Very disappointing...

Sick Product of a Sick System

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

What is with Robin Williams and father figures? Whether it is playing that role in the much – dissed Old Dogs, or the much acclaimed Jumanji, or the much ho hummed Hook, he seems to have an addiction for the father figure role and the opportunity to change lives and reconnect with his on-screen children. While the title might force you to expect a run of the mill Disney quality story about the virtues of fatherhood, WGD offers you something quite different with the blackest comedy in recent times.What happens to a father figure who fails in his task? How do you deal with a son who is not only a sexual deviant with disturbing tastes, but is also bogged down with serious developmental problems? This is no cheesy love tale of father and son or about a busy single father finding love and happiness. Its a movie which redefines the term lonely and cuts to the bone, while laying bare the hypocrisy in society. They say Humor and Comedy are great media to make meaningful movies . WGD goes the distance and offers something new with every viewing.The premise is shocking. After a monologue from Williams laying bare his aspirations to be a writer we are introduced to the puerile and disturbing person that is his son -Kyle(Sabara). He hates his dad for no particular reason, dominates him at every turn and has no respect for his authority. He has no friends at school, no respect for women and behaves quite abominably. Sabara plays his role so well that you have no sympathy for his character and your gut actually wrenches with his disturbing portrayal. I believe that this reaction from the audience would make what follows one of the most memorable comedies of recent times.Contrasted against Kyle is the bland and troubled school teacher that Williams so effortlessly portrays. His Poetry course is the least popular in the school, he has a girlfriend Claire(Gilmore) who is ashamed of being seen with him and who he is slowly losing to the most popular teacher in school, Mike(Simmons). The Principal (Pierson) threatens to fire him and expel his son . And his Son hates him. In addition, his attempts at being a writer seem to be going nowhere. Goldthwaite spends a major part of the movie laying out the principal characters and driving home the complete loser – team that Lance and his Son Kyle make. Suddenly, when you least expect it, Kyle dies – in extremely embarrassing circumstances true to character. To hide the circumstances of his son's death, Lance fakes a suicide, writes a fake suicide note and tries to put it all behind him. But his troubles are just beginning.What follows is an amazing and insightful portrayal of the effects of death and how it serves to clean the image of a person…to make his memory greater than life and how it can cover even the most tarnished reputation in a Halo of greatness. When the accidental publication of the suicide note transforms Kyle into a cult figure, Lance is left bewildered and shocked at the turn of events. I wont give away more of this plot, watch it…you wont regret it.This movie was not made for the mainstream, nor was it made to satisfy the optimist in us. Its bitter sweet portrayal of the American Middle Class with all its problems and missed opportunities is an ode to the beauty of the Screenplay, Writing and Direction. The success of the movie also lies in the amazing performances of the Supporting Cast, whether it is the ambivalent Girlfriend played by Alexie Gilmore or the confident teacher played by Simmons. Even the students and their volte face regarding their feelings for Kyle is something that is believably done with just the right exaggeration that separates humor from reality. In the end, the main message that, it is possible to feel all alone even when surrounded by people couldn't be clearer.I was quite impressed with how far Sabara has come. The only other memorable role of his that I remember is his innocent and worried portrayal of Juni Cortez in Spy Kids all those years ago. As Kyle, Sabara is at his very best and shows his ability to venture into the experimental territory of Hollywood that separates good actors from great ones. Robin Williams needs no introduction. He is one of the best actors that Hollywood has to offer and he justifies this time and again. Other actors in Hollywood would do well to learn from him. He is a a whirlpool of emotion throughout the film, whether it is embarrassment, suspicion, laughter or crushing sadness, Robbins plays them all well and plays them with elan.The One Complaint I have regarding the film is the length. With a two hour film, Goldthwaite might have had more to time to make the reactions a little more convincing and to spend more time showing how Kyle's death acts as a catalyst for change in attitude. As it transpires, one and a half hours takes something away from the natural development of the plot and makes it seem a little rushed and contrived. However I was still very happy with the overall result.My Final word is this: One of the Best Movies of 2010, World's Greatest Dad is a stunning achievement from a relatively new director and a critical success. From the leading performances to the Screenplay, the movie is pure magic and has something for all of us. Where it succeeds is in baring the human soul. Fans of meaningful cinema – Don't miss this one!! Four Stars out of Five.

