World's Greatest Dad

World's Greatest Dad is a 2009 American satirical black comedy-drama film written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait and starring Robin Williams, Daryl Sabara, and Alexie Gilmore. The film was released on July 24, 2009, on video on demand providers before its limited theatrical release on August 21, 2009. Plot Lance Clayton is a single father and high school English teacher who dreams of becoming a famous writer, but his previous novels have all been rejected by publishers. His 15-year-old son Kyle is a sex-obsessed, underachieving misanthrope who is a student at the school where Lance teaches an unpopular poetry class. Kyle's poor academic performance and vile behavior gain the attention of the school principal, who advises Lance to transfer Kyle to a special-needs school. One night, Lance discovers that Kyle has died in an autoerotic asphyxiation accident in his bedroom. To salvage his son's dignity, Lance stages Kyle's death as a suicide. He hangs Kyle in a closet and posts a fake suicide note on his body. A classmate later obtains the suicide note from police records and publishes it in the school newspaper. The note strikes a chord with the students and faculty and many students suddenly claim to have been friends with Kyle and are touched by how deep and intelligent he shows himself to be in his writings. Enjoying the attention his writing is finally receiving, Lance decides to write and publish a phony journal that was supposedly written by his son before his death.