Fame, Glory and Suicide

by Paige Boos

World’s Greatest Dad was a film that dealt with the after effects of teen suicide... well, sort of. The suicide in question was in fact a perverse accident in which the son of Robin Williams’s character dies while trying to achieve asphyxiation during masturbation. When Williams discovers his son in this compromising position, he chooses to cover up the awkward situation by instead staging a phony suicide.

Not only does Williams’s physically change the scene but he also goes on to write a suicide note that would eventually surface and “inspire” countless students, teachers, and every day folks. What makes this comedy interesting is that Williams's son Kyle was well, a “complete douche”. In fact the scenes that Kyle does appear in are harsh, difficult to watch, and almost always completely and wildly inappropriate. Kyle starts fights sexually harasses classmates and even masturbates to the elderly lady across the street. He is misogynistic, egotistical, and overall unpleasant -- some even thought slow. However an interesting thing begins to happen when Kyle’s fake suicide note surfaces. Classmates who once hated him began to respect and relate to him. The men wanted to be him and the women wanted to be with him. Teachers who once believed him to be “special needs” were naming libraries after him.

Because of the serious nature of the issues I don’t want to make the statement that the directors chose to portray teen suicide in a way that “pokes fun” at the common responses people have to teen suicide because it isn’t fun and it isn’t a laughing matter. However that’s what makes this type of dark comedy successful. Suicide is a serious matter that can often illicit outrageous responses. When seen through the eyes of a serious drama the ridiculous nature can be easily missed -- as was parodied in the serious yet outrageous scenes in the movie. A boy that is so vile and clearly disturbed suddenly gains notoriety as everyone’s best friend? This example is exaggerated in a way that makes it obvious to us the insanity of the situation. Had Kyle been a stand up guy or even just a quiet loner the point would be missed. He had to be an ass to make the point valid. In a way his suicide is glorified. As the lecture states these films “show us other, more palatable ways of looking at the things that we may be otherwise inclined to ignore”. This dark comedy confronts the idea that we all look back and say we all should have known, what a great guy-taken too soon. That’s not to say that it’s not the truth, however it’s a bit like winning the lottery (in a very morbid and completely opposite way). You go from nothing to everyone’s best friend. In fact, your twice removed third cousin suddenly wants to be BFFs. It’s the glorification of tragedy or the need to feel involved, to say I knew that guy.

I think this message comes through most profoundly in the reading of Kyle’s suicide note. You
witness the words through the different characters who in turn see visions of Kyle reflected in their own personalities -- the goth girl sees gothic Kyle, the nerd of course sees nerd Kyle. Instead of seeing Kyle the way he was these characters give him a new personality, one that relates to their own.

Finally, I think it would be amiss to watch this film and not draw connections between the
themes and Williams own battle with depression and suicide. If psychoanalytic theory can be used to explain gross-out or man child comedies as relating to subconscious desire, what would psychoanalytic theory state about this film? An actor staring in a film portraying suicide who five short years later commits suicide himself? When researching the film before watching I stumbled on a piece of film trivia that stated Williams was only supposed to have a minor role until the script intrigued him to the point that he instead took the lead. Perhaps comedy (or film in general) not only portray the subconscious desires of the people who watch them but also the people who play or participate in them.