World's Greatest Dad

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

A high school poetry teacher and single father discovers that the thing he covets most in life may not be what makes him truly happy in this pitch-black comedy directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, and starring Robin Williams. Lance Clayton (Williams) is a mild-mannered high school teacher from Seattle who was granted sole custody of his son, Kyle (Daryl Sabara), following a nasty divorce. As hard as Lance tries to connect with his hostile, loathsome son, all he receives for his sincere efforts are insults and scorn. The only things Kyle seems to care about are violent video games and internet porn, the latter obsession eventually serving to alienate the foul-mouthed teen from his sole friend, Andrew (Evan Martin). His books rejected by publishers and his poetry class on the verge of being canceled due to student disinterest, Lance does find a bit of happiness in his relationship with pretty art instructor Claire (Alexie Gilmore), though these days her gaze is drifting toward handsome young English teacher Mike (Henry Simmons), who recently celebrated the publication of his very first piece in The New Yorker. Then, one day, Lance discovers his son dead, the apparent victim of autoerotic asphyxiation gone horribly awry. In order to give the boy some dignity in death, Lance pens a suicide note before summoning the authorities. By chance, that note is published in Kyle's school newspaper, instantly transforming him into a misunderstood cult icon among the impressionable student body. Now, tragedy has become opportunity for Lance. Can the grieving father live with the knowledge of how he achieved such fame, or has he sacrificed his own soul in his blind quest to garner the kind of fame that has eluded him his entire life? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • cc
  • Behind the scenes
  • Outtakes
  • Deleted scenes
  • Hdnet: a look at world's greatest dad
  • I hope I become a ghost-music video by the deadly syndrome
  • Commentary with writer and director Bobcat Goldthwait

AWARDS

• CineVegas International Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2009

• San Francisco Independent Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2009

• Seattle International Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2009

• Sundance Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2009

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Robin Williams - Lance Clayton
       Daryl Sabara - Kyle Clayton
       Alexie Gilmore - Claire
       Tom Kenny - Jerry Klein
       Geoffrey Pierson - Principal Anderson
       Henry Simmons - Mike Lane
       Toby Huss - Bert Green
       Morgan Murphy - Morgan
       Naomi Glick - Ginger
       Dan Spencer - Dan Spencer
       Zach Sanchez - Peter
       Evan Martin - Andrew
       Ellie Jameson - Jennifer
       Michael Thomas Moore - Chris
       Alles Mist - Metal Kid
       Jermaine Williams - Jason
       Lorraine Nicholson - Heather
       Mitzi McCall - Bonnie
       Rebecca Erwin Spencer - Nosy Neighbor
       Cheri Minns - Nosy Neighbor
       Zazu - Nosy Neighbor
       Tony V. - Dr. Pentola
       Krist Novoselic - Newsstand Vendor
       Mabel Mae - Mabel
       Zoe - The Fighting Pug
       Jill Talley - Make-Up Woman
       Deborah Horne - Dr. Dana
       Bruce Hornsby - Bruce Hornsby
       Riley Dean Stone - Bruce Hornsby's Mic Stand

• Director:

  Bobcat Goldthwait

• Producer:

  Tim Perell, Richard Kelly, Howard Gertler, Sean McKittrick

• Screenwriter:

  Bobcat Goldthwait

• Cinematographer:

  Horacio Marquinez

• Songwriter:

  Bruce Hornsby

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Linda Cohen

• Composer (Music Score):

  Gerald Brunskill

• Editor:

  Jason Stewart

• Production Designer:

  John Paino

• Co-producer:

  Sarah de Sa Rego

• Executive Producer:

  Jennifer Roth, Edward H. Hamm, Jr.

• Costume Designer:

  Sarah de Sa Rego

• Set Decorator:

  Rachel M. Thomson

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Lisa Fowle

• Makeup:

  Cheri Minns

• Stunts:

  Tim Henderson, Mitch Mitchell

• Casting:

  Ruth Lambert, Robert McGee

• Stunts Coordinator:

  Michael Hilow

• Musical Performer:

  Bruce Hornsby

• Hair Styles:

  Cheri Minns

• Still Photographer:

  Joyce Rudolph

• Costume/Wardrobe:

  Gerard Parr

• Post Production Supervisor:

  Matthew Shapiro

• Visual Effects:

  Gradient Effects

• Production Supervisor:

  Zita Mazzola

• Costume/Wardrobe:

  Nikki Paulson, Teresa Hill, Frances Kenny, Sally Roberts

• Script Supervisor:

  Barbara A. Brown

• Supervising Sound Editor:

  Ryan Rees

• Sound Recordist:

  John Thomas Graves

REVIEW:

• During a directing career of just a few features, Bobcat Goldthwait has shown a keen ability to normalize even the edgiest material, using a surprising sensitivity to make the taboo tolerable. He did it in Sleeping Dogs Lie with bestiality, and he does it in World's Greatest Dad with -- well, with a shocking second-act turn of events that's best kept secret, even though many synopses didn't show such restraint. This occurrence changes the film's tone completely, before a third tone emerges that a viewer can scarcely imagine would be possible, given the nature of what happens. Without getting too tangled up in talking about a thing without talking about it, suffice it to say that Goldthwait produces a black comedy that's both very funny, even though the subject matter is no joke, and very touching, all while steering clear of the maudlin misery that might arise from an ordinary treatment of this topic. He has Robin Williams to thank. Stuck in a deep rut of uninspired Hollywood tripe, Williams found his way clear to appearing in this brash and daring independent feature, which rewards both his director, and his own image among people who've grown sick of him. An unassuming schlub who lets life cuff him around, Williams' Lance Clayton takes control in a way that is totally crass, yet somehow laudable. Williams' subtlety as a performer does him a service here, in equal measure to the disservice his lack of subtlety has done him elsewhere. Not only does the viewer refuse to indict Clayton for his otherwise deplorable actions, but the character is effortlessly sympathetic, caught up in a snowballing disaster that stems from a series of small steps across moral lines. That's something with which most viewers can sympathize, making the film's title something more than merely ironic. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi