CHICAGO – If you’ve never seen the farcical ensemble theater chestnut “Noises Off,” you will see no better version than on the Steppenwolf Theatre stage, now at their northside Chicago venue through November 3rd. For tickets and details for this riotous theater experience, click NOISES OFF.
JIM reviews film “WORLD’S GREATEST DAD” – The "Award" (& ending) doesn’t “FIT”, & the Story’s distressingly “DYSFUNCTIONAL” =
“WORLD’S GREATEST DAD” – The “Award” (& ending) doesn’t “FIT”, & the Story’s distressingly “DYSFUNCTIONAL” =
Rating: 6.5 of 10 stars (based on an advance screening).
Writer-director BOB GOLDTHWAIT has been quoted as saying he likes making movies about “flawed” people & ones that cause people to feel “awkward”. He has “succeeded” on both counts with this film. ROBIN WILLIAMS plays a high school poetry teacher Lance who is single-handedly raising a 15-year-old son Kyle (DARYL SABARA) who is often-enraged, foul-mouthed, anti-social, over-sexed, & confused (& those are in his “good” times!).
Darryl has only one friend, Jeremy (EVAN MARTIN), who he usually puts-down unkindly. Robin has a thing for fellow teacher Claire (ALEXIE GILMORE), who can’t seem to “decide” whether she wants to be with him or another teacher there. Frustrated-writer Robin at one point works to “COVER-UP” a major situation involving Daryl, which creates what my friend Ed called a “sad, sick, sorry situation” which changes Robin’s life & that of a number of people “around” him. Did I tell you this was a “black” COMEDY?…
Some people liked this film, & 1 person said he “loved” it for the surprise conclusion. I found the acting to be generally well-done, there’s a bunch of humorous & some creative elements— but, to me, the ending was massively maddening & “UNSUITABLE”: I detected at least 2 & possibly 3 “endings”, the first of which I felt didn’t show enough logical “GUTS” (to follow-thru on what had gone on immediately before it, by implication that the “scam” was likely to CONTINUE to at least SOME degree); that was immediately followed by a huge “build-up” scene to a supposed “cleansing” close; but then, that was “succeeded” by what appeared to be another “TACKED-ON” end that may’ve shown some humor but which didn’t “FIT” in my opinion. It was those “multiple” endings (seemingly by “committee”) which lowered my rating for this film.