World's Greatest Dad reviews
Review by on 20 Sep 2010
Reading the title for the latest Robin Williams comedy, WORLD'S GREATEST DAD, you could be forgiven for assuming the film is everything the comic has come to represent: a cringe-inducing level of schmaltz and sentimentality. This would seemingly be confirmed by the film's conventional poster, which displays the title in huge red font, with the word “greatest” at a jaunty angle so as to suggest irony and wackiness. I was more or less certain that a father-and-son bonding trip, involving hunting and/or fishing, was in the offing.
But less than halfway into this comedy, it becomes clear that this is not the family movie of the summer. Suffice it to say that not long into the movie there is a sudden tragedy around which the second half of the film hangs.
It is an overused term; but WORLD'S GREATEST DAD is dark. It's comedy of the blackest variety, in which nobody is held up as anything other than an asshole and a fraud. This isn't a cheerful look at the human condition a la PATCH ADAMS. Neither is it Williams in ONE HOUR PHOTO mode, as WORLD'S GREATEST DAD tries to operate on the level of a fairly broad comedy.
Real tragedy strikes, however, when you realise that the film isn't very funny. It has its moments, but it misses more often than it hits. Which is a shame, because as a concept it is a welcome break from the norm. A brave film with loads of good ideas, poorly executed.
Robert Beames
But less than halfway into this comedy, it becomes clear that this is not the family movie of the summer. Suffice it to say that not long into the movie there is a sudden tragedy around which the second half of the film hangs.
It is an overused term; but WORLD'S GREATEST DAD is dark. It's comedy of the blackest variety, in which nobody is held up as anything other than an asshole and a fraud. This isn't a cheerful look at the human condition a la PATCH ADAMS. Neither is it Williams in ONE HOUR PHOTO mode, as WORLD'S GREATEST DAD tries to operate on the level of a fairly broad comedy.
Real tragedy strikes, however, when you realise that the film isn't very funny. It has its moments, but it misses more often than it hits. Which is a shame, because as a concept it is a welcome break from the norm. A brave film with loads of good ideas, poorly executed.
Robert Beames
Film details
World's Greatest Dad
Actor: Robin Williams
Actor: Daryl Sabara
Director: Bobcat Goldthwait
Actor: Daryl Sabara
Director: Bobcat Goldthwait
United States, 2009.
99 mins.
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