Movie Review: Bad Words
What We Liked
What We Didn't Like
Jason Bateman has come a long way since the days of Little House on the Prairie and Silver Spoons. Now, with his new film Bad Words, Bateman adds another adjective to his long career – feature film director. While comedies don’t typically get the respect and accolades as other film genres, it’s extremely difficult to make people laugh. Mastering that is challenging in and of itself, and with Bad Words, Jason Bateman succeeds.
In the film, Bateman stars as Guy Trilby, a man who’s a bit down on his luck and on a particular mission. For some reason, which is eventually revealed towards the end of the movie, Trilby takes advantage of a loop hole in the rules of a national spelling bee and enters the competition as an adult, which immediately puts him at odds with fellow contestants and competition officials. Tagging along with Trilby cross country as he works to qualify the finals – which is being televised for the first time – is a reporter named Jenny Widgeon (Kathryn Hahn). She spends the time financing the trip, helping Trilby stay legit, and trying to figure out why.
Where Bateman’s Trilby is the id behind Bad Words, relative newcomer Rohan Chand is the heart as fellow spelling bee competitor Chaitanya Chopra. This dynamic between two rivals is a relationship we’ve seen in similar movies like Bad Santa and Role Models. And yes, Bad Words is every bit as vulgar as those films. It definitely earns its rating.
Speaking of vulgarity, the humor in Bad Words will definitely not appeal to everyone. It’s offensive, sexual, misogynistic, and plays up on cultural stereotypes. The movie really doesn’t pull any punches, which will definitely rub some people the wrong way. For the most part, the comedy works. There’s nothing worse than when a comedy plays it safe or telegraphs the punch lines. This doesn’t happen here. It’s one of the more politically incorrect movies in years, and while offensive, it was also funny enough to make you cry in certain parts, particularly while watching the relationship between Trilby and Chopra blossom.
Jason Bateman and Rohan Chand in “Bad Words.” © 2013 – Focus Features.
While you’ll have to overlook some of the blatant vulgarity to experience it, Bad Words may just be one of the best things Jason Bateman has done in a long time. He breaks the straight man mold he’s been put into so many times. Giving yourself the freedom to play a character like Guy Trilby who says exactly what he wants must be very liberating because Bateman appeared to be having a blast. Trilby isn’t just an amoral savage though. Somewhere wrapped around the vulgar shell is someone trying to heal himself from some pretty significant emotional baggage. In Bad Words, Bateman is able to showcase the character development needed to balance both sides of the spectrum and offer the audience an opportunity to root for this seemingly despicable man.
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