One of the trailers for “World’s Greatest Dad,” a new movie written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, begins with a student reading aloud her graphic poem about childbirth.
“Thank you. That was — very personal,” says Lance Clayton, the nonpublished writer turned teacher played by Robin Williams. “Anybody else have their haiku?”
“I’m really happy that people have been enjoying [the trailer] because I think we did capture the tone,” Goldthwait said. “The movie is kind of dark and twisted, but we’re not trying to pull a fast one; it’s not ‘Marley & Me.’”
The R-rated film premiered at the Sundance Festival in January and is scheduled for release this fall.

Bobcat Goldthwait

“I’ve always been drawn to that uncomfortable — you know, when I’d watch Andy Kaufman and I didn’t know if it was real or fake, even when I watch the Woody Allen movies from the ‘80s and ‘70s, he was always really big on these awkward, awkward moments, and for some reason that always made me laugh,” Goldthwait said during a phone interview from Los Angeles.
The comedian connected with disturbing humor at a young age.
“My earliest memories of watching movies were watching the film version of ‘Arsenic and Old Lace,’ you know, and being a little boy and having to ask my mom what was really going on, and I got so excited when I found out the old ladies were killing people,” he said.
Fans can expect Goldthwait’s dark humor when he comes to Fat Fish Blue, 6140 Levis Commons Blvd. in Perrysburg. He will perform shows at 8 and 10:30 p.m. July 31 and at 7 and 10 p.m. Aug. 1. Tickets are $20.
“I usually talk about things until it’s OK to talk about them and then I drop them from my act. Like I’ll be talking about Michael Jackson until a year from now when other comedians feel it’s safe,” he said.
Combining wincing and laughing has been effective for the 47-year-old. “Sleeping Dogs Lie,” another film he wrote and directed, was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006.
“I think if [Sundance] had happened to me when I was a younger man, I wouldn’t understand what it meant. To me, it’s an even bigger deal. I’ve said this before and I think it’s true: If you work at Sundance and you receive a DVD of a movie and it says written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, I come with a lot of baggage, you know what I mean? I can’t imagine them going, ‘Yeah, we should book him right into the programming pile,’” the comic said.
“The thing that was really exciting at Sundance is both times I had movies there, people seemed to laugh and enjoy them and clap and like the movie, but it was exciting for me to go out in the lobby and overhearing people having discussions,” Goldthwait said. “I like that these movies seem to raise ethical questions with people.”

On the Web: visit www.bobcatswebsite.com and click on links for more information.