Parents' Guide to

World's Greatest Dad

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Pitch-black Robin Williams comedy too edgy for young teens.

Movie R 2009 99 minutes
World's Greatest Dad Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 17+

Based on 5 parent reviews

cowgirlhippe
cowgirlhippe Parent of 14-year-old
May 14, 2019
age 18+

Why was this made?

It's disgusting! The way this kid treats his father... Are you kidding me!? Then the way he talks I don't understand how this was allowed to be made or how any sane person can find it funny. The sex talk? Calling everything gay? Victimizing women through voyerizm? Shut it off at the upskirt shots of dads girlfriend! This movie does nothing but reinforce how messed up society is. I mean it's called a comedy! In real life this boy should have gotten help. The way the father reacted after he walked in on his engaging in autoaphixiation was extremely unbelievable! If any one allows a child to see this they really should have their parenting skills checked. And anyone finding entertainment out of this disgusting heap of demented sex and awful parenting should really think about seeing a psychiatrist for a mental evaluation!

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
1 person found this helpful.
mgmead
mgmead Adult
December 11, 2009
age 17+
The turning point of the film is when Robin Williams weeps for his dead son, who is graphically hanging from a strap around his own neck, having accidentally killed himself while masturbating over pictures he took of Robin Williams' girl-friend's up-skirt panties during dinner the same night (graphically shown). It's booked as a comedy. Robin Williams' character, fully in shock, then fakes a suicide note, cleans up his son's privates, moves his son's dead body to hang in the closet instead of by the bed, kisses him on the forehead -- and THEN THE COMEDY ENSUES! Wheee. Nobody should see this. To say it has a redeeming quality is to fail to see the failure inside of the "inside dark humor". This is not "Heathers" -- everything I described to you is graphic -- as is the discussion earlier on between the son and a friend regarding scatalogical sex acts -- men defecating on women in pornography. You decide.

This title has:

Too much sex
1 person found this helpful.
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Lance Clayton (Robin Williams) is a bland high school poetry teacherwho can't get anything he writes published -- or get his porn-addicted teenage son Kyle (Daryl Sabara) to utter a kind word. When Kyleaccidentally dies while trying a dangerous masturbatory practice, adistraught and ashamed Lance drafts a fake suicide note and restagesthe scene to look like a hanging. After the note is madepublic, students start idolizing Kyle, so Lance seizes the opportunityand writes what he claims was his son's hidden journal. Soon, Lancegets a taste of fame, becomes the school's star teacher, is asked tomake appearances on daytime television, and is even published ... but allunder false pretenses.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5):
Kids say (2):

Director Bobcat Goldthwait has a knack for exposing ugly truths, but it's a shame that so much of World's Greatest Dad is nearly unpalatable before those truths are revealed. Goldthwait loves exploring the consequences of shocking personal controversies. His earlier indie comdie, Sleeping Dogs Lie, chronicles what happens after a woman confesses a past sexual indiscretion involving her dog to her fiance. Having covered bestiality, in WORLD'S GREATEST DAD, Goldthwait moves on to autoerotic asphyxiation, suicide, and a frustrated man's desperate need for fame and notoriety. Once the initial shock at young Kyle's (Daryl Sabara) utter unlikability wears off, the movie settles awkwardly into a more traditional black comedy mode, focusing on Lance's unlikely rise to fame.

Williams, who's known for his grandiose performances, thankfully keeps Lance understated. It's almost understandable, at first, why Lance covers up the real cause of his son's death, but once he starts cashing in on Kyle's posthumous popularity, he loses the audience's goodwill. Sabara, ages away from his adorable Spy Kids role, is scarily good at being a sick puppy of a teenager. And as Lance's foil, Henry Simmons is perfectly cast as the kind of attractive man who's a magnet for success and women.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the movie's graphic sexuality and pornography content. Were the conversationsoverly explicit, or were they representative of the way real high schoolstudents talk?

  • What are the movie's messages about fame, suicide, and how even unlikely people can form cult followings?

  • One of the movie's themes is the hypocrisy of everyone at the high school. How do the students, teachers, and principal act differently after Kyle's "suicide note" is revealed?

  • Kyle is so unlikable that the emotional impact of his death is minimal. Compare that to other movies in which ateenager dies, either accidentally or by actual suicide. Is Kyle's death supposed to befunny?

Movie Details

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