World’s Greatest Dad (2009) Life is Beautiful with Robin Williams (vol.4)
“The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone”
Bobcat Goldthwait’s third all time feature length release begins as it clearly means to go on with a grand musical outburst accompanying “DNE EHT” and a fade in to “Lance Clayton” (Robin Williams) shot from below and upside down as he awaits his latest manuscript to roll off the printers.
His narration begins:
“My name is Lance Clayton. My biggest fear in life is I’m going to end up all alone. I’m a writer. I’m a writer but so far nothing I’ve written has ever been published. Ernest Hemmingway once said “All I wanted to do was write one true sentence”. He also tried to scratch an itch in the back of his head with a shotgun”.
After various cuts of a lost looking Lance attired in his dressing gown staring at a vast pile of his completed manuscripts, we now see him looking wistfully into the distance as he dissolves into a dream of being a fabulously wealthy and recognised author surrounded by adoring fans and beautiful young ladies at his side. Before his dream, replete with money bags filled with cash and tickertape falling all around him ends with a dissolve back into his writing room, his narration has continued as follows:
“I’ve always dreamed of being a famous author, of creating an important work. Something that connected with people and helped them as they suffered through the human condition. Also something that made a shitload of cash. I’ve written novels, books, magazine articles and even children’s stories, all have been rejected. I did sell a few greeting cards once though. It felt pretty good. I don’t find the creative process in itself rewarding enough, I have to be honest. I want to reach an audience”
Throughout the above narration, Lance has continued to look lost as the camera has panned around his writing room at a pile of rejection letters as he stuffs yet another manuscript into yet another large envelope. He’s smiled once, when remembering how good it felt to have sold those greeting cards. Now walking into his lounge still dressed in his blue dressing gown and slippers and drinking from a mug emblazoned with “World’s Greatest Dad”, he rearranges his son’s school photograph on a shelf as a title card of “World’s Greatest Dad” is briefly shown on screen beside the photograph. His narration has continued thus:
“This is my fifth novel. I promised myself that if this one is rejected, I’ll give up writing” and from here we cut to Lance knocking on his son’s bedroom door and with no answer, bursting in to find his son “Kyle Clayton” (Daryl Sabara) engaging in autoerotic asphyxiation as he masturbates over an internet image on his computer. At first fearing for the life of his son, he has in fact disturbed and now embarrassed him and following a name calling stand-off, leaves and slams his son’s bedroom door. We cut immediately to an overhead shot of Lance’s red station wagon circling continuously around a roundabout before we find Lance lost in thought at the wheel until Kyle verbally shakes him to attention on the road. A squabble quickly ensues as to what music they should listen to on the radio but this merely masks the main topic for debate and obviously Kyle’s masturbatory predilections. Kyle is an obnoxious teenager to whom everything, everything is “gay” or “queer” or reasoned as being “fag” or “faggiest” but trying to ignore his son’s grotesque and homophobic language, Lance states “You could’ve died this morning”. With yet another immediate answer to a father he clearly despises and has no respect for, Kyle responds “What, of embarrassment?”. As Lance tries desperately to have a concerned and considered conversation on the events in Kyle’s bedroom his son clams up and refuses to discuss the matter before calling his Dad “Lance” and demanding to be dropped off before they reach the school car park and after calling his Dad “Lance” again, slams the car door before walking away without the merest hint of a thank you for the ride to school.
As “Invisible” by Bruce Hornsby becomes the first song of the film we cut to Lance parking the car in the school car park before following him through the halls of the high school until he reaches the post room to somewhat surreptitiously try and use the school’s mail to send out his latest batch of manuscripts. Watched throughout by the school principal “Wyatt Anderson” (Geoff Pierson) the song ends as abruptly as Lance is caught using the school’s facilities. “I use my own postage” Lance confirms, but this is the least of his problems on a Monday morning already full to the brim with them. His poetry course is both under-attended and under threat of being cancelled in favour of his colleague “Mike Lane” (Henry Simmons) creative writing course and we quickly cut to another of Lance’s Monday morning problems as Mike is greeted warmly and like a fellow student by everyone he encounters in the school hallways and far more warmly than Lance who remains largely ignored by all and sundry. Bumping into Mike, he calls the far more senior man “Lancelot” but the English teachers couldn’t be further apart as they disappear in their separate ways along the corridors of the school.
