Robin Williams: 'I was shameful, did stuff that caused disgust – that's hard to recover from' | Film | The Guardian The G2 interview Robin Williams: 'I was shameful, did stuff that caused disgust – that's hard to recover from' His new film, World's Greatest Dad, is a glorious return to form. But a mournful Robin Williams would rather talk about his battle with drugs and alcohol – and recovering from heart surgery Robin Williams. Photograph: Ken Hively/Los Angeles Times/ContourPhotos.com Monday 20 September 2010 03.00 EDT First published on Monday 20 September 2010 03.00 EDT Share on Messenger Close In the normal order of things, an interview with a Hollywood actor observes the form of a transaction. The actor wants to promote their film, and ideally talk about little else – least of all anything of a personal nature. The newspaper is mildly interested in the new film, but hopes they can be tempted to talk about other matters – best of all their private life.

Sometimes the agreement is explicit, but most of the time it is mutually understood, and so the interview tends to proceed rather like a polite dance, with each party manoeuvring in its own interests. On this occasion, however, the convention appears to have been turned on its head. Robin Williams's new film, World's Greatest Dad , is brilliant. Having starred in a lot of unspeakably sentimental dross in recent years, here he is at last in something clever and thoughtful; a dark, slightly weird comedy that touches on all sorts of interesting themes that I'm hoping he'll talk about. Williams, however, has other plans. It is almost impossible to get anything coherent out of him about the film, or any of the issues it raises. He is vague, tangential and at times more or less incomprehensible – until the conversation turns to more personal matters, at which point he becomes lucid and forthcoming. What Williams really wants to talk about, it turns out, is his relapse into alcoholism, his rehab and his open-heart surgery. Unfortunately, it takes me some time to cotton on to this, so I keep asking questions about World's Greatest Dad .

Williams plays Lance, a failed writer, failed teacher and single father of perhaps the most irredeemably dislikable teenager ever to appear on screen. His son Kyle is addicted to hardcore internet pornography and is almost universally loathed – until he accidentally dies. His father fakes a suicide note, and when it is leaked, the school magazine reprints the letter, its poignancy prompting a posthumous revision of everyone's former low opinion of the boy. Soon a juggernaut of confected grief is roaring out of control. Unable to resist the allure of his new popularity, Lance proceeds to fake a whole journal, passing it off as his son's and fuelling the insatiable hunger for loss. A bidding war breaks out between publishing houses, the journal becomes a bestselling book, and Lance winds up on a daytime TV show, like a pseudo celebrity, peddling his mythical son's tragedy to the nation. The film is a devastatingly funny indictment of the modern grief industry, but when I ask Williams if he thinks it's getting worse, he says mildly, "Well, I think people want it. In a weird way, it's trying to keep hope alive." So does he not share the film's judgment on mawkish sentimentality?

"Well, you just try and keep it in perspective; you have to remember the best and the worst." It seems as if he's about to engage with the question – "In America they really do mythologise people when they die," he agrees – but then he veers off at a tangent, putting on Ronald Reagan's voice but talking about the ex-president in the third person: "Maybe he was kind of lovable, but you realised half way through his administration he really didn't know where he was." I wonder if Williams had experienced a little bit of the film's theme himself, when his great friend Christopher Reeve died. Was it hard, I ask, to see fans mourning Superman , when to Williams he was a real person, a real friend? "He was a friend," Williams says solemnly. "And also knowing him, especially after the accident and everything he went through – it was a weird thing." What was it like, I try again, to grieve privately for a public figure? "Well, it's a whole different game," he says, but then starts talking about the death of Reeve's wife a year later.

"It happens all the time, I know, but I know their kids, they're amazing, and to see them go through so much loss in one year – that's tough." I ask about the media's role in the manufacturing of grief, but instead he recalls a talkshow he saw where a man confessed to adultery before a female studio audience. "Idiot. Why don't you just go bobbing for piranha? These women are screaming 'You bastard!', but the idea of being on TV overrode everything." He adopts a southern redneck accent: "'Ah'm on TV, y'all.' You're a schmuck, why would you do that?" Then the accent again: "Ah'm on tee-vee, ah'm gonna be fay-mous.' Yeah, for all of five minutes, big time." We're not making much headway on the grief industry, so I try internet porn. Williams's three children have grown up through the internet age, so I'm curious about his views on its impact on adolescents. "It's just like – there's everything you could ever think about online." But what does Williams actually think about it; is it liberating and a good thing, or corrupting and a bad thing?