A great story that left a little lacking in the execution. This movie could have been brilliant. It could have been an instant classic and a voice for our era.To begin I thought the film had some serious problems in structure. It took too long to get to the crucial moment in the story (the death). The ending made me think that they just had no idea of how to bring the story to conclusion.I thought they made way too much effort to make the son out to be a low-level sociopath when he could have just been a very average kid who watches too much porn and has no other interests outside of virtual reality. I know lots of kids who don't seem to have a bit of passion for anything other than their cell phones and video games. This describes a lot of kids these days and a lot of parents would recognize their own offspring in this group. For that matter many adults fit this modus operandi. So in review, back off on making the kid a new version of Charles Manson and get to his death a lot sooner.The next problem was the writing. If you want the kid to be a posthumous hero then you have to write a great suicide note. The one in the film was mediocre, at best. This was where the story really should have begun, at about 20 minutes (in the film he finds the body at 36 minutes and then there was an entire MTV music video of grief…totally corny and over-done). I also didn't think that t was necessary to foreshadow the auto-erotica asphyxiation and it sort of took away from the actual death.Now should have come the really interesting part in the film. The kid's diary could have been a treatise against all of the ills that plague this generation of kids with too much screen time and not much in the way of reality. They have it too comfortable, their parents indulge them too much, their identities are drowned out by celebrity worship, etc.

I expected a comedy, after all it said it was a comedy and Robin Williams who usually does comedy's was in it.So I was not happy when to my surprise this movie was seriously depressing. By the end of the movie I wanted to kill myself. which if you watch the movie you'll see how ironic that statement is. If you want to watch a comedy, do not watch this movie. I wanted to laugh, did I laugh? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I did not. The main character's life is seriously depressing. Everything that can go wrong, does and then the end does not even make sense. I'm like, why? why is he doing that? I didn't like the beginning, middle or the end. All for different reason. Number one reason is this is not a comedy. I feel like I was duped.

'The World's Greatest Dad.' Hardly the world's greatest title to a film and, in my opinion, misleading.The front cover shows cuddly, lovable Robin Williams and in most of the film's descriptions, we're told it's a 'comedy.' Fair enough, we think and go on to expect some happy-go-lucky, silly, daft, frivolous, slapstick affair, possibly on a par with something like American Pie, or Mrs Doubtfire.Wrong.The World's Greatest Dad is more at home among Robin William's other film One Hour Photo. Yes, there are moments of humour, but they are surrounded by a great deal of tragedy. In the film, Robin Williams' son accidentally kills himself (I won't say how - you'll have to find out) in an embarrassing way. To cover this up, Williams makes it look like a suicide.By doing this both he (and his son's) status changes. This film is about the human reaction to death. Suddenly, his son was no longer an outsider and freak - now he's a saint. Now Robin Williams is no longer a meek, underdog, but a hero, struggling to cope with life.I won't give away too much of how the story unfolds. However, I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a decent 'black comedy drama.' I've seen it criticised by people who say 'Where's the humour?' Sure enough, there are few traditional jokes. It's more a cringe worthy exercise as Robin William's character digs a deeper metaphorical hole for himself and finds it increasingly harder to get back out.Also, I've seen this film accused of having 'no likable characters.' Again, possibly true, but, I think that's half the point.Don't expect belly laughs, just a film that somehow manages to raise a slight smile through the face of tragedy. But, when you consider the main crux of this film is a teenage boy's death, it does what it's supposed to.