Bad Words Review
Funny, clever, and full of bad words.
I have not to date been a fan of Jason Bateman. Sure I loved Arrested Development but he was the least interesting character on there, and since then every time I see him he is in a movie that seems to think someone eating excrement is the epitome of humor and cleverness (I’m literally talking literally BTW). I heard Identity Thief was decent but I still had the sour aftertaste of Horrible Bosses and the Change-Up causing me to dry heave and managed to miss it.
So I was not exactly chomping at the bit to see this one. I did listen to a great interview with Jason on the Howard Stern Show and he managed to warm me up to the base concept of the film. I rolled into a late showing with my mind relatively open and the thoughts “How bad could it be? It’s not like he’s co-starring with Ryan Reynolds again.”
89 minutes later I rolled out having laughed my way through most of it. Not only was it funny without devolving to the lowest strata of humor it was actually clever and well written. You really get to connect with the two main characters in spite of the fact that one of them is painfully repulsive. I went on a date this last weekend (with a human female!) and as part of our very pleasant conversation the girl told me about the six elements of a play according to Aristotle. They are plot, character, theme, language, rhythm, and spectacle. I think these could be translated in modern movies to story, character, tone, dialog, pacing, and cinematography. Any movie that nails two of these six is on track to be a winner and both Aristotle and I seem to agree that plot and character are the most important (yeah, Ari and I are going to grab a beer later). It’s tragic how few movies try to achieve more than even one of these and how many manage to not hit even one. This one managed to hit 5 of the six and even the cinematography was decent.
(Note-if you are a regular reader and are reeling in shock at the twin ideas of me using a classical literature reference and having a date with a girl you are no more stunned than I. I’m still waiting for the Earth to reverse the direction of it’s spin. Shakespeare image courtesy of the funny t shirt category)
Once in a while this “job” affords me moments of deep satisfaction and this is one of them. If you recall when I reviewed the medical waste of a film Jack and Jill one of the few stars that movie earned was for the Indian kid who played Jack’s adopted son. 
I thought Rohan Chand was cute, funny, and talented and at the time said I hoped his first movie roll being the cinema equivalent of a sucking chest wound would not inhibit his future career. I was gratified to see him resurface as the other main character in this project and he nailed it. If that kid doesn’t Macaulay Culkin it he is going to be a big name in future film. I just hope they don’t turn him into the go to guy for every movie that needs a token Indian character.
The story is about a grown man named Guy Trilby (Jason Bateman-Arrested Development, Identify Thief, Horrible Bosses) who uses a loophole in the rules to enter a spelling bee for kids. He is aided by internet journalist Jenny Widgen (Kathryn Hahn-We’re the Millers, the Secret Life of Walter Mitty, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) and they bully their way into the qualifying match. He more or less has a photographic memory and crushes the competition. He is also a complete ass hat and verbally abuses everyone around him.
On the plane ride to the national finals he meets Chaitanya Chopra (Rohan Chand-Jack and Jill, Lone Survivor, Homeland), another competitor. Chaitanya annoys him and Guy tells him to shut up in a very inappropriate and borderline racist manner. The next day he is told by the spelling bee officiator (Allison Janney-Finding Nemo, Juno, American Beauty) that he is not welcome and is only going to embarrass himself. She puts him up in a storage closet at the hotel.
At that point it is just a series of really funny set pieces where Guy screws up his competitor while offending people. He is heartless and has no remorse regarding ruining the dreams of young kids. The officiator (under pressure from assorted parents) tries to cheat him out of the running. 
Guy has a very dysfunctional relationship with Jenny. He develops a weird friendship with Chaitanya (who’s own dad is kind of a dick). Eventually he is confronted by the main spelling bee guy Dr. Bowman (Philip Baker Hall-Bruce Almighty, the Insider, 50/50) who more or less calls him a lifelong loser.
I don’t want to delve in too deep in the story as it is really good. Sufficed to say I was very pleased with the direction the plot took and it where the story ended up.
The stars:
Guy is an awesome character that you can’t help but like and root for in spite of the fact that he is a total dick. One star. All the rest of the cast was all very agreeable characters and well portrayed. One star. Rohan Chand was perfect as the kid competitor. One star. Story was great and not at all what I expected. One star. The dialog was brilliant, especially for Guy. His insults would peel paint. One star. A rated R movie that functioned well as rated R. They didn’t just throw stuff in the qualify as rated R to suckle off the Hangover teat. One star. In a weird way one of the more believable stories I have seen in a while. One star. Really, really funny. Two stars. In the end a great time watching. Two stars. Total: eleven stars.
The black holes:
It honestly felt short. The ending kind of ran up on you and resolved itself a little fast IMO. At 89 minutes I don’t think anyone would have objected to another 10 minutes. One black hole. If you are the type who is bothered by kids listening to profanity or being injected into other wildly inappropriate situations prepare to have your ears bleed. A couple of the scenes with Rohan you almost expect the police raid the set. One black hole. Total: two black holes.
A grand total of nine stars and my rousing recommendation that you see it. One of the best comedies I have seen in a couple years. I am now a Jason Bateman fan and will go back and see some of the films I missed. Should you see it? Yes. Yes you should. Date movie? If your date has a good sense of humor absolutely. If not or you are not sure don’t take the chance. This film is potentially very polarizing. Either she will love it or hate it and hate you through association. Bathroom break? Hmm. Good question. The film is short and most of the scenes are really funny. I think if I really needed to go I would choose the scene where Jenny hooks up with her FBI ex boyfriend at a bar in order to get some background info on Guy. Nothing critical happens and any of the scenes without Guy in it are less interesting.
Thanks for reading. I am going to go see Noah tonight and will consider writing it up tomorrow. I tend to steer clear of the religious stuff but from what I can see this movie has very little to do with the Bible. I’ll probably do it but am kind of dreading it. Follow me on Twitter @NerdKungFu and like us on Facebook up at the top. If you have a comment on this film or my review post it here, and if you have an off topic question or suggestion feel free to email me at [email protected] (especially if you want to advertize on the blog and/or can get me free movie tickets or advanced screenings. Money for popcorn and tickets doesn’t grow on trees you know (unless it’s paper money)). Talk to you soon.
Dave Inman
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