"It's an old thing," he shrugs. "Look at the walls of Pompeii. That's what got the internet started." Then he starts talking rather boringly about iPhones, and how it's now possible to do video-conference calls on a mobile. My worry beforehand had been that Williams would be too wildly manic to make much sense. When he appeared on the Jonathan Ross show earlier this summer, he'd been vintage Williams – hyperactive to the point of deranged, ricocheting between voices, riffing off his internal dialogues. Off-camera, however, he is a different kettle of fish. His bearing is intensely Zen and almost mournful, and when he's not putting on voices he speaks in a low, tremulous baritone – as if on the verge of tears – that would work very well if he were delivering a funeral eulogy. He seems gentle and kind – even tender – but the overwhelming impression is one of sadness. Even the detours into dialogue feel more like a reflex than irrepressible comic passion, and the freakish articulacy showcased in Good Morning Vietnam has gone.

Quite often when he opens his mouth a slur of unrelated words come out, like a dozen different false starts tangled together, from which an actual sentence eventually finds its way out. For example, "So/Now/And then/Well/It/I – Sometimes I used to work just to work." It's like trying to tune into a long-wave radio station. I find myself wondering if alcohol abuse might have something to do with it. Williams used to be a big-drinking cocaine addict, but quit both before the birth of his eldest son in 1983, and stayed sober for 20 years. On location in Alaska in 2003, however, he started drinking again. He brings this up himself, and the minute he does he becomes more engaged. "I was in a small town where it's not the edge of the world, but you can see it from there, and then I thought: drinking. I just thought, hey, maybe drinking will help. Because I felt alone and afraid. It was that thing of working so much, and going fuck, maybe that will help. And it was the worst thing in the world." What did he feel like when he had his first drink? "You feel warm and kind of wonderful.

And then the next thing you know, it's a problem, and you're isolated." Some have suggested it was Reeve's death that turned him back to drink. "No," he says quietly, "it's more selfish than that. It's just literally being afraid. And you think, oh, this will ease the fear. And it doesn't." What was he afraid of? "Everything. It's just a general all-round arggghhh. It's fearfulness and anxiety." He didn't take up cocaine again, because "I knew that would kill me". I'd have thought it would be a case of in for a penny – "In for a gram?" he smiles. "No. Cocaine – paranoid and impotent, what fun. There was no bit of me thinking, ooh, let's go back to that. Useless conversations until midnight, waking up at dawn feeling like a vampire on a day pass. No." It only took a week of drinking before he knew he was in trouble, though. "For that first week you lie to yourself, and tell yourself you can stop, and then your body kicks back and says, no, stop later.

And then it took about three years, and finally you do stop." It wasn't, he says, fun while it lasted, but three years sounds like a long time not to be having fun. "That's right. Most of the time you just realise you've started to do embarrassing things." He recalls drinking at a charity auction hosted by Sharon Stone at Cannes: "And I realised I was pretty baked, and I look out and I see all of a sudden a wall of paparazzi. And I go, 'Oh well, I guess it's out now'." In the end it was a family intervention that put him into residential rehab. I wonder if he was "Robin Williams" in rehab, and he agrees. "Yeah, you start off initially riffing, and kind of being real funny. But the weird thing is, how can you do a comic turn without betraying the precepts of group therapy? Eventually you shed it." Williams still attends AA meetings at least once a week – "Have to. It's good to go" – and I suspect this accounts for a fair bit of his Zen solemnity.

At times it verges on sentimental: he asks if I have children, and when I tell him I have a baby son he nods gravely, as if I've just shared. "Congrats. Good luck. It's a pretty wonderful thing." But it may well be down to the open-heart surgery he underwent early last year, when surgeons replaced his aortic valve with one from a pig. "Oh, God, you find yourself getting emotional. It breaks through your barrier, you've literally cracked the armour. And you've got no choice, it literally breaks you open. And you feel really mortal." Does the intimation of mortality live with him still? "Totally." Is it a blessing? "Totally." He takes everything, he says, more slowly now. His second marriage, to a film producer, ended in 2008 – largely because of his drinking, even though by then he was sober. "You know, I was shameful, and you do stuff that causes disgust, and that's hard to recover from. You can say, 'I forgive you' and all that stuff, but it's not the same as recovering from it.

It's not coming back." The couple had been together for 19 years, and have a son and a daughter, both now grown up; he has another son from his first marriage to an actress in the late 70s. Williams is now with a graphic designer, whom he met shortly before his heart surgery, and they live together in San Francisco. "But we're taking it slow. I don't know, maybe some day we'll marry, but there's no rush. I just want to take it easy now. This is good news. It's the whole thing of taking it slow. And it's so much better." Williams thinks he used to be a fairly classic workaholic, but at 59 is now taking it slow professionally too. "In one two-year period I made eight movies. At one point the joke was that there's a movie out without you in it. You have this idea that you'd better keep working otherwise people will forget. And that was dangerous. And then you realise, no, actually if you take a break people might be more interested in you. Now, after the heart surgery, I'll take it slow." Williams has been nothing if not prolific.

