Bad Words Review

Rated R (Crude and Sexual Content, Language and Brief Nudity)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 28 Minutes

Cast-

Jason Bateman-Guy Trilby

Kathryn Hahn-Jenny Widgeon

Rohan Chand-Chaitanya Chopra

Allison Janney-Dr. Bernice Deagan

Philip Baker Hall-Dr. William Bowman

Ben Falcone-Pete Fowler

Steve Witting-Proctor at the Golden Quill Spelling Bee

Patricia Belcher-Ingrid

Rachael Harris-Eric Tai's Mother

Anjul Nigam-Sriram Chopra

Matthew Zhang-Braden Aftergood

Madison Hu-Ling Quan

Ethan Dizon-Ricky Irvine

Emily Sarah Carlson-Joyce Sacks

Connor Kalopsis-Eric Tai

Greg Cromer-FBI Agent Jeremy

Kimleigh Smith-Marzipan

Bob Stephenson-Bill Murhoff

Directed by Jason Bateman

Can you spell F-U-C-K Y-O-U?

Note: Screened on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 at Regal E-Walk Stadium 13.

There's a montage midway through "Bad Words" where Jason Bateman's Guy Trilby takes his precocious ten-year-old spelling bee friend/rival Chaitanya Chopra (played by the adorably charming Rohan Chand) out for a bawdy night on the town. After paying a plus-size prostitute to show and jiggle her ample bosom in front of the young boy, Trilby asks him if he wants to go for ice cream now but Chaitanya replies, 'F*ck ice cream, how much to touch 'em?!' It's a scene that will have overprotective parents calling for Trilby's head on a pike yet I would be lying if I said I didn't find it funny, with Chand's wide-eyed expression coming across as oddly sweet and endearing. What Culture's Robert Kojder says it best in his own review when he writes that there's 'something inherently hilarious about watching bitter man-children petulantly taint the innocence of childhood.' I'll admit that I'm not a fan of comedies that rely on a mean-spirited tone to garner laughs and Trilby is the very epitome of mean but the character remains strangely likable despite spending eighty-eight minutes gleefully crushing children's dreams and openly insulting everyone around him. Ever since Bateman starred as Michael Bluth in Mitchell Hurwitz's critically-acclaimed FOX sitcom "Arrested Development," the actor has been pigeon-holed in straight-man roles but "Bad Words," his directorial debut, finally gives him the chance to skewer his nice-guy image and totally let loose on the profanity. It's bound to rub people the wrong way yet that's precisely the reason why "Bad Words" is such a hilarious comedy as it holds nothing back, with Bateman cleverly juxtaposing his inherent image as a nice-guy with his character's mean-spirited, sarcastic wit.

Forty-year-old misanthrope Guy Trilby (Jason Bateman) leaves his job as a product warranty manual proofreader to compete at the prestigious Golden Quill National Spelling Bee in Los Angeles, California. Despite being a middle-aged adult, Trilby manages to find and exploit a technical loophole that states anyone can participate as long as they have not exceeded the eighth-grade, with the contestant also sponsored by a nationally recognized newspaper. It just so happens that Trilby has not even completed the eighth-grade, having dropped out of school beforehand and has the proof to back it up! With online journalist Jenny Widgeon (Kathryn Hahn) of the Click and Scroll as his official sponsor, the administrators at the regional qualifier in Trilby's hometown of Columbus, Ohio have no choice but to let him participate, much to the chagrin of the parents whose children are also competing. Trilby easily wins the top prize, allowing him to advance to the Golden Quill. While on the plane ride to Los Angeles, the arrogant eighth-grade dropout encounters precocious ten-year-old contestant Chaitanya Chopra (Rohan Chand), who repeatedly tries to befriend him. To prevent the Golden Quill from becoming a national embarrassment on live television, the competition's director, Dr. Bernice Deagan (Allison Janney), tries to get rid of Trilby by giving him the hardest words to spell, while Jenny does some digging of her own in order to find out his true reason for competing in the spelling bee.

