Looming over “Bad Words” is the potential it could have had, as is, were it released ten years ago. With its focus of R-rated behavior poking at the projected innocence of children, along with the couple of chromosomes that keep Bateman’s Trilby from being a Vince Vaughn character, this movie is certainly a product of the comedies that have sculpted out the manchild story in the past decade.
 Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
While the arrested development comedies of Todd Phillips and Judd Apatow have some influence on Bateman’s stepping-out as a director, its inspiration is much too late. For whatever could be cleverly shocking about a man telling a boy he’ll “slaughter him like a sacred cow”, has been exhausted. It’s not that we’ve become more PC, it’s that being non-PC has lost its sharpness.
Bateman uses a fairly fast mouth and an authoritarian command to have some fun with his character, one that does work as a play against his image, but still feels like a nice guy’s version of a jerk. The qualities that make Guy so unlikable are made to be so obvious, that even as a desperate character his creation seems desperate. This creates a bad domino effect with much of the film’s humor, as Bateman, Bateman’s character, and the story, are trying too hard with their stale sense of naughtiness.
Bateman’s skills as a director show through how he handles a supporting cast, which is not with much flair. Hahn, a malleable presence who can do great work even in the worst of stories (she gives a soul to “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton”), plays yet another externally uninteresting woman with an unhinged sex drive (as in “Step Brothers” or “We’re the Millers”). Allison Janney, playing an administrator who makes it her personal mission to have Guy somehow fairly disqualified from the national spelling bee, is completely wasted, showing that anyone can cast Janney in a project, but only directors with a full grasp know how to get the best from her. And Chand, whose wide-eyes can be seen in the “Charlie Brown” specials he could do voice-work for, is a strong symbol of the sappiness at the edge of this supposedly rebellious story.
Spelling bees are rife environments for dark humor, especially considering the corrosive nerves experienced by fragile young individuals as they are asked to spell words no one has used in a hundred years. It’s a pretty big letdown to see this idea wasted. Bateman has a golden concept, but chooses the safer route.
“Bad Words” was released July 8, 2014 on Blu-ray and DVD
Photo credit: Courtesy of Focus Features
Synopsis:
In his directorial debut “Bad Words”, Jason Bateman plays Guy Trilby, a foulmouthed 40 year old man who aggressively competes in local youth spelling bees. The children are confused, and their parents are furious. However, the isolated Guy has no fear, with all of the rule loopholes in his back pocket (specifically that he never graduated eighth grade). And in a non-conspiracy, he’s simply a great speller. But why is he doing this? Going hand-in-hand with the movie itself, the answer to that question will disappoint you.
Trilby’s controversial efforts land him in a nationwide spelling bee, where he is followed around by reporter Jenny Widgeon (Kathryn Hahn), who seeks to understand Trilby’s background, or true explanation. As the spelling bee continues to pit Trilby against the rest of the world, he does start an unusual friendship with a competitor named Chaitanya Chopra (Rohan Chand), whose innocence renders him naive to the racial remarks Guy throws in his face. The two are soon united by their distance from the rest of the world, and of their interest in causing some trouble.
Special Features:
o Deleted and Extended Scenes
o The Minds and Mouths Behind Bad Words
o Feature Commentary with Director Jason Bateman
o Digital Copy of “Bad Words”
By Nick Allen
Contributor
HollywoodChicago.com