World's Greatest Dad (2009, R)

This stars Robin Williams (Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting) as a high school English teacher, aspiring author, and single father of a complete and utter douchebag son.  The son (among his numerous issues) is into auto-erotic asphyxiation, which means that he likes to choke himself (with a belt in this case) while he masturbates.  Now, I try not to be judgemental, but I don't like the kid to begin with, and he didn't take basic safety precautions (here's my public service announcement: if you're going to choke your neck while you choke your chicken, you should always do it with someone there to assist if you're in danger of actual death... kind of like a spotter for when you're lifting weights).  The son accidentally dies while doing this and the father makes it look like a suicide (rearranges the body, writes a note) to spare... well... everyone: the son, the father, and the community.  Then we get to see how this impacts the father, the school and the community/society.  It's actually pretty poignant, if difficult to watch.


Every word that leaves the son's mouth, every thought or emotion he expresses, and every action he takes is a lie and/or vulgarity.  I was looking forward to his promised death (which is integral to the premise of the story anyway) so I wouldn't have to see or hear him anymore, though it takes an agonizingly long time to get there.  But I guess that level of viewer discomfort is par for the course with a film by Bobcat Goldthwait (Sleeping Dogs Lie, God Bless America). 

Williams's acting was top notch and I liked his character for the most part, but he was a consummate wuss especially before the tragedy of losing his son.  Seeing his life was rough like it was watching Punch Drunk Love, so if you had a terrible time watching that movie then steer clear of this one.  It While the whole story was an interesting social commentary, and I'm not sure I'd disagree with it, it was an agonizing journey to get to the end.  I did really like the final scene though as a cap to the story.  And I really liked Williams's socks in that scene.  It sounds weird, but they were noteworthy and I suspect they were chosen deliberately for that scene of the film because they don't seem to match the rest of his personality.  While the latter half of the film was very good, the first part was a huge barrier to entry for me, so I can only give it a personal 2 stars.