Well, fear not, because Robin Williams makes a triumphant return in "World's Greatest Dad," written and directed by Williams' good friend and fellow stand-up comedian Bobcat Goldthwait (no, my computer doesn't have a lisp, that's how you spell his name).
"World's Greatest Dad" has Robin Williams as a high school poetry teacher and unsuccessful novelist Lance Clayton. Lance has written several novels, but the only thing he's ever been able to get published are a couple of lame greeting cards. But Lance, like all failing writers, wants to reach an audience. Something that connects with people as they "suffer through the Human Condition. Also, something that makes a shit load of cash."
Lance's son, Kyle, who attends the same school Lance teaches at, is played by Daryl Sabara (Spy Kids) and is the worst son a parent could possibly have. Kyle is obsessed with pornography and speaks the filthiest language possible, his only friend being a quiet and repressed kid named Andrew who has an alcoholic mother. Don't make any mistake about this ladies and gentlemen, this REALLY IS THE WORST KID IN THE WORLD. This child lives dangerously on the edge of being truly worthless, and that's no exaggeration. Whenever you see the film, you'll know what I mean.
Lance has a secret relationship with a younger, better-looking teacher at school named Claire (Alexie Gilmore) but even that isn't going well, as she seems more interested in the popular creative writing teacher.
Lance's life seems to be heading nowhere, until one day a horrific and hilarious freak accident occurs which gives him the perfect opportunity to get everything he's ever dreamed about. I won't ruin the twist, but it's pretty dark and pretty hilarious, although I don't think everyone will find it as funny as others.
"World's Greatest Dad" is a breath of fresh air in terms of recent comedies. I for one have grown a bit tired of the constant onslaught of dick jokes that have plagued the Judd Apatow films, so a movie like "Dad" that can be edgy and still funny without resorting to a bunch of man-children talking about their cocks is quite refreshing.
The film deals with the romanticism often attributed to dead-too-soon people and the cults of praise that follow them (remember after Michael Jackson and Heath Ledger died?). The film is a hilarious satire of what happens when people often get the wrong idea about people who die tragically, and is geared more towards adults than it is to teenagers, although I do think teens should see the film just to give them a wake up call.
To say much more about the film would be to give away some of its best parts, so I'll just let you watch it and experience the surprises for yourself. No, it's not "The Sixth Sense" or anything, but the less you know about this film going into it, the better.
The Video:
"World's Greatest Dad" comes to us on Blu-ray in a VC-1 coded 1080p 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The colors seem vibrant without bleeding, and the blacks are incredibly deep (and there are a couple of dimly lit scenes in here that add to the gut-wrenching feelings of a couple of the scenes). Textures also seem very well defined.
If I have any problem with the transfer though it'd have to be with skin tones, which seem a little inconsistent at times. Some scenes faces look very natural, and other times faces seem a bit too red, though skin detail looks very good.
But this is hardly a complaint, as Magnolia Pictures has given us a very nice transfer overall that is quite impressive for a comedy.
The Audio:
Yes, I know, this is a comedy, so why bother reviewing the sound? There aren't any robot fights or superheroes saving buildings from being destroyed, but the well-selected, 5.1 DTS-Master Audio soundtrack really fills up the speakers. Dialogue is well balanced and the few "important" musical moments really sound nice.
Unfortunately I was only able to view the film using two lame stereo speakers instead of a surround sound system, but I could still tell that the sounds were all very well separated, particularly the "Under Pressure" climax at the end of the film.
Supplements:
First up on the disc special features is a commentary track by writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait which is among the better commentaries I've heard. His voice can get a little grating at times (it's Bobcat, what'd you expect?) but for the most part he's very restrained. There are some good stories he tells. This one's definitely worth a listen.
Also are about 4 minutes worth of deleted scenes, which I still haven't had the opportunity to view yet. The only one I really heard about is a scene involving Lance's son getting it on with his girlfriend. Ick...
There are also about 2 minutes of outtakes, which are really just four separate takes. They're okay I guess, but with someone like Robin Williams starring in your movie I'd expect a lot more outrageousness, but I guess that's what "Live on Broadway" is for.
There's also a 20 minute documentary called WWBCD? which director Goldthwait's daughter produced herself. It's pretty good, better than your standard EPK ass-kiss fest that plagues home video these days. It's definitely worth a look.
There's also a music video by The Deadly Syndrome that I didn't bother checking out. There's also some trailers on the disc, but who really gives a shit about those.
And rounding out the supplements is an EPK (dammit, guess you can't have your cake and eat it too) which basically just has the director rambling about the movies release date (it came out last year on August 21st, the same day as "Inglourious Basterds"). You can definitely skip this fluff piece.
Overall:
With a good sound mix and video transfer, "World's Greatest Dad" is a fantastic little indie gem that unfortunately got horrendously overlooked last year. Why abortions like Transformers 2 get wide releases but films like "World's Greatest Dad" get overlooked is just a statement to the stupidity of modern society. But if you're in the mood for an incredibly dark comedy, then definitely pick up "World's Greatest Dad." It was, after all, my second favorite film of last year.
* * * *
-Whiskey Dick.
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