In an opening voiceover, Guy Trilby readily confesses that he's 'not good at a lot of things, especially thinking things through' but it looks like he could care less because within five minutes of "Bad Words," the character's already threatened to sue the administrators that run the Columbus, Ohio regional spelling bee if they pull him out of the competition, insult a fellow contestant's weight, and earn the ire of every single parent sitting in the audience when he wins the top prize. Working from a script written by newcomer Andrew Dodge (which made the 2011 Black List), Jason Bateman makes his directorial debut here while also pulling double duty by playing Trilby, a sarcastically foul-mouthed and mean-spirited misanthrope that seems out of place from the actor's usual straight-man roles but this character happens to suit his low-key comedic sensibilities like a glove. "Bad Words" is an R-rated comedy that goes to some very dark places yet it does so without resorting to the outrageous stunts that populate Hollywood's more mainstream fare. Much of the film focuses on Trilby whittling down his competition at the Golden Quill and Bateman manages to get a lot of laughs as his character convinces one contestant that he slept with his mother, potentially leading to a divorce between his parents, and later squirts ketchup all over a chair and tells the girl that sat down that she just had her first period. These are childish pranks from an immature man-child and when you really think about it, the consequences of Trilby's actions could likely lead to the contestants—who are barely in their teens—being psychologically scarred. However, what makes them so hilarious is that they're delivered without a hint of anger. In fact, Bateman's delivery is rather gentle and soothing, which allows the punch-lines of his insults to hit even harder, especially when he tells one contestant's irate mother to 'locate her pre-teen cocks*cker son and stuff him back up that blown out, sweat-sock of a vagina and scoot off to whatever sh*t-kicking town you came from.' Call me a terrible person but yes, that line had me guffawing in my seat!

What's also great about "Bad Words" is that Bateman knows when to pull back and not let the dark comedy alienate the audience. This comes in the form of Rohan Chand's Chaitanya Chopra, a precocious ten-year-old who's also competing in the Golden Quill. Despite Trilby repeatedly calling the naïve young boy 'Slumdog' and telling him to shut his 'curry-hole,' Chaitanya persists in trying to befriend him. It takes a while but Trilby eventually warms up to Chaitanya, leading to one of the film's highlights where he takes him out on a ribald night on the town while also revealing little bits of his childhood. Bateman and Chand share an excellent rapport with each other on-screen, with Trilby's gleeful malice well-complemented by Chaitanya's adorably gee-whiz naivety. Their chemistry adds an endearing sweetness that balances out the film's mean-spirited tone. Where "Bad Words" falters is in the overall mystery of why Trilby is doing what he's doing. The reveal is rather underwhelming, with the story paying so little attention to it that it feels almost like an afterthought. Fortunately, it's not enough to derail the picture as Bateman proves himself to be a pro behind the camera, doling out one laugh after another in front of it while also getting a lot of mileage out of his supporting cast, which includes the always-hilarious Kathryn Hahn as well as Allison Janney, Philip Baker Hall, Ben Falcone, and Rachel Harris.

Premiering last September at the Toronto International Film Festival, "Bad Words" is currently set for a limited release on March 14, 2014 and will go wide two weeks later. Reviews have been positive so far with 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. Focus Features has been screening the film quite aggressively and if the audience's reactions are as enthusiastic as the critics, I think we could have the year's first sleeper hit. Jason Bateman's "Bad Words" doesn't revolutionize the R-rated comedy but its humor is inspired while walking a tightrope between endearing and mean-spirited. For those of you who can keep in open mind, there's a lot to admire in Bateman's directorial debut.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5

"So why don't you take your potty-mouth, go locate your pre-teen cocks*cker son and stuff him back up that blown out, sweat-sock of a vagina and scoot off to whatever sh*t-kicking town you came from."