Titles
- You don't know me (FR)
