History Film / WorldsGreatestDad

* TeensAreMonsters: Kyle. He probably would have been a school shooter [[spoiler:if he didn't accidentally kill himself by autoerotic aspyxiation.]]

* EsotericHappyEnding: Lance Clayton loses his job as a teacher and is despised by his former co-workers, his community (and, due to his fame, people around the country) for using the claim that his poetry was actually written by his deceased son as a ruse to gain publicity. On the other hand, in the final scene, Lance is able to do what he wanted all along: spend time with authentic people who appreciated him for who he really is.

* DeadArtistsAreBetter: Zig-zagged. Kyle was not an artist while he was alive. The only worthwhile thing he ever did was masturbate and leer after any woman who couldn't see him. It's not until Lance, a skilled but struggling writer, forges his suicide note (and Kyle isn't around to disprove any of it) that he's seen as a sensitive poet acting like a jerk.

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: Kyle. Lance, society and the world are all probably better off for it.]]

* HateSink: Kyle is a loathsome teenager with absolutely no redeeming qualities, and exists solely for the audience to hate him.

* NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead

* TeensAreMonsters: Kyle.

Much like ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', most of the film's plot is driven by a {{Spoiler}} that happens early on in the film. However, the film is not old enough for this to be a case of ItWasHisSled / AllThereIsToKnowAboutTheCryingGame.

* DeathWail: [[spoiler: Similar to the climatic scene in the third film of ''Film/TheGodfather'', when Lance finds that his own son is dead, "Don't Be Afraid, You're Already Dead" by Akron/Family drowns out his primal and heartwrenching wails of grief.]]

* ContemptibleCover: Some people who otherwise would have seen this film were driven away by the poster (above), since no one seems to have told the designers that "red text on a white background" has become synonymous with [[Creator/SeltzerAndFriedberg extremely horrible movies]]. Also, considering the last Creator/RobinWilliams film to use the "red text on a white background" cliche was ''License To Wed''... thank goodness the DVD cover is much different.

* MaleFrontalNudity: Robin Williams strips down to only his socks for the final scene where Lance jumps off a diving board after [[spoiler:revealing the truth about what happened to Kyle]]. Not meant as {{Fanservice}} or even FanDisservice, but symbolic of how he's stripped off everything from his old life and become reborn. Most viewers still call it FanDisservice (unless of course they're [[FanGirl really into Robin Williams]]). Incidentally, [[BestKnownForTheFanservice this is the only part of the film interviewers seem to want to talk about with Robin and Bobcat]]. Robin and Bobcat are more than happy to answer, however.

* DeadArtistsAreBetter: Zig-zagged. Kyle was not an artist while he was alive. The only worthwhile thing he ever did was masturbate and leer after any woman who couldn't see him. It's not until Lance, a skilled by struggling writer, forges his suicide note (and Kyle isn't around to disprove any of it) that he's seen as a sensitive poet acting like a jerk.

* SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack: Andrew. As mentioned on the commentary, this is because he dislikes going home because of his alcoholic mother.

[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/worlds_greatest_dad_poster.jpg]]

* DeadArtistsAreBetter: Zig-zagged. Kyle was not an artist while he was alive. The only worthwhile thing he ever did was masturbate and leer after any woman who couldn't see him. It's not until Lance, a skilled by struggling writer, forges his suicide note (and Kyle isn't around to disprove any of it) that he's seen as a sensitive poet with a JerkassFacade.
* EroticAsphyxiation: [[spoiler:How Kyle dies, as said above.]]

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: [[spoiler: Kyle might be an absolute asshole, but Lance is nevertheless genuinely shocked and grieved to discover that he is dead. He might not especially ''like'' his son, but that doesn't mean he doesn't love him.]]

* PacManFever: All the technology in the movie is contemporary to the time it was filmed, 2008, yet Kyle's game of choice is ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}''. Then again, [[TruthInTelevision DOOM is still incredibly popular today]].

* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: Kyle has absolutely no redeeming qualities.

''Film/{{Heathers}}'' [[XMeetsY meets]] ''Film/DeadPoetsSociety'' [-[[RecycledINSPACE WITH]] [[NakedPeopleAreFunny A]] [[{{Fanservice}} NU]][[FanDisservice DE]] [[Creator/RobinWilliams ROBIN WILLIAMS!]]-]

* EroticAsphyxiation - [[spoiler:How Kyle dies, as said above.]]

* MaleFrontalNudity - Robin Williams strips down to only his socks for the final scene where Lance jumps off a diving board after [[spoiler:revealing the truth about what happened to Kyle]]. Not meant as {{Fanservice}} or even FanDisservice, but symbolic of how he's stripped off everything from his old life and become reborn. Most viewers still call it FanDisservice (unless of course they're [[FanGirl really into Robin Williams]]). Incidentally, [[BestKnownForTheFanservice this is the only part of the film interviewers seem to want to talk about with Robin and Bobcat]]. Robin and Bobcat are more than happy to answer, however.

* MoodWhiplash - Claire sexually teasing and fondling Lance is followed right by [[spoiler:Kyle's death.]]

* NeverTrustATrailer - [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PkGTjZccNE The trailer]] makes it seem like it's just about Robin Williams raising an extremely difficult son. They do show clips of Robin's nude pool dive from the ending, but they make it seem more comical than it really is. On the other hand...

* PacManFever - All the technology in the movie is contemporary to the time it was filmed, 2008, yet Kyle's game of choice is ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}''. Then again, [[TruthInTelevision DOOM is still incredibly popular today]].

* ShoutOut - Lance quotes Creator/SimonPegg on modern zombies ("Death is an impediment, not an energy drink").

* TeensAreMonsters - Kyle.
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil - Anyone who read any news articles on the film before they saw it would already know that [[spoiler:Kyle dies.]] The Netflix blurb also spoils that point.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: When we first see Lance's sparse class, he gets frustrated when one student just reads the lyrics to [[Music/{{Queen}} "Under Pressure"]] and claims them as his own, asking that his students strive for original and, more importantly, personal creations. This is followed by a female student ready a ''very'' [[{{Squick}} detailed]] poem about [[NoPeriodsPeriod having her period]].

* AssholeVictim

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Though "friend" may be a stretch. Kyle has exactly one friend, Andrew, and even ''he's'' on the receiving end of a considerable amount of abuse. Literally everyone else at school hates how much of a misanthropic, sexist asshole he is.

* ContemptibleCover: Some people who otherwise would have seen this film were driven away by the poster (above), since no one seems to have told the designers that "red text on a white background" has become synonymous with [[SeltzerAndFriedberg extremely horrible movies]]. Also, considering the last Creator/RobinWilliams film to use the "red text on a white background" cliche was ''License To Wed''... thank goodness the DVD cover is much different.

This film was made in 2008 and opened at Sundance in early 2009, and is now on DVD and Blu-Ray. It was directed by Creator/BobcatGoldthwait, who also directed ''ShakesTheClown'' (in which Robin has an uncredited cameo) and ''Film/SleepingDogsLie'', a romantic comedy where a girl reveals she fellated a dog in college and her relationships start to fall apart ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Dogs_Lie_%282006_film%29 We don't make these things up, folks]]).