After first finding fame in the late 70s as a kooky space alien in the sitcom Mork and Mindy, he became better known as a standup comedian, but his astonishing performance in Good Morning Vietnam earned him an Oscar nomination in 1988, with two more in the following five years, for Dead Poets' Society and The Fisher King . Mrs Doubtfire , in which he dragged up to play a nanny, brought wider mainstream success, and in 1998 Good Will Hunting finally won him an Oscar. In recent years, however, he has made an awful lot of what would politely be described as less critically acclaimed films. Some of them have been downright awful; schmaltzy family comedies drenched in maudlin sentiment, such as the unwatchably saccharine Patch Adams or, even worse, Old Dogs . When I ask why he made them, he says: "Well, I've had a lot of people tell me they watched Old Dogs with their kids and had a good time." It didn't offend his sense of integrity? "No, it paid the bills.

Sometimes you have to make a movie to make money." He didn't mistake them, he adds, for intelligent scripts: "You know what you're getting into, totally. You know they're going to make it goofy. And that's OK." Like many people, I had always been confused by Williams's film choices. The sharpness of his early standup just seemed so incompatible with the sentimentality of his worst movies, and if, as Williams claims, Old Dogs simply paid the bills, he must have one very high-maintenance lifestyle. When I watched World's Greatest Dad I just assumed it echoed his own sensibility more accurately than all the other rubbish he has made. But actually, having met him, I'm not sure it does. I don't know whether it was rehab or heart surgery, but he seems to have arrived at a place where sentimentality can sit quite easily. I ask if he feels happier now, and he says softly, "I think so. And not afraid to be unhappy. That's OK too. And then you can be like, all is good.

And that is the thing, that is the gift." World's Greatest Dad is released on 24 September Ben Child: Former BBC film critic says actor's enormous talent 'could sometimes be spread so thinly as to be almost invisible' Published: 19 Aug 2014 Scene from Aladdin with caption 'Genie, you're free' could encourage people to see suicide as an option, say campaigners Published: 13 Aug 2014 Actor and comedian who made his television breakthrough with Mork & Mindy and went on to star in films such as Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society and Mrs Doubtfire Published: 12 Aug 2014 Both seasoned and new performers at the Edinburgh festival acknowledge the influence America's master of crazy comedy had on their lives and their acts.

By Alex Needham and Chris Wiegand Published: 12 Aug 2014 The Movie-World's Greatest Dad (Freeper Movie Review) Spoiler Alert The Movie-World's Greatest Dad (Freeper Movie Review) Spoiler Alert Starring Robin Williams ^ | August 19th-2009 Posted on 08/19/2009 3:25:39 PM PDT by icwhatudo Typical hollywood trash-no redeeming value except to (unintentionally) show what happens when you have no discipline in the home. SPOILER ALERT: SPOILER ALERT: The movie in 3 sentences: Failed writer and teacher(Robin Williams) has a jerk for son who is addicted to porn and accidentally dies while hanging himself in a bizarre masturbation attempt. Dad writes fake suicide note for the son to cover up the embarrassment that is so well written that the entire school begins to worship the dead kid. Dad uses son's new popularity to publish a fake journal (supposedly written by the son) to take advantage of his dead sons new popularity.

Typical Robin Williams crap includes: Tons of F-bombs, anal sex references, reference to "felching" (Trust me-don't look it up) and other sick stuff. "America was best country ever stolen" Abortion is treated as no big deal The football star is actually homosexual Masturbation by hanging Masturbation by teen watching old woman Teen taking pics under dress of teacher Teachers sleeping around with each other To top it off, Williams gets completely nude at the end and has a "Watchman" moment. (Except "his" wasn't blue)YUCK! KEYWORDS: hollywood ; moviereview ; porn ; trashtv ; woldsgreatestdad There is one scene where Williams, after the death of his son, is crying at a news stand in front of a large number of porn magazines. The scene is weird because Williams (and his character) are just the type of people that "Pooh-pooh" any effort by parents to try and limit the availability of porn to kids. 1 posted on 08/19/2009 3:25:39 PM PDT by icwhatudo To: icwhatudo So..... did you like it?

2 posted on 08/19/2009 3:27:27 PM PDT by Izzy Dunne (Hello, I'm a TAGLINE virus. Please help me spread by copying me into YOUR tag line.) To: icwhatudo Williams actually used to be funny. I wonder why he feels like he has to sell himself short taking on rolls like this. I had more than enough just reading the first part of the review. 3 posted on 08/19/2009 3:31:39 PM PDT by Safrguns This is a comedy????? Sounds sick. 4 posted on 08/19/2009 3:32:35 PM PDT by NavyCanDo Who does this kid think he is....David Caradine???? Robin Williams was a talented comedian who has turned into a bitter old liberal......

