November 15, 2009 -- “World's Greatest Dad” is a very odd black comedy about a death in a high school setting. While the premise isn't believable, it sure is an offbeat story, reminiscent of some English comedies from the 1960s, such as “Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment” and “The Knack and How to Get It.” Like those old comedies, this one presents an oddly tilted view of reality and an implausible course of events.

The central figure of the story is Lance Clayton (played by veteran actor Robin Williams). Lance is an unpublished author and a downtrodden high school English teacher. His son, Kyle (Daryl Sabara of the “Spy Kids” movies) hates him. Kyle himself is unpopular, and deservedly so. He is mean-spirited and small-minded. He frequently dishes out insults. His only friend is Andrew, who is kindly, even-tempered and mild-mannered. He likes to spend time at the Clayton house because his own family is very dysfunctional. Lance is a single parent who is having an affair with another teacher at school, Claire (Alexie Gilmore of “Definitely, Maybe”). Lance feels like he is losing Claire to another teacher, Mike Lane (Henry Simmons of the “NYPD Blue” TV series).

When Lance finds his son dead of autoerotic asphyxiation while masturbating, he decides to cover up the truth, by writing a suicide note and staging his son's suicide. He manages to fool everyone with this trick, but it has unintended consequences. For one thing, the suicide note is too eloquent and when it is published in the school newspaper, it makes all the students feel guilty. So many students and faculty begin to befriend Lance that he suddenly becomes the most popular teacher in school. His poetry class, which had so few students it was threatened with cancellation, now is overflowing. Mike Lane's popular writing class is abandoned by students who defect to Lance's poetry class. Emboldened by his newfound popularity, Lance writes a personal journal in his son's name. Copies are distributed throughout the school and Lance becomes even more popular. The journal even lands him on a national TV talk show. Lance begins to get publishing offers for the diary. It is a hot property.

While the ending of this tale is predictable there is a twist or two after the expected developments. Robin Williams does a nice acting job as an imperfect parent and a man who desperately wants to be liked and loved. Daryl Sabara is equally good portraying the truly odious brat, Kyle. You are truly not sorry to see him go, and that is as it should be in this story. The story isn't really about him, it is about everyone's response to his life and death. Another way of looking at this movie, and pardon my deconstruction here, but it is an illustration of every artist's desire for public recognition. We see this highlighted in a fantasy sequence in which Lance is showered with critical recognition, pretty girls, and most important of all, big sacks full of money, for his novels. In the story Lance received lucrative offers for his son's journal, but what Lance really wants is the recognition due him as the author of the fictitious journal. He is pleased with the indirect recognition of his writing, but he wants direct recognition. Lance loves his son, but not enough to give his son credit for something he wrote. This film rates a C.

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Copyright © 2009 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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