Bad Words | Review

Jason Bateman’s makes his feature directorial debut with the comedy Bad Words. Bateman stars as Guy Trilby, a 40-year-old who finds a loophole in the rules of The Golden Quill national spelling bee, and decides to cause trouble by hijacking the competition. Contest officials, outraged parents, and overly ambitious 8th graders are no match for Guy, as he ruthlessly crushes their dreams of victory and fame. From the opening scene, we find Trilby enjoying classical music which is interrupted by a parent who tries to start a conversion, and the comedy begins. Trilby uses the loophole in the rules to reek havoc in the national spelling bee, and like a true politician, he fights dirty. He will go to no uncertain lengths to ensure his victory at the national spelling bee.

But all is not what it seems when it comes to Trilby as a reporter, Jenny Widgeonan (played masterfully by Kathryn Hahn), as she desperately tries to discover his true motivation. Jenny is an interesting character with her nerdy/sexy librarian look, she is very straightforward , and at times it feels she is a bit overwhelmed when it comes to dealing with Trilby. Though they have this love-hate relationship that leads to some very comical situations, that will leave you wanting more. Trilby throughout the film finds himself forging an unlikely alliance with a competitor, an awkward 10-year-old Chaitanya (Rohan Chand), who is seemingly unfazed by Guy’s take-no-prisoners approach to life. Chaitanya slowly becomes friends with Trilby, and after trying hard to break down the barriers he has set-up around himself to avoid making friends.

Both characters have a unique chemistry and make the perfect combination of a straight man/funny man. Chaitanya’s childlike wonder plays perfectly against Tribly’s harsh look on life and makes them such a comparable team as they both learn great things from one another. Tribly becomes like a father figure/older brother/friend to Chaitanya showing him the ropes, and building his confidence.

Bad Words is the perfect feel-good comedy buddy comedy film for Jason Bateman’s directorial debut. There are not stop laugh out loud moments coupled with touching moments that make this an instant classic.

Verdict: Be the first in line to see this film, and laugh out loud.