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WORLD'S GREATEST DADMovie Reviews
Comedy about a poetry teache, and father to an insufferable teenager, who gets another crack at fame and fortune when tragedy strikes. Cast:Robin Williams, Daryl Sabara, Alexie Gilmore, Tom Kenny, Geoffrey PiersonDirector:Bobcat GoldthwaitRelease Date:August 21, 2009DVD Release:December 8, 2009From:MagnoliaRating:RLength:1 hr 39 min
World's Greatest Dad played in key cities to good reviews. • Tom Keogh wrote in the Seattle Times, "A dark comedy that raises hard questions — and largely eschews pat answers — about the relativity of truth... swims in a sea of provocative ambiguity." • And Claudia Puig called the film in USA Today, "...a bold, black comedy balanced by an unexpected sense of humanity." More Reviews Below...
World's Greatest Dad Positive Reviews (29 Reviews, reviews below)
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: EXCELLENT(cg) "Bobcat Goldthwait's garishly potty-mouthed and over-the-top black comedy, blows up every rule of taste, good cinema, and common sense, and somehow gets away with it."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 110 words, 08/28/09
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...extremely dark and daring and definitely not for everyone, but it shows that with his third film, Goldthwait is honing a unique and fearless voice, and that's exciting to see."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 545 words, 08/27/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Though hampered by an uneven tone and a disturbing conclusion, this is a bold, black comedy balanced by an unexpected sense of humanity."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 407 words, 08/28/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (8 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: MODERATE "With a merciless acuity this nihilistic comedy ridicules collective grief and the news media's cynical marketing of inspirational uplift... it doesn't amount to much."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 707 words, 08/21/09
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: MODERATE(cg) "Sadly, once the movie shifts gears, it becomes a timid 'Donnie Darko' -- like surrealist fable (that film's director, Richard Kelly, is a producer)."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 313 words, 08/21/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Goldthwait makes a daring assault against our yearning to mythologize the dead. But he loses his nerve just before the earth is completely scorched."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 683 words, 09/03/09
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: GOOD "Goldthwait is interested in mining the human condition... the film proves unexpectedly moving in its portrait of a middle-age man leaving childish things behind."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 379 words, 08/28/09
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "At 99 minutes, the film is a tad too long, and takes its sweet time to get to the point. But its twisted heart is in the right place."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 327 words, 08/21/09
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "The particular stew of midlife and pubescent despair that clogs a single-father male-child household has rarely been achieved so well..."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 219 words, 08/19/09
KEY CITIES (12 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...may not be for everyone, but filmgoers tuned in to its particular, perverse frequency will find much to value in its bent sense of humor and compassion."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 683 words, 09/04/09
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "Midway through, Goldthwait upends the entire film and turns it into a pitch-black commentary on the vagaries and seductions of modern media celebrity..."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 599 words, 09/04/09
Michael Granberry, Dallas Morning News: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Who could have guessed that a cat named Bobcat could write a screenplay or direct a film as refreshingly sensitive as this one?"(See all of Michael Granberry's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 527 words, 09/04/09
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "For a comedy about autoerotic asphyxiation, epic deception, and shameless exploitation, this is a surprisingly sweet and tender affair."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 382 words, 09/04/09
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...manages to find something memorably specific in the generic social flotsam of the American high school - the impulse we have to memorialize tragedy with earnest kitsch."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 683 words, 09/04/09
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "...darkest of the dark, not for the faint of heart or those lacking a strong sense of irony. Yet it's not a wallow in despair; by the finale, it's good, old-fashioned catharsis."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 504 words, 09/11/09
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "A dark comedy that raises hard questions -- and largely eschews pat answers -- about the relativity of truth... swims in a sea of provocative ambiguity."(See all of Tom Keogh's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 405 words, 09/04/09
Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD(cg) "Robin Williams is more restrained and sympathetic than he's been in years... has a final act that makes up for a ponderous first third..."(See all of Marc Mohan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 183 words, 09/18/09
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "For Robin Williams, it's been a long, strange trip from 'Dead Poets Society' to the half-dead poetry teacher he plays in this sardonic comedy..."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 299 words, 09/04/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...makes sharp but obvious observations about the social strata of an American high school.... For all its darkness and dad-smoking-pot edge... It caves."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 376 words, 10/16/09
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: MODERATE(cg) "Clearly the comedy is gunning for the fraudulent -- only the film is not to be trusted, either. Making Kyle godawful may seem edgy, even authentic. But it's pure setup."(See all of Lisa Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 446 words, 09/11/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (4 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "The particular stew of midlife and pubescent despair that clogs a single-father male-child household has rarely been achieved so well..."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 219 words, 08/19/09
Betsy Sherman, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "Goldthwait has become a thoughtful director of movies that take a sick premise and -- with a light touch -- extrapolate from it some uneasy truths."(See all of Betsy Sherman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 144 words, 09/03/09
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: MODERATE "With a merciless acuity this nihilistic comedy ridicules collective grief and the news media's cynical marketing of inspirational uplift... it doesn't amount to much."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 707 words, 08/21/09
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "Goldthwait is interested in mining the human condition... the film proves unexpectedly moving in its portrait of a middle-age man leaving childish things behind."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 379 words, 08/28/09
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "Goldthwait is interested in mining the human condition... the film proves unexpectedly moving in its portrait of a middle-age man leaving childish things behind."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 379 words, 08/28/09
Stephen Holden, New York Times: MODERATE "With a merciless acuity this nihilistic comedy ridicules collective grief and the news media's cynical marketing of inspirational uplift... it doesn't amount to much."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 707 words, 08/21/09
14.6 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
World's Greatest Dad's reviews are separated by an average 14.6 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
World's Greatest Dad (29 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:World's Greatest Dad's reviews cover 56.6% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 11,574 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 399 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 51.3 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
World's Greatest Dad's reviews on average broke 51.3 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is World's Greatest Dad's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
World's Greatest Dad (29 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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