“Bad Words” which hits theaters this weekend was directed by Jason Bateman, written by Andrew Dodge and stars Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, Philip Baker Hall, Kathryn Hahn, and Rohan Chand.
Usually seen as the straight man, Jason Bateman can be relied on for his deadpan delivery, while keeping a calm and cool demeanor, while everyone else around him goes a bit crazy and off the rails. With his directing debut “Bad Words,” the role has been switched for Bateman. This time, he’s gone a bit off the rails in this hilarious black comedy centering on a man, Guy Trilby, who finds a loophole in the rules of a national spelling bee and takes it upon himself to wreak havoc on the prestigious event. Surrounded by a great supporting cast and a tight script by another first timer in screenwriter Andrew Dodge, “Bad Words” is a hilarious, comical black comedy that doesn’t forget to include the proper amount of heart it needs to be a well rounded film.
Opening up with a prologue of sorts, Guy Trilby (Bateman) takes the stage at a regional spelling bee awaiting his turn to participate. The runners of the spelling bee attempt to disqualify Guy from the competition only for Guy to spit the rules right back at them, finding the loophole that would allow him to participate. As the rules state, he never completed the eighth grade which would, technically, make him eligible. When they try to say he needs a media outlet to sponsor him, Jenny (Hahn) enters the picture as a news reporter who is sponsoring Guy’s journey throughout the spelling bee. It’s evident she’s only in it for the story as to why a 40 year-old man has entered a spelling bee for children.
As expected, Guy wins the regional spelling bee and advances to the national Golden Quill spelling bee held in Los Angeles. On the flight to Los Angeles, Chaitanya (Chand) attempts to befriend Guy, but he’s having none of it, throwing the kid’s attempts away and insulting him in the process. Once he and Jenny arrive at the Golden Quill, the tournaments director Dr. Bernice Deagan (Janney) lets it be known to Guy that she will do everything in her power to destroy his attempts at making a mockery of the Golden Quill. As Guy’s journey goes on, we see that he has no problem with going the petty route and getting into other children’s heads. When not destroying the competition, Guy is avoiding the questions of Jenny while developing a surprising friendship with Chaitanya.
What has to be said first is that Jason Bateman has a gift for comedy. For so long he has been great at playing the straight man, but when given a chance to flex his muscles and just be raunchy, dirty, and an awful human being, he just nails it. The supporting cast was just as good and helped Bateman shine, especially Rohan Chand as Chaitanya (or as guy calls him, Slumdog). Chand brings a sense of innocence to the role and he doesn’t seem fazed by going head to head against Jason Bateman. The combination of Bateman and Chand creates some of the best parts of “Bad Words” that I won’t mention in detail but when they happen you’ll be dying of laughter.
“Bad Words” could have gone wrong in many places like most black comedies do. It could have focused too much on the humor without advancing the story. Dodge’s script could have neglected to focus on Guy Trilby’s motivations and avoid going into why Trilby is so hellbent on destroying this competition. Bateman, as a first time director, could have fallen into many tropes and cliches that even veteran directors fall into. Instead, “Bad Words” clicks in almost every way and is an engaging film that audiences will enjoy. “Bad Words” is one of the most enjoyable and most well done black comedies in recent memory and Bateman has shown he has a bright future in directing.
-Joshua Kaye
