Bad Words

[Review] Bad Words

Jason Bateman isn’t exactly an actor on the up-and-coming. With successful television series Arrested Development and other films like Horrible Bosses and Up In the Air, he’s definitely already made a name for himself that has a pretty strong following. Bad Words, however, is his first step into directing a feature length film, and I must say that this comedy full of quick wit and, well, bad words was an enjoyable movie worth seeing if in need of a few laughs.

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Bad Words
Director: Jason Bateman
Rating: R
Release Date: March 14, 2014 (limited)

Guy Trilby (Jason Bateman) is introduced as a 40-year-old man in the crowd at The Golden Quill National Spelling Bee competition. As an adult in an environment that is intended for the thriving of kids, it is believed that he’s a parent of one of the competitors until he steps up onto the stage. While his enrollment in the tournament doesn’t go uncontested, he proves his right to be up there competing by finding a few loopholes in the rule book. Without giving much of a reason as to why he’s doing this, parents are becoming enraged for the sake that their children won’t have a fair chance in the competition. He isn’t alone in this though. Jenny Widgeon (Kathryn Hahn) is a journalist following Trilby from competition to competition in the hope that she will catch the moment in which the estranged man reveals his real reasons for competition as he escalates higher and higher in the tournament. Along with her is young Chaitanya Chopra (Rohand Chand), a young boy that is completely unfazed by Guy’s choice to be a loner in life and forms a bond with the man after much persistence to be friends.

I went to this film without knowing too much about it other than a faint memory of seeing the trailer just a few months earlier, but what little expectations I had were not let down whatsoever. It’s full of quick wit and great comebacks from Bateman’s asshole of a character, and there was rarely a scene in which I wasn’t laughing. Trilby doesn’t have any intent on befriending anyone as an adult at this grade school competition, but the non-stop efforts of young, fellow competitor Chaitanya Chopra to be friends with Guy has a great impact on the humor displayed in the film. Most of the jokes are from the things that Bateman says to this naïve kid and the situations he puts them both into. In fact, the overall inappropriateness of the whole film is the driving force of this comedy, and I enjoy the seemingly mature level of immaturity that this movie took on.

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I truthfully don’t have too many complaints about what I was privileged to watch. This wasn’t a comedy that changed my life forever, and I don’t see it doing any better in theaters than any other average comedy that has been put onto the market. Regardless, it was a genuinely easy viewing that kept me laughing throughout it’s entire duration, and I feel like it accomplished its goals.

Everyone in the cast put in some of their best effort for this production. Bateman is excellent at playing this person who is seemingly one of the worst human beings in existence, and his minimal evolution of a character was executed perfectly. Kathryn Hahn also brings some hilarity through her determination and underlying loneliness in the film. Allison Janney is great in comedic roles, but her character, Dr. Bernice Deagan, is the director of the spelling bee and remains serious while she’s featured.

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2014 seems to be stacked with a bunch of comedies to look forward to seeing, with a lot of them coming out in late spring. Bad Words is no exception to my anticipation of a string of good laughs to come. The plot line, while predictable, was simple and easy to follow. It wasn't created to change the world of comedy, and it was an equal balance of hilarity that works that made the film just right for pure enjoyment. I don't have a dying urge to see it in theaters once again, but I probably wouldn't contest it if someone were to pop it into the DVD player on another night. If you're in need of a good laugh and have nothing better to do, I would definitely confirm that seeing this movie is worth getting into theaters to see.