This issue, we'll look at one of the best-kept secrets of the movie year and a tremendous disappointment from a major director.

World's Greatest Dad
(R, Avail. 12/8)

It's impossible to properly review this without giving away a major plot point that occurs about 45 minutes into the film. Notice the massive spoiler alert just before I get to that and decide if you want to read on.

"World's Greatest Dad" is a deeply cynical and incredibly bilious comedy. Writer-director Bobcat Goldthwait's film is the story of Lance Clayton (Robin Williams) and his rotten teenage son, Kyle (Daryl Sabara, setting fire to his "Spy Kids" image). Lance is an unpublished, deeply frustrated author. He teaches an unpopular poetry course at the Seattle high school (the film was actually shot here, not Vancouver) where Kyle alienates and infuriates the very same students. Every word from Kyle's mouth is vile and hateful. He hates absolutely everything, even music. "The only thing [lamer] than music," he tells Lance, "are the people who like it."

The only positive thing in Lance's life is his budding relationship with fellow teacher, Claire (Alexie Gilmore). He's uneasy with her friendship with athletic teacher, Mike (Henry Simmons), but he does his best to deal with it. Against his better judgment, Lance opens up to Kyle about the relationship and suggests they all go out to dinner. Kyle's horrified, declaring, "Being seen in public with one teacher is bad enough. Two is AIDS!" Dinner goes a bit better than Lance expected but Kyle is still Kyle.

WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD

After Lance says goodnight to Claire, he finds Kyle in his room dead, the result of an accident. Lance makes it look like a suicide and creates a note. This note ends up being the first thing Lance has ever written that has made an impact. Students, fellow teachers, and the principal, all of whom rightly loathed Kyle, not only show Lance an outpouring of love, they convince themselves and each other that they thought the world of this awful young man. T-shirts, banners, and tributes come from virtually the entire student body. Lance's attempt to spare his son posthumous embarrassment has created something remarkably huge.

It spins further out of control when Lance creates a journal he tells the world was written by Kyle. This is a lie on top of a lie, but it seems to actually be a positive thing for kids going through their teenage years. It also becomes Lance's first published work.

What really elevates "World's Greatest Dad" to the heights it achieves, are the very intriguing moral dilemmas that Goldthwait poses. In spite of the lie Lance perpetuates, it does do a surprising amount of good. Will the lie prevent future teen suicides? Does that in some way justify the fiction?

What I found most interesting, though, and why I really cannot recommend "World's Greatest Dad" highly enough, is how Goldthwait observes the reaction to Kyle's death. We see it all the time. Someone dies, and people who never liked or even cared about that person act as though they have lost someone near and dear to them. Goldthwait points the finger at people who do this in a big way. In the false frenzy of love for Kyle, his only real friend Andrew (Evan Martin), is lost in the shuffle. Andrew is a pretty good kid who knew all of the awful things that Kyle was, yet liked him anyway. He's also the one character in the film who doesn't make Kyle's death about himself.

"World's Greatest Dad" is cynical in the smartest and most honest possible way. It's also very funny. Williams gives one of his best performances-funny, but subdued and real. In his short screen time, Sabara creates a character that will go down as a cult movie icon. This is far and away one of the best movies of the year. Goldthwait never loses a handle on the ever important sense of tone, which, in this case, is executed like a flawless high wire act.

This film may not appeal to the masses, but for some it will be a new classic. 10/10.

Public Enemies
(R, Avail. 12/8)

Michael Mann has been great ("Heat") and borderline awful ("Miami Vice"). "Public Enemies" is not a return to greatness.

Just out of prison in 1933, John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) is infamous, but loved by the public, and he can't wait to get back to doing what he does best: robbing banks.

No one can stop him, and he has the Chicago police in his pocket. Only J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) has any real aspirations of catching Dillinger. For Hoover, Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) is the man for the job.

As a portrait of the battle of wills and wits between Dillinger and Purvis, "Public Enemies" fails. Purvis goes largely undeveloped and we never really understand what's driving him, rendering Bale's performance unmemorable. Imagine if "The Fugitive" had left Tommy Lee Jones a blank slate.

As Dillinger, Depp is fine but nothing special. Mann seems to want us to sympathize with Dillinger and let him off the hook, as though he was merely a misguided folk hero, which is one of the film's biggest problems. Marion Cotillard, however, does a wonderful job as Dillinger's girl, Billie Frechette.

Finally, there is the look of the movie. Shot on digital, "Public Enemies" is an affront to anyone with eyes. It's often so murky that it feels like trying to watch a movie caked in mud. After the visual disaster that was "Miami Vice," Mann should have learned his lesson. He either needs to go back to shooting on film or ask David Fincher how he made "Zodiac" look so good (another film shot on digital). It's just unacceptable from a director of Mann's stature working with a massive budget. 5.5/10.

Also new to DVD and Blu-Ray

Now Available:
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (PG)
Terminator Salvation (PG-13) - 7.5/10
Into the Storm (NR) - 9/10
A Christmas Tale (NR) - 8/10

Available 12/8:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (PG-13) - 8.5/10
Julie and Julia (PG-13)
Lost: Season 5

blog comments powered by Disqus