I DIDN'T know what to expect with WORLD'S GREATEST DAD (15), mainly because with Robin Williams you never know if you're going to be bombarded with. Comic book style wham-bam comedy or a dark, gritty thriller about obsession and murder – the man ca

I DIDN'T know what to expect with WORLD'S GREATEST DAD (15), mainly because with Robin Williams you never know if you're going to be bombarded with.

Comic book style wham-bam comedy or a dark, gritty thriller about obsession and murder - the man can do them both.

This is, rather brilliantly, neither. It's a black comedy, risky and intelligent, with Williams playing Lance Clayton, a frustrated novelist who earns a living teaching poetry to uninterested kids at the local school where his porn-obsessed obnoxious son attends.

A dramatic freak accident sees Lance's life completely transformed after he makes an uncomfortable decision to save the reputation of his hideous son and realises everything he ever wanted in life is on the table.

Williams underplays his role to perfection, and art teacher Claire (Alexie Gilmore) is great as his wily girlfriend who doesn't want to commit.

It's a refreshing independent film that is gloriously uncomfortable in its realism as it rips apart the cult of tabloid celebrity without ever being preachy.

- JO USMAR