The TV/film star makes his directorial film debut in this comedy. Lisa has her take on the Jason Bateman film, “Bad Words.”
BAD WORDS
Focus Features
Rating: R / Run Time: 89 minutes
Studio Synopsis:
Jason Bateman (Identity Thief) makes his feature directorial debut with the subversive comedy Bad Words. Mr. Bateman stars as Guy Trilby, a 40-year-old who finds a loophole in the rules of The Golden Quill national spelling bee and decides to cause trouble by hijacking the competition. Contest officials, outraged parents, and overly ambitious 8th graders are no match for Guy, as he ruthlessly crushes their dreams of victory and fame. As a reporter (Kathryn Hahn of We’re the Millers) attempts to discover his true motivation, Guy finds himself forging an unlikely alliance with a competitor: awkward 10-year-old Chaitanya (Rohan Chand of Homeland), who is completely unfazed by Guy’s take-no-prisoners approach to life.
Bad Words also stars Ben Falcone (Bridesmaids), Philip Baker Hall (Argo), and Allison Janney (The Help). The original screenplay is by Andrew Dodge, and the producers are Mr. Bateman, Mason Novick, Sean McKittrick and Jeff Culotta. Mr. Bateman is the director of the movie.
A Focus Features and Darko Entertainment presentation of a Darko Entertainment/Aggregate Films/MXN production, Bad Words. is MPAA-rated “R” (for crude and sexual content, language, and brief nudity) and has a running time of @89 minutes.
[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc-x6tXjUcQ’]Lisa’s Take:
“Bad Words” is a small film with quirky but endearing characters, set in the odd world of the spelling bee. It’s along the lines of “Little Miss Sunshine” (one of my favorite films) but with lots of cringeworthy, funny and foul language. Shot mostly at a Sportsman Lodge without any complicated sets or CGI, the script, story and acting really carry this movie.
The film mostly revolves around the relationship between Guy Trilby (played by Jason Bateman), his young spelling bee competitors and a journalist (Kathryn Hahn) who hates herself for liking Guy. Their relationship is believable, but it takes her a while to find out exactly why 40-year-old Guy insists on travelling from spelling bee to spelling bee, sharing the stage with 10-year-olds and shamelessly winning each competition. Did he lose a spelling bee as a child? Is he a bully who never grew up? It’s shocking to watch him humiliate his small competitors, picking them off one by one, shattering their confidence and embarrassing the adults who want him out of the competition.
Jason Bateman didn’t originally consider himself for the lead role of Guy Trilby, but I don’t know who else could get away with a telling a 10-year-old Indian boy that if he doesn’t shut up, he’s going to tell the airplane captain the boy’s “bag is ticking.” (And that’s the mildest language I can repeat in this review.) Some might say that the humor crosses a line. But somehow, Bateman pulls it off. Even at his most despicable, we can see that there is a vulnerable human under that nasty exterior.
Guy’s main competitor, Chaitanya Chopra, is never discouraged by Guy’s foul attitude. Rohan Chand plays the character wonderfully with so much natural, nerdy innocence. Chaitanya is a skinny kid who just studies vocabulary all day, one of those kids that seeks the company of adults because he doesn’t fit in. Guy never acts like an “adult” anyway and tries to corrupt Chaitanya, but not before an unintended friendship evolves. From then on, the pair is like two kids wreaking havoc on the playground. Like most of the audience, I was cringing and laughing at the same time.
The script is sharp and spot-on, with colorful language, big words and an interesting plot twist near the end that threatens the entire future of the spelling bee world. It’s the perfect combination of nerdy word-love, innocence and bitterness and shockingly funny dialogue. Yes, you can expect lots of maledictions (curse words), but it’s a decidedly human film with a sardonic edge.