Films & Events

World's Greatest Dad

World's Greatest Dad

This wickedly funny dark comedy stars Robin Williams as a sad-sack poetry teacher who inadvertently finds his greatest opportunity from a freak accident. This latest offering from comedian-turned-director Bobcat Goldthwait couldn’t diverge any further from audience expectations. A restrained Williams stars as Lance, a divorced, sad-sack high school poetry teacher and failed novelist who dreams of one day being a famous writer. To make matters worse, he must suffer the indignities of living with his thoroughly vile, porn-obsessed teenage son, Kyle. After a horrifying and embarrassing freak accident, Lance finds that his life takes a bizarre turn—for the better. By making the best of what life’s given him, he sets a series of events in motion that could make all his dreams come true. Shot in Seattle (Wallingford residents will no doubt recall the film crews shooting in the neighborhood for a few weeks last summer), World’s Greatest Dad is sure to provoke audiences by wringing laughs from personal calamity. But Goldthwait’s jet-black comedy rises above mere shock value with some sharp satirical insights about ambition, deception, and the dangers of wish fulfillment.

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Sponsors:
4Culture, 97.3 KIRO FM, Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, Washington State Arts Commission

Cast & Crew

Director: Bobcat Goldthwait
Producer: Howard Gertler, Tim Perell, Richard Kelly, Sean McKittrick
Editor: Jason Stewart
Screenwriter: Bobcat Goldthwait
Cinematographer: Horacio Marquinez

Principal Cast: Robin Williams, Daryl Sabara, Alexie Gilmore, Tom Kenny, Geoffrey Pierson
Filmography: Sleeping Dogs Lie (2006); Shakes the Clown (1991)

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(4 reviews)

User reviews

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    An genuinel good time, May 18, 2009

    By aerothorn

    “I was fortunate to have World's Greatest Dad screened as my college earlier this month, and I was pleasantly surprised by its quality. The film keeps the laughs going even when the subject matter becomes serious, and never sinks into melodrama. Yet it also possesses keen insights into our culture” … full review

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    One of this year's SIFF's brightest spots, Jun 07, 2009

    By Brookelangton

    “I went into this movie thinking how could one go wrong with a Robin Williams film shot in Seattle? "World's Greatest Dad" more than met my expectations. It has its funny parts, Robin Williams is his usual self, and there were some surprises in it. If you missed it at SIFF, go see it at the” … full review

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    very disappointed, Jun 08, 2009

    By denisepacker1

    “i'm a huge robin williams fan and think bobcat goldwaith is a hoot too, but this was just not my kind of film. it was simply too disturbing for me to think of it as funny, and i cried after the film was over. it was really difficult to get past the fact that there was not one likeable let alone” … full review

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    No heart, no pulse, yep it's dead!, Jun 11, 2009

    By mnoyes

    “For me this is another misnamed film, one that I would like to call World's Worst Movie except for the fact that it wasn't that awful, I have certainly seen far worse movies, but it is such a fun play on the original title. I'm also sure that many people not just liked it, but really liked it. I” … full review

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Screenings

Egyptian Theatre
June 6, 2009 6:30 PM
6:30 PM (Date has passed.)
June 7, 2009 4:00 PM
4:00 PM (Date has passed.)