These lines quoted by Lance (Robin Williams) are the crux of this movie. Although this movie is set in the high school milieu, this movie is ultimately about a man and his fear of loneliness, his fear of vanishing into obscurity without having achieved anything in life. A man who does desperate things in order to avoid that fate, ultimately realising how wrong he was.
This movie tackles so many issues that plague mankind today...the dissolution of conventional two parent families, the often tangled, hostile relationship between parent and child, the social isolation that haunts us at every stage of our lives, the excessive emphasis on achievement and fame, the fact that even notoriety is preferable to not being known at all.....the pain of human condition indeed!
I have never been a huge fan of Robin Williams in his comic avatar (the horrendous RV anyone!), but when he does a sensitive turn like in Dead Poets Society, Awakenings, and now in Worlds Greatest Dad...he is brilliant. He strikes me as a man who is very self aware, clued into his own failings and his own vulnerability as a human being...translates very well onto screen in roles such as Lance Clayton. He underplays his role beautifully and ably conveys his bemusement where it comes to his son. I have no idea why he wasnt nominated for the oscar for this one..in my opinion, Robin Williams as Lance Clayton, the not so perfect Dad, was far superior to Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart.
The other actors, Daryl Sabara as the kinky, annoying son, Alexie Gilmore as the fickle girlfriend, Evan Martin as the stone-faced loyal friend, are all good. While I cant find fault with the principle cast, some of the kids who played Kyle's school mates were caricatures of what one has come to expect of the "American teen", a bit overdone.
Watch this movie for the great story, for the cast led by a superlative Robin Williams, for the many smiles it provides (some unintentional and more grimace like!), for the mostly accurate portrayal of what our world has come to.
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