World's Greatest Dad (2009)

Robin Williams plays a Lance, a bland guy who's failing at almost everything: he's single-parenting an abrasive jerk of a son, he's teaching high school poetry to kids who don't care about poetry, publishers aren't interested in his manuscripts, and his fellow-teacher girlfriend doesn't want anyone to know they're dating. When his kid dies during auto-erotic asphyxiation, he stages a more dignified death -- a deliberate act complete with sensitive suicide note -- out of love for his son. Well, that desire to "clean up" his son's embarrassing death turns Lance's life around. He's suddenly the interesting father of a misunderstood angel.

There's a good core here, but it's surrounded by such broad characters that the whole thing wound up hitting clanging false notes. The students, girlfriend, colleagues, and talking heads behaved like cartoons rather than actual people who mattered, making Lance come off as though he belonged to a different species altogether.

Oh...and...for me to agree to see Robin Williams naked ever again, it'd have to be in service of a MUCH better movie.

C-