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Robin Williamswas one of thegreatest comedic actorsof all time, with a hilarious filmography to match.Jumanji,Mrs. Doubtfire,Patch Adams,andGood Morning, Vietnamare just a few of this legend’s iconic projects. While viewers could usually count on seeing Mr. Williams in a comedic role, he wasno stranger to drama. One of his more underrated appearances blended drama and dark comedy with a unique spin.
2009’sWorld’s Greatest Dadfollowed Williams as single father and high school teacher Lance Clayton. When his son tragically passes away, Clayton invents a story and embellishes the circumstances around the death, creating a web of lies that soon spins out of control. The twisted tale of familial love was uncharted territory for the typically wholesome Williams, but it paid off with critics and audiences. Despite the film’s praise, it failed in its limited theatrical release.15 years after its release,World’s Greatest Dadis still one of Williams' more obscure performances. But now that it is streaming on Max, fans of Williams who aren’t afraid of the darker film might want to place this one on their list. However, some subject matter may hit too close to home after Williams' real-life passing.
World’s Greatest Dad
The Cast and Crew of World’s Greatest Dad
So what happens inWorld’s Greatest Dad,from director Bobcat Goldthwait? Williams' Lance Clayton is a failed writer who now teaches an unpopular high school poetry class. His 15-year-old son Kyle (played by Daryl Sabara ofSpy Kids) is a student at the school, frequently finding himself in trouble.The antisocial, sex-obsessed, vulgar kid creates constant headaches for his single father, who is pursuing a relationship with fellow teacher Claire.
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One night, Lance discovers Kyle dead in his room. The teen had accidentally asphyxiated himself while… let’s say, “enjoying his own company.” Embarrassed by the circumstances, Lance stages thedeath as a suicideand forges a note from Kyle. When the note gets out, several students and school faculty who previously hated Kyle claim to have been his close friends to ease Lance’s grief. Lance uses this newfound attention to pass off a journal he wrote as being from Kyle, which also spreads in the school and community. The journal attracts book publishers and television producers, with Lance enjoying the publicity he never had as a writer.
However,Lance’s false reality begins to unravel when Kyle’s best friend deduces that he did not write the journal. His guilt mounts until he’s finally forced to confront how he exploited his only son’s passing. Lance’s breakdown is tough to watch when considering what came out about Williams' own mental health struggles after he died. In addition to Williams and Sabara, the cast also includes Alexie Gilmore as Claire, Geoff Pierson as Principal Anderson, and singer Bruce Hornsby in a cameo as himself.
This movie represents almost the polar opposite of what we’d expect froma Robin Williams flick. “Comedy” and “single father coping with his son dying” aren’t plot descriptors that most films would stick together. But somehow, it all works here, and the critics and audiences agreed. The movie had to nail the character of Kyle to pull the whole thing off. Most viewers would automatically empathize with a young teen who dies in an accident, which would, in turn, create hatred for the father who exploits the death. However, the movie made Kyle so detestable and disgusting that we’re almost relieved he’s gone. Not necessarily happy, but also not sad that his short time on screen is over.
The same applies to Lance.He’s devastated when Kyle dies but also, in a way, relieved that the trouble of raising him is over. And his initial intentions were pure. He wanted to preserve Kyle’s dignity by hiding how he died doing the dirty deed. We can relate to Lance’s misguided actions as a coping mechanism, as there’s no oneright way to grieveover the loss of a problem child. Lance’s slipping mental health is all the more difficult to watch now, as Williams took his own life after similar struggles.
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The comedy isn’t evoked from the death itself, but rather from Lance’s elaborate coverup and the over-the-top fallout. It earned praise for touching on the delicate balance of idolizing people after they’re gone. Some, like Kyle, are still awful people. Their death doesn’t change that. You can argue that Lance hid the true cause of death and everyone believed that Kyle had taken his own life. But they also all knew how Kyle was when he was alive, and most only claimed to be his friend to latch on to the publicity surrounding the journal. There’s no reason he should be a hero just because he’s gone when he was so terrible in life.
In any case, the tricky subject matter may have kept audiences away.World’s Greatest Dadearned just $295k in its very limited theatrical release. It was released to home media a few months later and largely fell by the wayside after that. It’s understandable, as the surface-level synopsis is off-putting. But below that, audiences should find a complex picture of a misguided grieving man and the true cost of idolizing those who do not deserve it.World’s Greatest Dadis streaming onMax.
