Guy Trilby (Jason Bateman) is a 40 year old man who enters a children's Spelling Bee to the ire of the students, educators, and parents due to Guy's exploitation of a loophole that he dropped out of school before completing Eighth Grade making him technically eligible for competition. Accompanied by his sponsor, Jenny Widgeon (Kathryn Hahn) of the online newspaper Click and Scroll, Guy wins his Spelling Bee setting his sights on the National Golden Quill Spelling Bee while Jenny tries in vain to understand why Guy is doing this. En route to the Golden Quill, Guy meets a precocious young spelling prodigy in Chaitanya Chopra (Rohan Chand) who tries to befriend Guy despite his lack of interest, as the Golden Quill administrators Dr. Deagan (Allison Janney) and founder William Bowman (Phillip Baker Hall) try in vain to get Guy removed from the competition which is also the first time the event will be televised nationwide on public television.
Bad Words written by screenwriter Andrew Dodge first appeared on the 2011 Black List of best unproduced screenplays. The screenplay came to Jason Bateman who'd been interested in venturing into directorial work and Bateman soon signed on to direct the film refining the script with Dodge by toning down some of the edgier parts of the material and removing references to real life organizations such as the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Upon release the film received mixed if slightly more positive skewing reviews praising Bateman's performance and direction as well as the performances of Hahn, Hall, Janney and especially Chand while other critics criticized the film's mean-spirited humor and protagonist as "unlikable". As is the case with most dark comedies (an inherently challenging genre), Bad Words is designed to evoke feelings of discomfort for the purpose of humor and when it comes to the question of whether it uses that discomfort to its advantage, I can safely say yes.
Bad Words creates a uniquely despicable character in Guy Trilby whose characterization of casual insults, foul mouth, and unapologetically graphic language in lesser hands could've resulted in an intolerable experience (see the 2012 "comedy" Project X for example), but with Bateman's inherent likability as a screen presence coupled with his willingness to sink into this role you do find yourself engaged by this character wondering what possessed him to do this and the vitriol, humiliation, and conniving he inspires in fellow contestants, spelling bee administrators, and parents leads to some very funny set pieces that ooze with bad taste in the best possible way. Aside from Bateman, the movie features a talented supporting cast with the likes of Kathryn Hahn, Phillip Baker Hall, and Allison Janney being but a few who bring their comic friction to Bateman's Guy, but stealing every scene he's in is Rohan Chand as Chaitanya Chopra whose seemingly endless optimism coupled with his endearing delivery makes him a solid counterpart to Guy's endless reserves of bitterness and snark. This movie is a very subjective experience as I've seen those who think the film tries a little too hard to excuse Guy's actions towards the end while others just think the concept is inherently flawed and I can really only give my personal take on the material so your mileage may vary. With not only its title but also its tone and secondary protagonist being a child, Bad Words does invite comparisons with fellow "Bad" title Bad Santa with Guy and Chaitanya's dynamic having some parallels to the dynamic we saw of Willie and Thurman in that film, because the movie tries to make Guy less abrasive as a protagonist in the end it doesn't quite reach the level of Bad Santa, but for what it is it's a solid attempt at tackling similar themes and ideas.
Bad Words for my money is what solid dark comedy should be: uncomfortable and eliciting laughter from that discomfort. The movie won't be for everyone with its profanity laden script and raunchy humor juxtaposed against an elementary to middle school aged spelling bee, but for those who aren't ashamed of feeling a little unclean after laughing it's a fun ride.
Bad Words written by screenwriter Andrew Dodge first appeared on the 2011 Black List of best unproduced screenplays. The screenplay came to Jason Bateman who'd been interested in venturing into directorial work and Bateman soon signed on to direct the film refining the script with Dodge by toning down some of the edgier parts of the material and removing references to real life organizations such as the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Upon release the film received mixed if slightly more positive skewing reviews praising Bateman's performance and direction as well as the performances of Hahn, Hall, Janney and especially Chand while other critics criticized the film's mean-spirited humor and protagonist as "unlikable". As is the case with most dark comedies (an inherently challenging genre), Bad Words is designed to evoke feelings of discomfort for the purpose of humor and when it comes to the question of whether it uses that discomfort to its advantage, I can safely say yes.
Bad Words creates a uniquely despicable character in Guy Trilby whose characterization of casual insults, foul mouth, and unapologetically graphic language in lesser hands could've resulted in an intolerable experience (see the 2012 "comedy" Project X for example), but with Bateman's inherent likability as a screen presence coupled with his willingness to sink into this role you do find yourself engaged by this character wondering what possessed him to do this and the vitriol, humiliation, and conniving he inspires in fellow contestants, spelling bee administrators, and parents leads to some very funny set pieces that ooze with bad taste in the best possible way. Aside from Bateman, the movie features a talented supporting cast with the likes of Kathryn Hahn, Phillip Baker Hall, and Allison Janney being but a few who bring their comic friction to Bateman's Guy, but stealing every scene he's in is Rohan Chand as Chaitanya Chopra whose seemingly endless optimism coupled with his endearing delivery makes him a solid counterpart to Guy's endless reserves of bitterness and snark. This movie is a very subjective experience as I've seen those who think the film tries a little too hard to excuse Guy's actions towards the end while others just think the concept is inherently flawed and I can really only give my personal take on the material so your mileage may vary. With not only its title but also its tone and secondary protagonist being a child, Bad Words does invite comparisons with fellow "Bad" title Bad Santa with Guy and Chaitanya's dynamic having some parallels to the dynamic we saw of Willie and Thurman in that film, because the movie tries to make Guy less abrasive as a protagonist in the end it doesn't quite reach the level of Bad Santa, but for what it is it's a solid attempt at tackling similar themes and ideas.
Bad Words for my money is what solid dark comedy should be: uncomfortable and eliciting laughter from that discomfort. The movie won't be for everyone with its profanity laden script and raunchy humor juxtaposed against an elementary to middle school aged spelling bee, but for those who aren't ashamed of feeling a little unclean after laughing it's a fun ride.