5 posted on 08/19/2009 3:34:59 PM PDT by nevergore ("It could be that the purpose of my life is simply to serve as a warning to others.") [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ] To: icwhatudo RE: "Felching..." Anyone who does this should be repeatedly shot in the abdomen until dead, but only after being beaten purple, and tortured with a white-hot steel poker in their "felchy." Yet another of the wonderful contributions to civil society from the gay community. Please, please, PLEASE get the F*CK back in the closet! I'm not a homophobe, I simply hate anything and everything queer. An abomination before God and man, nothing more, nothing less. Indeed, there is nothing less. :-/ 6 posted on 08/19/2009 3:38:52 PM PDT by Gargantua (Sarah Palin: The only Republican to take on Zer0bonehead and WIN!) Thank you, I’m glad to know. I won’t be seeing it.

7 posted on 08/19/2009 3:39:45 PM PDT by brytlea (Jesus loves me, this I know.) Mork from Ork. Has-been. Still doing the same tired old schtick from the 1980’s. 8 posted on 08/19/2009 3:40:22 PM PDT by Astronaut [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies ] To: nevergore I remember watching the pilot to Mork and Mindy. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen, we were literally rolling around on the floor laughing. It was silly, but Robin Williams did humor like no one else at the time. However, reading about the show, it appears that even then, Williams wanted to do this sort of stuff and fought with the network over it. It’s sad, because he is an immensely talented man.

9 posted on 08/19/2009 3:42:18 PM PDT by brytlea (Jesus loves me, this I know.) To: Astronaut OL, can’t argue with an Astronaut regarding a “Mork from Ork” reference..... 10 posted on 08/19/2009 3:42:45 PM PDT by nevergore ("It could be that the purpose of my life is simply to serve as a warning to others.") Sounds like a fairly typical Democrat 11 posted on 08/19/2009 3:43:10 PM PDT by YHAOS To: brytlea To his credit, he has always supported the troops and has done many USO shows...... 12 posted on 08/19/2009 3:43:57 PM PDT by nevergore ("It could be that the purpose of my life is simply to serve as a warning to others.") [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies ] To: nevergore I think there’s some good in him.

I really wonder if he didn’t just fry is brain with drugs. 13 posted on 08/19/2009 3:45:41 PM PDT by brytlea (Jesus loves me, this I know.) [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies ] To: brytlea It IS too bad. His riff on the game of golf is among the greatest comedy routines of all time. 14 posted on 08/19/2009 3:46:12 PM PDT by sima_yi ( Palin / Palin 2012 (either order)) To: brytlea “Its sad, because he is an immensely talented man.” He is, but I don't know if you ever caught one of his stand-up acts, he has a hard time doing clean family comedy. He has one of the foulest mouth comedy acts I have ever witnessed.

15 posted on 08/19/2009 3:47:39 PM PDT by NavyCanDo To: brytlea Unfortunately, most good comics are deeply distubed individuals....the great ones are almost surely mad.... 16 posted on 08/19/2009 3:48:17 PM PDT by nevergore ("It could be that the purpose of my life is simply to serve as a warning to others.") [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies ] To: NavyCanDo Yes, it’s why I have never seen him live (and in fact avoid his stand up on HBO etc—I have a low threshold for filthy language). But, he can be very funny in a pg way too. It just doesn’t seem to interest him much. Not sure why. 17 posted on 08/19/2009 3:51:29 PM PDT by brytlea (Jesus loves me, this I know.) To: OneWingedShark The problem is that if you are truly crazy....how would you know????

First, verify that you are not a liberal.....if not, you are still mostly sane.....then check if you are a democrat....if not, your prospects are better. Finally, check and see if you are a conservative....If you are, then you’re definitely sane and possibly funny. 23 posted on 08/19/2009 4:07:11 PM PDT by nevergore ("It could be that the purpose of my life is simply to serve as a warning to others.") [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies ] To: NavyCanDo Yes he is VERY adult, but funniest thing I ever saw and it took me a minute was him fiddling with the little spongy cover on his microphone and finally he just ripped it off and said “Let’s just make him jewish”. LMAO!

24 posted on 08/19/2009 4:28:22 PM PDT by autumnraine (You can't fix stupid, but you can vote it out!) [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies ] To: icwhatudo The 'F Bomb' as you call it is my favorite word. I use it several hundred times a day. And have done for quite a long time. I looked up felching. Pretty gross. But I am very glad I looked it up and hate it when other grownups think they ought to tell me what not to look up. It aint nothing new. I had just never heard that term. It's at almost as gross as people murdering each other (which happens all the time in the flicks). Masturbation by teen watching old woman Sophia Loren and Helen Mirren are old women. I think both of them are pretty hot still. Better he's wanking to an old woman than a 10 year old girl no? Teen taking pics under dress of teacher Tee hee hee!

