Review of film: “WORLD’S GREATEST DAD”

08-25-09:

Review of film:  “WORLD’S GREATEST DAD”  

           – The “Award” (& ending) doesn’t “FIT”,

    & the Story’s distressingly “DYSFUNCTIONAL” =

  Rating: 6.5 of 10 stars (based on an advance screening).

 

Writer-director BOB GOLDTHWAIT has been quoted as saying he likes making movies about “flawed” people & ones that cause people to feel “awkward”. He has “succeeded” on both counts with this film…

…  ROBIN WILLIAMS plays a high school poetry teacher Lance who is single-handedly raising a 15-year-old son Kyle (DARYL SABARA) who is often-enraged, foul-mouthed, anti-social, over-sexed, & confused (& those are in his “good” times!).

…  Darryl has only one friend, Jeremy (EVAN MARTIN), who he usually puts-down unkindly. Robin has a thing for fellow teacher Claire (ALEXIE GILMORE), who can’t seem to “decide” whether she wants to be with him or another teacher there…

…  Frustrated-writer Robin at one point works to “COVER-UP” a major situation involving Daryl, which creates what my friend Ed called a “sad, sick, sorry situation” which changes Robin’s life & that of a number of people “around” him. Did I tell you this was supposedly a “black” COMEDY?…

…  Some people at the advance screening liked this film, & 1 person said he “loved” it for the surprise conclusion…

…  I found the acting to be generally well-done, there’s a bunch of humorous & some creative elements--  but, to me, the “cop-out” ending was massively maddening & “UNSUITABLE”: I detected at least 2 & possibly 3 “endings”, the first of which I felt didn’t show enough logical “GUTS” (to follow-thru on what had gone on immediately before it, by implication that the “scam” was likely to CONTINUE to at least SOME degree)…

…  That was immediately followed by a huge “build-up” scene to a supposed “cleansing” close; but then, that was “succeeded” by what appeared to be another “TACKED-ON” end that may’ve shown some humor but which didn’t “FIT” in my opinion…

…  It was those “multiple” endings (seemingly by “committee”) which lowered my rating for this film.

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