Bad Words (2014)

Very well executed

Memorable, crazy movie

Absolutely brilliant

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Short and Simple Review by WubsTheFadgerJason Bateman delivers a knockout performance as a cynical, selfish, and most of all brutally rude and hilarious man named Guy Trilby. Kathryn Hahn also does a great job at portraying a distraught woman looking for answers. Rohan Chand plays the part of a child in need of a friend and he plays this part so well.The story at first may seem a little bit stupid, but the no-holds-back humor starts off quick and without conviction. Most if not all of the jokes and gags are perfectly timed and extremely funny. The runtime is a little long even at an hour and a half and the heartfelt moments seem a little scripted and predictable.Pros: Great performances by Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn , and Rohan Chand, funny and hilarious story, and well timed jokesCons: A little overlong runtime and some predictable heartfelt momentsOverall Rating: 8.4

"Bad Words" (2013) sees actor Jason Bateman making his directorial feature film debut. Crazy. Hilarious. Fun. Kathryn Hahn - smack.It works hard being a pain in the a** but ends up being rather a sweet story about the importance of human relationships. The way leading us there is not PC, but for sure the end is. In a way, this makes the black comedy a little less edgy but, perhaps, adds another dimension, one of the dramatic sort. Over all, Bateman does a fine job as actor-director. Chand and Hahn are much enjoyable as well. The movie is fun for the moment and the weird plot line is a strength here.

Well, they've finally done it. They've taken Jason Bateman's Sarcastic Man persona to the limit of being likable and broke it completely. This is pure insult comedy. There is no justification given for why the character tries to shame and humiliate every individual he meets, or why we should give a toss about him and his ridiculous quest to win a Spelling Bee against a bunch of kids.The bad news is this: Yep, I'm that guy. I have a line, and that line involves saying horrible things about rape and racial slurs to a kid. Poor Rohan Chand was badly parented on screen and off. The kid's a good actor and I want him to get parts, but this is too much. He shouldn't have had to hear this stuff. And where were the kids' parents on screen? He basically could have been raped or murdered and they'd have no idea. Ridiculous. And there he was with Jason Bateman's character. This guy would absolutely be put on a list of people not allowed to spend time around children. Everything this guy says to these juveniles is a form of child abuse. You take this movie and love it. Having said all that, the only true value in this movie is the words. There are some wonderful, obscure and ridiculously long words in the spelling bee portions which are great fun as they crop up. Its just a shame that the character and movie surrounding these words is so barren of any comedy or drive to keep watching. The words were all that kept me watching, and I regret it.

Bad Words is an interesting film. With all the racist and misogynistic jokes in the movie, failure should have been its destiny. But the film, nowhere near perfection, does manage to be solidly funny and serves as a good directorial debut for star Jason Bateman. Granted, some jokes are uncomfortable, but others are hilarious. Some people may find this film mean-spirited, but it shows there are these kind of people out here in the world who would do something like Bateman's character would. Bateman's film is about a crude, bad-mouth man named Guy Trillby who enters the Golden Quill, a national spelling competition designed for children. But 40-year-old Guy finds a loophole and he decides to participate in the spelling bee despite all the backlash from the parents and officials.Granted, Jason Bateman's character was extremely unlikable. But it was rather funny to watch him mow down the competition. So I guess Bateman did a good job in his role. We also get some clever supporting turns from Kathryn Hahn and especially Allison Janney as the main official of the spelling bee. Overall, Bad Words is a crude movie but it's often pretty funny and some of the jokes hit home hard. I sort of like the rivalry he struck up with the nine-year-old Indian kid as they both become friends as well as enemies. There will obviously be some detractors from the film, but it seems like I am not one of them. It's not a great film, but merely a good, small comedy. My Grade: B-