(they made a film called Porky's when I was a young- guys looking into the girl's shower-room) Teachers sleeping around with each other In a word- Boring! People sleep around at work. Been happening FOREVER. (Boss and secretary- oldest story in the book) I think I'll have to give this film a look to see what all the broohaha is about. Thanks for the recommend. 25 posted on 08/19/2009 5:28:03 PM PDT by Prodigal Son Comment #26 Removed by Moderator To: brytlea This has got to be one of the most biased movie reviews I have ever seen. This movie may be a comedy, but it has several deep, legitimate and uplifting themes—however, you just deride the movie because of it’s tragi-comedy-type Shakespearean nature. Just because a movie has “raunchy” concepts in it does not mean you can take any meaning or quality out of it—that’s just being an ignorant bigot.

“Ignorant - unaware because of a lack of relevant information or knowledge” “Bigot — A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices.” Just as has been done in literature for hundreds of years (as I previously stated, go view Shakespearean literature, or some of the movies from directing legends like Orson Wells), writers include material that ranges from “high-class” material to the bottom of the barrel. Why? Because that is reality, that is life, that is ACTUALITY. Movies shouldn’t be polished to be appropriate to some middle-aged, middle-class, white family’s home—they should be produced to teach people the reality of things. The reason elements like cynicism and sarcasm are included in movies like these, and generally EVERYWHERE in America is because people are becoming “false”. That is, people are not finding self-actualization because we have a societal and governmental system that resists self-actualization with everything it has. Just let me get this clear—this movie is very well written and has a great theme with a great pick me up at the end. It digs through the darkness and foulness of life so that the inspiration can be that more true and powerful.

A story can not have a strong, inspiring ending if there was no conflict in the story, nothing to make the user feel like something was amiss with life. The more negative the movie dips, the more catharsis (look it up) the watcher can achieve. Additionally, the foulness in the movie only makes the movie’s end stronger. Real life contains, guess what... Foulness! These are real things. They exist. People with weird and crazy sexual tastes will exist. People need to accept that fact, not pucker up like idiots when something they disagree with or makes them uncomfortable is toted in a movie. Great movie, very inspiring. This movie encourages people to act to be a real person, and not to give in to the pressure of society, comically blending the Queen/Bowie song “Under Pressure” with the great movie-ending line “I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone; it’s not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone.” to create a powerful end that shows us we should be ourselves. We should not cater to a society of people that don’t know themselves, are changeable, and do not care very legitimately for others.

27 posted on 12/19/2010 10:51:17 AM PST by SeanChadwick [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies ] Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works. World's Greatest Dad Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb 120 out of 159 people found the following review useful: Fantastic Film! from United States 20 January 2009 Just watched this at the Sundance Film Festival. Absolutely great film. Dark, smart comedy in the spirit of Rushmore. The Bobcat is BACK! Very good cast; great soundtrack. He uses very real issues to simply tell a story about the relationship between an ungrateful punk kid and a painfully weak father. In the Q&A after the film, Bobcat pointed out that most of the comedies being made these days are basically R-rated films made for 13-year-olds (mindless, raunchy, etc.).

World's Greatest Dad is a comedy for adults: insightful, original, uncomfortable at times...hilarious. Robin Williams manages to be miserable, mean, touching, and funny without any conflict at all, an inspired break from his traditional roles. Was the above review useful to you? 87 out of 114 people found the following review useful: Way to go Bobcat from Bluefield WV 21 August 2009 This is one of the best films I have seen in awhile. I have heard complaints that the acting is terrible, the acting wasn't bad at all. The characters were supposed to be very shallow and that shallowness was heavily exaggerated. But when the acting needed to be there it came across at magnum force. I would say that much of the movie has a cartoony feel, maybe that is because the only other work I would compare this film to is South Park. They amplify each characters ego and traits to the point it is cartoonish but it works very well in this film, as well as South Park. It switches back and forth between comedy and drama to the point you don't know what you are watching. Maybe many people didn't appreciate it for this reason.

But then there are some weirdos that don't like South Park either. Go figure. You could look at this film in a few ways, it makes you question things. At first it appears that the Dad is doing the right thing for his Son, then for his students and then for himself. You keep wondering where or if he will draw the line. It also makes you wonder what people will do for attention even if they must be a muse. It makes me wonder how many times something like this has occurred in the real world and how many times we have read or heard about it. Robin Williams should be proud of this one, Oscar worthy performance. Daryl Sabara is incredible. He has covered quite a bit in his short career but this one should put him in the special class of young actors. I really liked Lorraine Nicholson's character Heather, she pulled off the Goth chick flawlessly. I also enjoyed the little shout out to Simon Pegg when Lance is talking to his neighbor about zombie movies. Bottom line, many people will not connect with this film because it is very "artsy" and somewhat taboo. But it is a great film. Way to go Bobcat! Was the above review useful to you?

