World's Greatest Dad

Meet Lance Clayton. He's a high school poetry teacher, he's the author of five novels, he's got a loving teenaged son, and he's in a working relationship with the attractive art teacher. That's the fantasy of everything, at least. In reality, his class is nearly empty of students (and the ones that are there don't care), everything he's written has been rejected for publishing time and time again, his son is an enorumous twat, and his girlfriend... actually, she's pretty good, but he wants to keep it secret and not too serious. He's generally trodden on and disrespected by everyone, and doesn't have much to look forward to in life. But when events start to change for Lance that changes how everyone sees him, he takes advantage of it, for better or for worse...

This is a bit of a cross between a drama and a black comedy, and it works very well in bother regards, particularly the latter. It's an excellent movie, and more proof that Robin Williams (playing main man Lance) does his best work with very adult material.

Here, Williams plays Lance as a fairly sympathetic character, and even when he starts making decisions that definitely aren't with the best intentions (you'll notice I'm trying to stay as spoiler free as possible) you're still rooting for him. It's easy to see he doesn't deserve all of (or at least most of) the crap he goes through, especially with his son, Kyle.

I said Kyle is a twat, a word I'm becoming less and less fond of. But, it really is the best word to describe him. He's mean and abusive to others, particularly his one and only friend (who he keeps around mostly to do his bidding, Milhouse-style). He hates music (and everyone who likes music) and movies (and everyone who likes movies). He's into a number of more 'odd' sexual fetishes and spends a great amount of time masturbating in various ways (yeah, yeah, yet he who is without sin cast the first stone. Just work with me here, alright?). He is a totally unlikable person in every possible way, and the paths the movie takes with that make for some absolutely hysterical situations.

This is a black comedy. A very black comedy. A comedy from the depths of Hell itself. It crosses pretty much all the lines, and while the content/context of the jokes aren't too shocking, it is rather amazing what you'll find yourself laughing at. It's got plenty of mean-spirited and offensive bits, and it just works. A dead baby comedy without the dead baby (actually, never mind, there's an abortion joke. I guess that counts). It moves along in a way you don't expect, and while the drama elements leak in enough to keep things grounded (even gets a little moving towards the end), it's still very funny.

And the fact that it's a smart, well-made movie makes it all the more outrageous. If this were a college, uber-low-budget handheld camera film, one would almost expect it to be as offensive as can be. But this has the looks of a wide-release film (it's not, and in fact you may need to do some digging to find it near you, if it's playing at all), and that slickness and smoothness just makes the depravity go down that much easier (harder?). I especially liked the numerous movie shout-outs. Lance is a bit of a film geek, from the many screenings that he attends to the various posters that decorate his house (including a kick-ass Alamo Drafthouse version of The Thing. If I didn't have my heart set on an original I would definitely have that one hanging in my room). The movie plays it well, and it's rather charming to see some of it worked in. A nice little bonus, if you will.

This is a very funny film, but it's definitely not for everyone. Much like Observe and Report earlier this year, this is one that may be too depraved and mean for some to take in and enjoy. But for those of you who are into the dark comedies, then this may be one of the darkest. Or just worth a funny afternoon. Either way, check it out.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aQ1Uu4xK28