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World's Greatest Dad
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Metascore
69 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.1 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 40 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Summary: A thoughtful but outrageous comedy from Bobcat Goldthwait, World's Greatest Dad is a story about a man that learns the things you want most may not be the things that make you happy, and that being lonely is not necessarily the same as being alone. Robin Williams stars as Lance Clayton, a man who has learned to settle. He dreamed of being a rich and famous writer, but has only managed to make it as a high school poetry teacher. His only son Kyle is an insufferable jackass who won’t give his father the time of day. He is dating Claire, the school’s adorable art teacher, but she doesn’t want to get serious -- or even acknowledge publicly that they are dating. Then, in the wake of a freak accident, Lance suffers the worst tragedy and greatest opportunity of his life. He is suddenly faced with the possibility of all the fame, fortune and popularity he ever dreamed of, if he can only live with the knowledge of how he got there. (Magnolia Pictures)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Scott Knopf
    90
    A very funny comedy. It's a very funny comedy that almost made me cry.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    83
    Williams hasn't been this sympathetic in years.
  3. Empire
    Reviewed by: Dan Jolin
    60
    Odd, confident, challenging, and featuring a brilliant turn by Williams. If only there was just a little more to it.

See all 24 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. andreadoloffo
    10
    I just watched the "World's Greatest Dad". This a black comedy movie, however the ending ruined the whole black comedy aspect of the theme. I mean, the ending is MACRO BIZARRE. I felt that the whole movie was literary flushed down the toilet when it turned 180 degrees into a "black hole of nonsensical disparity". Respectfully submitted and thank you. SAAA PRODUCTIONS… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. DigitalShark
    9
    This movie is admittedly not for all tastes, but really surprised me. The odd cover art you might see for this will typically just show Williams, and with all of the family friendly cookie cutter movies he's made, his image along with the title is bound to make people think it's another one of those Disney type popcorn movies, and that might be what they are expecting when they see it. The intended audience (who might like darker and twisted comedies) might pass for the same reason, the title. It's meant to be darkly ironic of course, but I can just imagine what marketing discussions were like, they must have had no clue on how to "sell" this movie. I truly enjoyed it, and it got big deserving laughs several times. Williams is at his absolute best, and the script is full of highly amusing dialogue. The one area where Bobcat flails a bit in my opinion is in relying too heavily and too often on montages set to music. It's used very well in some scenes, and too much or too heavily in others. And when you have two humorous montage music segments within minutes of one another it really breaks up the flow of the story. That said, that is really the extent of my criticism as I think the movie succeeds very well on it's own terms. Some of the smaller scenes are wonderfully played, such as a scene where Williams visits his paranoid shut in neighbor and they share a plate of pot brownies. It's a shame more people will not see this movie, but then again it's the kind of comedy that makes people uncomfortable, like "King of Comedy." A lot of people won't enjoy being messed with in such a genuinely edgy way, but the right people will love it. You don't see movies with guts like this one has very often.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. hugoboy
    8
    it was 2am and i was about to go to bed,when i saw this movie starting and i decided to just see the title before going to bed,and i found myself hooked and my heavy eyes suddenly became wide open.now that's just how good this movie is. The story is so deep,it would take you some days to climb back up to the surface. R.william was so great and believeable. A great movie,loved it… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 6 User Reviews

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