72 out of 98 people found the following review useful: On point and feels totally genuine from United States 28 August 2009 WORLDS GREATEST DAD feels like a well-deserved smack in the face. Tragedy happens every day and our self-centered culture leaps in to turn the event into a grandiose communal affair. Immediate world-wide exposure seems to open the door for each and every one of us to adhere ourselves to tragic misfortunes of others and become a superstar. It's not a pleasant truth, but a truth that was well characterized in this movie. As a parent of teenagers, the abrupt 360 degree attitudinal shift of the kids seemed entirely realistic. Teenagers thrive on group think and group drama and attention. Each kid portrayed reminded me of kids I know - they were fabulous actors. I run into the indulgent & blinded parental approach adopted by Robin Williams all the time, it felt entirely plausible. Loved this movie and it left me thinking about all sorts of themes for days and days. If you are thinking about starting a family - see this movie. If you have a family - see this movie. If you work with kids - see this movie.

If you have thoughts of self-promotion in relation to another's misfortune - see this movie. If you prefer to be smacked in the face with a lot of humor to balance the pain - see this movie! Was the above review useful to you? 58 out of 77 people found the following review useful: Bobcat makes an impressive outing from United States 18 August 2009 This movie worked very well as a dark comedy. It followed no set boundaries and goes its own way. The results are incredibly dark, sometimes being almost twisted. There are some scenes where the viewer doesn't know whether to laugh or feel sad. Robin Williams delivers his best performance in a while as Lance Clayton, a struggling writer striving for success and hell-bent on not dying alone. I personally found it rather impressive that it was both written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait because I'm personally not too big of a fan of his stand-up and this was a far departure from it. However, the one thing that I saw as holding the movie back was its climax, which I believed took the right route, but could have been more powerful or had a bit more of a sting to it.

Overall, this movie, like Observe and Report released earlier in 2009, won't be for everyone, but it works very well in its own way. Was the above review useful to you? 27 out of 31 people found the following review useful: Blackly Brilliant from United Kingdom 12 October 2010 I loved the characterisation of this movie: Robin Williams is one of those actors you have to like. So when, as in this movie, he plays someone who is sweet and kind and weak and crawling through moral quicksand, the resulting conflict you feel has you laughing out loud and wringing your hands with anxiety all at the same time. The plot is original and comes with a couple of unforgettable twists. The dialogue is sharp, the humour dark. The moral compass is spinning wildly, but it straightens up for us in the end. There is a quote at the end of the movie that really struck a chord with me. "I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone, but it's not. The worst thing is ending up with people who make you feel all alone." Brilliant.

from United States 22 August 2009 World's Greatest Dad hooked me the first time I read about it debuting at Sundance. I heard, "dark comedy," and, "Robin Williams," and was instantly interested. Then the trailer and plot summary really reeled me in. The result is a film that not only surpassed expectations, but also went in an unexpected direction. When a film is described as a dark comedy, it has usually still stuck to specific guidelines. Maybe it still followed a similar formula to what other comedies did before it. These other films that are labeled as dark comedies don't really break any new ground. World's Greatest Dad goes beyond that. It breaks any ground rules that were laid before it and doesn't follow any sort of formula. When they say, "dark," they aren't kidding. The subject content is pretty disturbing yet is somehow still humorous. Robin Williams plays the role of a dad who's trying to do his best with the obstacles life has thrown at him incredibly well. With everything that's going on in his life, even in the moments of the film where he doesn't speak, it looks like he's constantly thinking about something.

Always dwelling on what's going on around him with the people who are close to him in his life and trying to decide how he's going to handle this situation he's gotten himself into. While his role does show a bit of his comedic side, Robin Williams proves he can handle serious roles rather well with this performance. While I obviously can't say much about what direction the film goes in without completely spoiling the film, I will say that the trailer does a good job of not giving any of that away. Once the film makes that turn though, it really follows through with it and doesn't let up. One of the best parts of the experience of watching this film for the first time is seeing how far the concept of the film is going to go. As Lance buries himself in this, people begin to say the actions that were taken changed their life for the better. If you told a lie that did that to not just one person, but practically an entire high school...how would you tell them the truth? World's Greatest Dad is not going to be for everyone. Some people will love it and others will just downright hate it. The film isn't just dark, it's DARK.

