Now that the shallow and dumbed-down summer blockbuster season is over, it's time to focus on films with a little more substance and do I have a recommendation for you. 

At first thought, a dark comedy from Robin Williams and writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait sounds like a potential trainwreck.  Instead, World's Greatest Dad turns out to be a very smart film full of dark humor and heart.

Williams plays Lance, a single dad stuck in a ho-hum high school teaching job.  His students are apathetic to his poetry class and his dreams of becoming a rich, successful writer dim with each rejected manuscript.  To make matters worse, his son Kyle is the world's most disrespectful, misanthropic jerk imaginable. 

Kyle is a loner and an outcast and has nothing good to say about his dad or anyone else.  Things aren't all bad for Lance though.  He's dating a super hot co-worker, but as lucky as he is to have her, their relationship is facing some serious complications.

Williams plays the lovable and downtrodden shlub honestly and realistically.  Lance accepts his life as most of us do, by holding our tongues, avoiding confrontation and by being thankful for whatever scraps are thrown his direction.  Despite all the insults and rejection Lance receives from Kyle, he tries to be the best dad he can. 

The interaction between the two gets this film off to a memorable start.  Williams and Daryl Sabara are fantastic together and their father/son dynamic is both funny and tragic.  This alone would make an interesting story, but Goldthwait throws us an unexpected curve and the film goes places you don't expect.  The twist changes everything, including Lance and the way the audience views the film.

World's Greatest Dad combines moments of truly warped, dark comic brilliance with a very sympathetic lead.  Goldthwait's script and direction are fantastic and he's created a deeply engaging film which touches on several themes.  We all have dreams, but to what length would be go to see them come true, and how much of our integrity would you want to compromise?

It's not all serious.  World's Greatest Dad is both bittersweet and humorous and Robin Williams will remind you that he can be a very good dramatic actor.  Goldthwait, on the other hand, made me forget about his spastic and unorthodox stand-up routine.  His crisp writing and creative use of the camera shows his filmmaking skills. 

World's Greatest Dad is heavy on language and sexual situations, but if you're not easily offended and in the mood for something provacative and different, it's highly recommended.

4.5 out of 5