A Robin Williams comedy called, The World’s Greatest Dad.
Hmm… ordinarily, we’d recommend you run for the hills in order to escape the impending tsunami of schmaltz. But look again.
For this Robin Williams comedy is directed by Bobcat Goldthwait.
Yes, the Bobcat Goldthwait who lit up two Police Academy movies with his unique blend of punk-meets-fingernails-down-blackboard comedy. The Bobcat Goldthwait whose directorial career began with the cult favourite, Shakes The Clown. The Bobcat Goldthwait whose last movie, Sleeping Dogs Lie, was about a woman enjoying carnal knowledge with a dog.
Yeah, it’s fair to say that The World’s Greatest Dad is not going to your average Robin Williams comedy. In fact, it’s fair to say that it’s going to be as black as midnight.
Williams will star as a high school teacher who finds his son dead after what appears to be an autoerotic accident. He fakes a suicide note in an attempt to give his son some dignity in death, only for the note to leak to the school paper.
Ouch. Dark stuff, indeed.
Goldthwait wrote the screenplay, too, while Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly is one of the producers, through his newly-formed production and financing company, Darko.
Sounds great to us. Williams gets a bad rap these days, with a lot of comedians imitating his manic style of delivery, but when the man’s on form, he’s one of the true greats. And when he underplays, it can be something special indeed. We’ve got high hopes for this one – as indeed anyone who’s seen Shakes The Clown should.