That and it's a very different kind of comedy with an unexpected turn of events. Most of the humor is very dry, so if that's not your thing then I wouldn't recommend it. For me personally though, it's one of the most interesting films I've seen in quite some time. Was the above review useful to you? 30 out of 40 people found the following review useful: It's never easy being a parent from Massachusetts 17 September 2009 Suburbia has transformed from an innocent place with friendly neighbors to a world full of miserable, sometimes disturbed people, dreams deferred, and earth-shattering secrets. From this year's Sundance Film Festival we have Bobcat Goldthwait's dark comedy World's Greatest Dad, we delve once again into the unknown of Any Town, USA. This film mainly takes place in a school setting, but the themes and conflicts that arise coincide with those found in other films about suburbia. Robin Williams stars as struggling writer Lance Clayton. He lives with his son Kyle (Daryl Sabara), a porn obsessed, perverted teenager who attends the private school Lance teaches a not-so-popular poetry elective. There is tough love between the two. It's a typical teenager vs.

the parent relationship only the censors have been turned off. Lance is dating another teacher on staff, Claire (Alexie Gillmore), who he suspects isn't totally committed to their relationship. Life isn't getting any easier for Lance who struggles to reach his students or find a publisher for his work. When things couldn't get any worse, Lance suffers a blow few could recover from. From tragedy comes opportunity and it is up to Lance to decide what is the right thing to do. It would be wrong of me to give away the tragedy, but it is something that does occur in Any Town, USA. In fact it happened not too long ago just a town over from me. It's the first time I can think of it being used in a film, or at least of this magnitude. There are several times during the film that I felt uncomfortable, but not to the point of disgust. There are some pretty heavy issues handled here and I think it is tasteful. Williams does a fine job, especially in the second half of the film.

For a comedian I can imagine it being difficult to change emotionally like that, but Williams has proved time after time in films like Good Will Hunting, One Hour Photo, and Insomniac that he can play just about any role thrown at him. He has a presence that is very real and powerful. I was surprised by Sabara's performance as Kyle. I had only seen him in Spy Kids so I really didn't know what to expect. He seemed to have a clear idea of who Kyle was and what is motives are. Goldthwait, who also wrote the screenplay, tackles a lot of issues both for adults and teenagers. At first I thought the film was going to end up like last years Towelhead, a hodgepodge of issues and conflicts that are each could have been their own film, but here we have an even dosage of each, culminating to a great finale and realization by William's character. The film isn't perfect. One thing I don't like films to do is talk about other films. I feel like it is only a way for the writer to show off his movie knowledge and personal views about certain movies, although one segment involving zombie movies is relevant to the story. Occasionally it can be beneficial.

Some of the scenes were a bit overdone with cheesy, overused dialogue, and some of the deliveries felt like they were just saying their lines and not really connecting with them. Overall I was impressed. Goldthwait is not a big time filmmaker but this is certainly a step in the right direction (he has acted in several films and worked on other projects behind the camera). Williams gives one of his better performances as of late, but he doesn't steal the show. I thought the story was good enough to stand on its own, which is a very good thing. I hope this film doesn't get completely overlooked this year. You should try to see this one if you can. Was the above review useful to you? 30 out of 41 people found the following review useful: By No Means A Comedy 9 September 2009 *** This review may contain spoilers *** I avoided seeing World's Greatest Dad for quite some time due to the title. I mistook it for some Disney kid's movie. When I finally sat down and gave it a chance I found a very dark, disturbing adult drama that had me laughing and crying at the same time. There are some humorous moments but this is by no means a comedy.

If you are expecting a bunch of belly laughs you will be disappointed. This is a very sad story about a natural born loser who finds the attention he craves in the sympathy he gets after the death of his sexually perverted son. What makes this even more emotionally charged is that our anti-hero is fabricating the circumstances surrounding his son's death in order to gain sympathy and also to ghost write his illiterate son's brilliant journal to get it published in compensation for his own failed writing career. This character's hookwinking of the superficial people around him might come off as a funny gag if not for the fact that he shows absolutely no regret while bleeding his son's death for all it's worth. And everyone around him does the same, relishing in the invitations to talk shows and the offers from book publishing companies. While everyone celebrates their false love for the person they completely ignored while alive, a very brooding tone develops that makes us wonder about the true nature of humanity. World's Greatest Dad is brilliant and provocative. A big ten! Was the above review useful to you?

45 out of 78 people found the following review useful: Everyone will find himself in this movie from Macedonia, (The Former Yugoslav Republic of) 13 September 2009 I saw this movie two weeks ago, because a friend of mine told me that it's a good dark comedy. I like dark humor, but I really didn't expected such a strong movie like this. When someone mention "a dark comedy", I usually think about "Don't be a menace to the South Central while drinking your juice in the hood". But, this is something different. Something that, if you are not psychically prepared, will hit you hard enough and make you feel sick. Robin Williams is a hell of an actor. I like his performances, and really appreciate what he has done for Hollywood. "World's greatest dad" is one of the best movies of the year. It's something that everyone will find a line of his character in this movie. It's about how ironical the life can be, and how people threat others, and what an egoistic creatures we are.