Lance’s one bright light and salvation on this Monday morning comes in the form of fellow teacher “Claire Reed” (Alexie Gilmore) with whom he’s conducting a secretive affair. Stealing kisses on the staircase of the school when alone, each professes to be the “lucky” partner in their illicit affair before Lance produces a copy of his latest manuscript for the current love of his life who couldn’t be more excited to read his latest creation and offers a celebratory meal later as well as a promise to “bang” the giggling author whose day it seems is on the rise at last (oh come on, Bobcat inserts a double entendre in the script here, so why can’t I!) Anyway, at the school bell we cut to Kyle showing off his latest collection of European porn to his best, and only friend, “Andrew” (Evan Martin) who is disgusted by the images shown to him. Naturally, Kyle calls him a “fag” before trying to say hello to an attractive female student, who ignores him, before muttering “come on baby, that pussy’s not gonna eat itself”. Unfortunately, this is within earshot of the young lady’s boyfriend and a fight ensues which is quickly broken up by Mike who drags each of them to the principal’s office where we quickly find a lost and bewildered looking Lance watching his son lie as to the origins of the fight.
Poor grades and now fighting, Kyle is officially under threat of expulsion from the school and now dismissed from the principal’s office, Lance begs for another chance for his son to straighten out. Principal Anderson suggests Kyle should be transferred to a special needs school to which Lance responds his son isn’t “slow” just “difficult” and begs once more for one more chance. Against his better judgement, the principal grants Kyle one final chance on the proviso he improves quickly and “stops disturbing the other students”. A relieved Lance couldn’t be more appreciative as he quickly leaves the principal’s office.
Walking the school corridor, both father and son look lost as they bitterly feud over what has taken place on this manic of all Monday’s.
Lance: “Jesus Christ Kyle, what did I do to deserve this?”
Kyle: “I didn’t ask to be born”
Lance: “Neither did I”
As Kyle walks away seemingly unruffled by this terse and bitter exchange, Lance, yet again, looks lost and utterly heartbroken…
“Lance Clayton” (Robin Williams) Single father. Struggling unpublished author. Unpopular high school teacher and somewhat of an aged outsider looking in on a life that has already passed him by, Lance is brilliantly realised by Robin here in another of his under-appreciated roles where subtlety reigns rather than bombast. A performance I always watch for Robin’s eyes as they tell the story so very well as Lance plumbs the depths of his own despair to the greatest of heights, to the realisation of his dreams, to the personal admission that his dreams have only led to his self-inflicted nightmares. And anyway, who needs acceptance when you have a neighbour who loves your pot brownie cookies and indulges your love of old school horror movies?
Talking of whom, an immediate note of appreciation for the late Mitzi McCall who does so much with arguably so little in her cameo role as Lance’s neighbour “Bonnie”. The awkward sunshine for an awkward movie and one which I’ve owned and loved on DVD since its release in the UK but which, for a surreal change, my opinion has drastically changed from one of love to loving a lot less so years later here in retrospect. I’ve long championed this film but…I saw a lot less to love than I previously remember and I’ve watched this film a number of times over the years. A complete role reversal to all of Robin’s films I’m featuring in this ongoing mini-series, but I just found each character (Robin’s, Mitzi’s and Evan’s apart) incredibly cold and increasingly unlikeable. As you may have noticed, Lance’s son is an utter shitbag! So I can forgive and appreciate Daryl Sabara’s portrayal of him (and compliment him highly on his performance of someone so detestable) but there was so little warmth in the rest I fell out of love for the film. Dramatic? Probably.
Perhaps it’s for the best that Lance, Bonnie and Andrew share the final frames of the film.
Anyone for a pot brownie and a black and white horror movie?
Thanks for reading. I hope this message in a bottle in The Matrix finds you well, prospering, and the right way up in an upside down world.
Whilst you’re here I may as well brag about the release of my trilogy of recently self-published books. Beautiful covers eh! As the title(s) would suggest, this is my life at the movies or at least from 1980 to 2024, and in volume 1 you’ll find 80 spoiler free appraisals of movies from debut filmmakers, 91 of the very best films appraised with love and absent of spoilers from 1990–2024 in volume 2, and in volume 3 you’ll find career “specials” on Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino together with the very best of the rest and another 87 spoiler free film reviews from 2001–2024.
All available in hardback and paperback and here are some handy links:
"A Life at the Movies Vol.1" - link to Amazon
"A Life at the Movies Vol.2" - link to Amazon
"A Life at the Movies Vol.3" - link to Amazon