I gave him 10/10, because it's one of the most important movies of the year, a movie that you must watch once in your life and face the truth that the worst thing in life is not to end up all alone, but to end up with people who make you feel all alone. Was the above review useful to you? 11 out of 12 people found the following review useful: Strange but oddly moving from United Kingdom 8 February 2011 Robin Williams is a man of two halves, the brilliant 'The Fisher King', 'One Hour Photo' and 'Insomnia' to name but a few and the rubbish 'Flubber', 'Patch Adams' etc. His work never seems to have any grey area he is either proving he can act or acting the fool. In his latest role as Lance Clayton in Bobcat Goldthwait's (yep the guy out of Police Academy) 'World's Greatest Dad' he is once again showing us he's still got what it takes as he tackles the role of a father who loses his son to a tragic accident. This though is no straight drama and contains humour that is very dark indeed.

Lance is an aspiring writer who can't seem to get published, he is also a teacher who runs a very poorly attended poetry class and the father to Kyle, perhaps the most obnoxious kid to ever grace our screens. After an accident presents an interesting opportunity for Lance he grabs it by both hands and runs with it until it reaches its unnatural conclusion. Well acted and directed this is a film that would sit perfectly with say Junebug, Thumbsucker, Igby Goes Down and Wonder Boys as one of those quirky small town America trag-coms that you find yourself laughing at even when you shouldn't and one that can at times make your skin crawl ever so slightly. Like finding yourself staring at a car crash you won't be able to look away as the pacing draws you through the story with ease and although it deals with matters that are slightly taboo its ultimately an enjoyable watch and one which cements Williams reputation as a comic actor adapt at playing the wounded human soul. Was the above review useful to you? Page 1 of 14: 14 Essential Robin Williams Quotes That Prove He's an Irreplaceable Talent | E!

News 14 Essential Robin Williams Quotes That Prove He's an Irreplaceable Talent By Email Todd Williamson/WireImage.com UPDATE: Today marks one year since Robin Williams ' death, so we figured there was no better time to look back on the amazing contributions he made to comedy and entertainment as a whole. First up, we're revisiting 14 of his most Robin-esque quotes. The world is mourning the sudden and overwhelmingly tragic passing of the great actor and comedian Robin Williams. He brought so much laughter and energy to every role, every standup act and every moment he was ever in front of an audience. Make no mistake, Robin Williams is irreplaceable. There will never be another one like him. While the man is gone, his legacy on and off screen can live on, and we can cherish and remember the things he taught us, either through poignant, witty monologues or through his most memorable characters. His life lessons, both profound and silly (sometimes remarkably both at the same time), will never be forgotten: 1. "Never pick a fight with an ugly person, they've got nothing to lose." 2. "I used to think the worst thing in life is to end up all alone. It's not.

The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone." 3. "I'm sorry, if you were right, I'd agree with you." 4. "The only weapon we have is comedy." 5. "Do you think God gets stoned? I think so...look at the platypus." 6. "It felt wonderful doing it. But that's rather like urinating in brown velvet pants. It can feel wonderful, but no one will watch." 7. "Comedy is acting out optimism." NEWS: Stars react to the sudden passing of Robin Williams 8. "What's right is what's left if you do everything else wrong." 9. "Maybe you're perfect right now. Maybe you don't wanna ruin that. I think that's a super philosophy, Will, that way you can go through your entire life without ever having to really know anybody. 10. "No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world." 11. "If you can remember the sixties, you weren't there." 12.

"It's a wonderful feeling when your father becomes not a god but a man to you- when he comes down from the mountain and you see he's this man with weaknesses. And you love him as this whole being, not as a figurehead." 13. "When you have a great audience, you can just keep going and finding new things." And finally, we can sum up our experience with Robin Williams' career and the impact it had on our childhood and beyond with this last quote: 14. "You're only given one little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it." You were that spark to the world. A wonderful, hilarious and ridiculous spark. And sadly, we lost it. Rest in peace, Mr. Williams. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Brazil E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our US edition? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our Canadian edition? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience.

Would you like to view this in our UK edition? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our Australian edition? E! ist überall Dieser Inhalt ist für internationale Besucher verfügbar. Möchtest du ihn in der deutschen Version anschauen? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our German edition? E! est partout Une version adaptée de ce contenu est disponible pour notre public international. Souhaitez-vous voir ça dans notre édition française ? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our French edition? Yes! 1000+ images about Caricatures of Robin Williams on Pinterest | Robin williams, Caricatures and Robin williams wife Forward Robin Williams: A True Best Friend. Saddened by his death and for his loving family he has left behind. Very sad. He influenced a whole generation of baby boomers from Happy Days, Mork & Mindy and a long film career.We will miss him.

See More 1000+ images about Robin Williams Quotes on Pinterest | Robin williams quotes, Robin williams and Robin williams movies Pinterest • The world’s catalog of ideas Robin Williams Quotes Rest in Peace. The World Lost A Legend. You Will Be So Incredibly Missed & Remembered For Your Amazing Comedy & Movies 820 Pins1.22k Followers

Question: Which actor said, in the film ‘World’s Greatest Dad’, ‘I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone.   It’s not.  The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone’?
Answer: Robin Williams